Power Kite Forum

drying out equipment

CrankyThunder - 10-2-2013 at 04:14 PM

Hey guys!

As you can see I am a newby here to the power kite community, perhaps you have read some of my adventures with my previous postings.

Anyways, after this mornings expidition, I patiently layed out the kite and unwound the lines so that they would dry out.

While this might not be a big deal for normal people, my house is infested with the four leggeded varments of the feline persuasion and after calmly watching me lay out my kite and unwind my lines, proceeded to make a snarlpuss (ya like that techical term?) of my kite and lines. (may be a new subject of my next monster kite excoursion!!!!)

Anyways, since a lot of you are kite surfers and your equipement gets soaked every time you venture out in the wind, do you guys unwrap everything and make sure it is dry before you pack it up and put it away for a short or long period of time?

Have you had any rot damage?

anyways, your recommendations, advice, and experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Regards,
Cranky

Are the lines rot resistant?

Snake - 10-2-2013 at 04:21 PM

I unroll my arc as soon as I get back from kiteing and have a fan blow on it. I also have a little fan that I stick in one of the inflation zips to blow air through the kite. It's usually bone dry in 4 hours versus the 8-12 it takes with out the fan blowing air though it.

krumly - 10-2-2013 at 06:32 PM

I dry them out out hanging in my basement or heated garage. Don't usually rinse unless they are soiled since I am in Midwest with freshwater. Don't pack them away wet - lines and kite will mildew. Drying in the sun is ahrd on them due to extra UV. I don't unwrap the lines from bar, but usually let it dry near the dehumidifier (in summer) or a radiator (in winter).

krumly

Cerebite - 10-2-2013 at 08:54 PM

The other trick is to lay everything out in a space the fuzzy buddy cant get into or that you have shut him/ her out of.
despite repeated explanation my cat, Schroedinger [50 geek points if you get the reference], still does not understand the distinction between "cat string" and "daddy string"

Proletariat - 10-2-2013 at 09:01 PM

You people need to move to Colorado. My kites dry while I'm packing them up. ;)

zero gee - 10-2-2013 at 09:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cerebite
The other trick is to lay everything out in a space the fuzzy buddy cant get into or that you have shut him/ her out of.
despite repeated explanation my cat, Schroedinger [50 geek points if you get the reference], still does not understand the distinction between "cat string" and "daddy string"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCOE__N6v4o

Snake - 10-2-2013 at 10:03 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cerebite
The other trick is to lay everything out in a space the fuzzy buddy cant get into or that you have shut him/ her out of.
despite repeated explanation my cat, Schroedinger [50 geek points if you get the reference], still does not understand the distinction between "cat string" and "daddy string"


Schroedinger is my favorite scientist. I had a shirt that said "The cat is dead and alive". People used to get so confused from that shirt. Though that experiment wouldn't work since the cat isn't a quantum object. It still is a good example to educate regular people about one of the fundimental laws of quantum mechanics.

Kober - 10-2-2013 at 11:50 PM

I dry my kites same day or max 2 days after getting them wet ..... Hang them leading edge down if they are foils .... or pump them up if LEI ....
.... run small fan to help air circulation .....
.... if possible I fly them to get them dry ......
When on winter kite trip kite gets wet ..... I alway bring them inside to hotel .... or next day you will need to deal with frozen bridle ice cubes ...

bourgeois.jason - 11-2-2013 at 05:31 AM

When I first learned to kitesurf, the instructor in Houston, TX, said that there was no need to dry out a kite that has gotten wet with salt water, since no mildew will form. I have packed up my kites while still damp a few times and have not had any problems at all, even after letting them sit for months or years.

The only problem I ever had with a wet kite was when I got my Pansh Ace wet in fresh water. The next time I rolled it out, I noticed that some of the red bled to the white.

It seems that most of the guys here dry out their kites, but I have not noticed any adverse affects of leaving them wet with salt water. It may be important to this discussion to know that I learned how to kitesurf about 6 years ago. I recently unrolled a few kites that had been in storage for about 4 years, and none of them looked bad.

Even if you roll it up totally wet, it will dry after a while.

I'm sure that someone will have a lot of bad things to say about my practice of storing a damp kite, but until I see some negative results, I'll keep it up.