Relaunch Switchblade 2010

[viob]

Hi there,

I'm wondering if anybody else here is riding a Switchblade from 2010. I have the 12sqm model right now. Had the 9sqm for some time as well but not any longer. What's bothering me is the relaunch of the SB. Even in conditions with plenty of wind to ride comfortable once you are on your board I really struggle to get the kite out of the water. In conditions with lots of wind things get easier but when it's around 14-16kn it's really tricky and in about 60% of the situations not possible at all. This is of course not the most encouraging thing and so the fun to try new stuff goes missing because you always think about a potential swim back to the beach...

I guess I'm not doing anything fundamentally wrong. Kite drops - sit's on the front edge down wind - I rotate the bar 90 degrees - try to help the kite further by pulling the already shortened line further. The main problem is that the kite doesn't crawl sideways to the edge of the window. Sometimes the extra pull on the line helps and the kite gets into the relaunch position but far down in the power zone. At least it starts there even with a lot of power but better than a swim

Had the first generation of Crossbow and Contra (the bow version) and both were a lot easier to relaunch.

So any ideas from other SB riders?

Thanks for your help

Peter

[Steve]

Ok, first thing you are doing wrong is holding the bar in and trying to relaunch by pulling the bar and tightening one line.

Let the bar go completely, reach up and grab one side line, if you want to grab a particular line look under water and pull the left or right leader, pull in approx 2M or more on line, the tip attached to that line should start to lift off the water.

If the tip does not lift off completely and the kite starts to move to the edge for lift off, then let go off the leader you have and as quickly as possible grab and pull on the opposite rear line leader.

If alternate pulls on the rear line leaders does not work, then the wind is really quite light, and you will need to resort to tp pulling on the centre line, and as you release the centre line pull on one rear leader, this will make the kite tip roll over and from there you need to grab the bar gently (do not pull in too much) and begin to ster the kite up and out of the water. If at any time after the kite is up on one tip, the kite moves backwards and looks like the trailing edge will end up in the water, PUSH the bar out.

This technique will get the kite out of the water even in very light conditions, but it takes practice and timing, so practice in lighter winds until you can relaunch 100% in winds above 10/12 knots.

[Jev]

The above are good guidelines and in most cases this should work a treat. The switchblade should be fairly easy to relaunch compared to some C kites, so you should really not have any problems. Practice the above a couple of times in shallow water to get a feel for it, it will be much easier and you’ll be able to focus on sn improving the relaunch technique without having to swim.

[viob]

Thanks for the help. Will give it a try during the next session - hopefully this weekend

In general it's just really strange that I have these problems. Would consider myself as an advanced kiter (4-5 years experience) and with my old kites (1. generation Xbow 9 and Contra Bow 14) I never had any problems. Even the 9sqm 2010 Switchblade which I had for a few session didn't show this behaviour. It's just the 12sqm model I'm struggling with. And it's really strange that the kite in 14-16kn winds doesn't even start 'crawling' to one side once it sits on the front tube and I rotate the bar...

Best,

Peter

[Steve]

Thanks for the help. Will give it a try during the next session - hopefully this weekend

In general it's just really strange that I have these problems. Would consider myself as an advanced kiter (4-5 years experience) and with my old kites (1. generation Xbow 9 and Contra Bow 14) I never had any problems. Even the 9sqm 2010 Switchblade which I had for a few session didn't show this behaviour. It's just the 12sqm model I'm struggling with. And it's really strange that the kite in 14-16kn winds doesn't even start 'crawling' to one side once it sits on the front tube and I rotate the bar...

Best,

Peter

There is no set way to relaunch any kite these days, and all of my suggestions and then some are what an experienced kiter will need to have in their knowledge bank.

Even within one model, what works on one size may not work so well on another size. For sure though, holding the bar in on that 12M will definitely not help, let the bar all the way out do not hold it, just pull on one rear line bar leader for some time and then rapidly let it go and pull on the other leader, and vice versa until the kite rolls up on one tip, then you can grab the bar gently. Do not pull in on the bar until the kite has lifted off the water, but still don't pull in hard on the bar until the kite is well clear of the water. If the kite flies backwards at any time your rear lines are too short (fronts have stretched).