Flying a kite from your boat

ian parkes · 26 February 2008, 23:45

Has anyone ever done this , what sort of kite did you use .

Its something i have been wanting to try for ages , cruise a few miles into wind then launch the kite and let it slowly pull you back while fishing and the kite would also add entertainment for the kids

i would like to use a 2 line flexi foil kite but launching and controlling could be the problem there . It would be good to tie it off and just let it fly but be able to adjust the angle of pull

Biggles · 27 February 2008, 01:40

Ian,

Why not go the whole hog and do a bit of paragliding of your boat !

andyxs · 27 February 2008, 09:41

i have thought of this and could see a few issues with it. hardest part launching a flexi foil as once they are wet they are usless.and if there was a gust you would posibly get lifted out of the boat.

could do it with a proper kite surfing kite tho but would b a bit harder to set up on a boat.

The Grocer · 27 February 2008, 11:33

Has not some boffin come up with this idea before?

But IIRC it was for dragging freighters across oceans. (Doubtless a Googlemeister will dig something up; I can't be bothered ATM

).

Then again, with petrol well over the quid a litre mark hereabouts, maybe the idea could catch on.

Who just said "yacht"?

jyasaki · 27 February 2008, 16:52

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/01/kite-powered-fr.html

jky

BumbleAbout · 27 February 2008, 17:40

Shouldn't it have arrived by now (I couldn't find any news stories about the arrival) ?

Hugh Jardon · 27 February 2008, 18:04

down at pentewan about 2-3 yrs ago a chap there had a water toy in the water buy tied to the top of the a frame, he was also standing on the tube next to the aframe, a gust of wind came along and tipped the rib upside down , the force of the water toy flipped the boat, lucky the boat was only in waist deep water but the noise of an engine turning upside down is not good. lucky no-one was hurt

i would be very careful about tying anthing too big to an aframe after seeing that

Mollers · 27 February 2008, 19:08

Yeah, a regular one string kite will stay up all day as long as there's a breeze. 30knts+ tends to collapse them and they take a dive.

Parkesy, apparently the Missus' knickers, a length of bamboo and 50m of 6mm polyprop does a good impression of a kite behind a boat.

ian parkes · 27 February 2008, 21:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mollers

Yeah, a regular one string kite will stay up all day as long as there's a breeze. 30knts+ tends to collapse them and they take a dive.

Parkesy, apparently the Missus' knickers, a length of bamboo and 50m of 6mm polyprop does a good impression of a kite behind a boat.

Ill up the 6mm to 8 mm just to be on the safe side

That ship is amazing but don't worry Hugh I wasn't planning anything that big

The Grocer · 27 February 2008, 21:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by BumbleAbout

Shouldn't it have arrived by now (I couldn't find any news stories about the arrival) ?

Not only that, but it's on its way back.

http://www.beluga-group.com/News.72....775b&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=570

Thanks, jky

I knew someone would come up with the goods

ian parkes · 28 February 2008, 00:47

GIANT 11 FEET WIDE SINGLE LINE MEGA DELTA KITE
PROBABLY THE BIGGEST KITE YOU CAN BUY - AMAZING TO FLY! Item number: 370025548461

This looks like it would do the trick tied to the bow .

BumbleAbout · 28 February 2008, 21:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Grocer

Not only that, but it's on its way back.

http://www.beluga-group.com/News.72....775b&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=570

Thanks, jky

I knew someone would come up with the goods

"By maintaining a constant speed of 15 knots the engine’s performance could have been reduced by up to 20 per cent. The fuel saving, depending on the flying time of the kite, was adding up from 1,5 to 2 tons a day" - that is certainly worth messing about with a kite for !