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PostPosted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 12:24 am 
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Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
JollyGreen wrote:
Basically, my friend got me into kiteboarding, the best place to learn is out on a sandbar.........


Hey JollyGreen

I'm getting too old to actively kite board but after I sold my gear, I still have my 3 meter parafoil trainer kite. The Dog loves to chase it and bark at it. lol

I love to get pulled down the beach by my heels on a solid windy day.

I've seriously thought it would be a hoot to run the AI without a mast and land launch the kite and jump in the cockpit with the kite aloft while a friend holds the AI steady in the right direction (the rudder may have to be locked down unless you can fly the kite from a harness 1 handed). However, a TI might be the better vessel with a friend in the rear running the rudder). 8)

Have you considered it or tried it?

Regards

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:29 am 
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I just thought about using a towable boat raft for the person and then stashing the gear in the AI hull/ tramps. You guys think this might work alright?

Just trying to go about a mile in flat water with the occasional boat wake.
http://m.overtons.com/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5vdmVydG9ucy5jb20vbW9kcGVybC9wcm9kdWN0L2RldGFpbHMuY2dpP2k9MTAzNjUmcGRlc2M9QWlyaGVhZF9Eb3VibGVfRG9nX1Rvd2FibGUmYUlEPTYwMEczJm1lcmNoSUQ9NDAwNg%3D%3D


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PostPosted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 6:10 pm 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
JollyGreen:
Just a thought here, I like to use 1/2 inch PVC water pipe with 1/4" rope ran through it with D clips on each end (keeps all my ropes from getting tangled up, I hate untangling ropes). Fred was cautioning about the dingy coming up on you when going downstream, perhaps a several ft piece of small PVC with a rope through it will help maintain the distance of the inflatable dingy.

However, one reason we keep the heavily loaded kayaks tied between the hull and the AMA's, is open water gets pretty heavy (2-3 ft waves) and the a revo with 150 lbs of tanks and gear is top heavy and not very stable. tieing to both the hull and AMA helps also keeps it from tipping. I can foresee just towing a loaded kayak behind without a person to balance it could be tipsy in waves.


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PostPosted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:07 pm 
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Hey Bob
Good talking to you again...odd I thought this thread did the death dance months ago, hehehe, guess not
A buddy of mine works for Sea Tow as a 1st mate. He's 2nd on an deep sea tug.
I asked him a few years ago on how to prevent a lighter vessel (empty barge) being towed by the Tug to keep the following seas from pushing his tow onto his stern deck?
His answer was pretty simply (as most solutions usually are):
They flood the ballast tanks on the barge to a degree so that tension is always there on the tow cable to avoid a collision.
Based on that, a large flat drinking water bag in the floor of the towed craft could serve the same purpose. Sure it will slow you down, but it beats the heck out of the alternative.
I hope that help. Remember, that if you can't see your towed vessel anymore due to deteriorating conditions due to swell height, maybe this might be a good time to find the closest safe haven and/or ditch your tow, put a GPS waypoint or an MOB on it (so it is highlighted), and call for help.

Regards
Fred

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Last edited by Trinomite on Sat Aug 27, 2011 11:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:02 pm 
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Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
Hey Jolly Green
Those tows like you pictured are possible (The Heated canine concept)..
Yet no stbility under water. They`re designed to be towed by a power boat at planing speed. Using body weight can make these tows turn slightly to ride the wake off the tow craft, yet kids tire of them quickly. They also have very little stowage space and due to their mass will slow you down in a big way.

Here`s a bit of fun....and yes with the right .`pilot and a careful skipper`, you can get some serious air time, (of course if you own a powerboat designed for wake boarders):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoBEtBkZ ... re=related

(..to heck with towing, this looks like a blast (where the hell are their helmets)

Back to the basics, you might be better off with simple inflatable toy kayaks, yet if you`re carrying seriously costly gear, I suggest something inflatable made out of solid material (why not an inflatable dinghy)
They`re tough (have a $1k price tag, approx.) have a relatively flat bow that won`t damage your rudder unless you collide in heavy seas, and they can carry a 2 to 4 horse outboard if they are in the 5 to 6 foot range. They can certainly carry your goodies (including you and crew as a lifeboat......). I highly recommend if you go in that direction that you consider a dinghy with an Air Floor`to keep the weight as low as possible.
Due to their high freeboard that same towed dinghy can also be used as a tow vessel for your Island.
Consider also, if you have a TI, your crew can detach and you now have 2 highly capable vessels both being solo`d for one reason or another....like as a camera chase boat... 8)

Regards
Fred

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:42 pm 
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Location: Keyport, WA, USA
JollyGreen wrote:
Hey guys, thanks for all the ideas and dive info! Sounds fun taking the AI/TI out as a dive platform!

Basically, my friend got me into kiteboarding, the best place to learn is out on a sandbar. I have a friend willing to help, but our weight on the AI is a little under 350. If I add an 8lb anchor, kite, board, harness, food &water, I'm guessing we would be close to 375lbs. I was hoping there might be an easy way to pull the extra stuff behind us?

I guess some cheap inflatable kayak or raft might be best



Why not just lash the board under the AKAs, and pile any extra weight on top?
Then the board can add flotation to compensate for the extra weight.


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 5:35 pm 
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Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
Hi Steve
As to your idea of using a kiteboard to strap under the Akas, well, in theory it sounds good, yet a couple of factors can create a few issues:

1) Most Kiteboarders use a modified board almost the same size and shape as a Wakeboard (not a lot of buoyancy either, pure wind power to skate on the edge of the board to try to work upwind if possile to return to the launch point)

2) The Rocker on these boards is not huge (rise of the bow), so by attaching a board underneath the Aka could cause a serious problem if the board caught the water at speed)

However, using the same concept that you mentioned by replacing it with lightweight Inflatable SUP boards strapped on to (or possibly even the bottom of the Akas, could work out quite nicely to add extra 'floatiness' to the AI / TI going hard into the wind, imho.

Good tip, M8, I'll try it out (next season)....One tail ended Hurricane is enough for this Sailor, 8)
(Note: As I only have one SUP board available at home, it does work on top. The other SUP is in Vegas, but that's another story, hehe)

http://vimeo.com/14233791

Best Regards
Fred

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