So I want to buy a PL V13 from Kitesurfer. It's in great condition, aside from the fact that it has a top skin tuck in it. I don't really know much about this, aside from the fact that the kite will no longer auto zenith. What else does this do? Aside from the lack of auto zenith, will the kite still behave like a normal Venom?

Thanks,
Seanny

Depending on how the tuck was done, the kite should be fine and usually the top skin tuck is preferred. It gives the kite more power, better speed, less stalling issues and faster turning.

The TST (top skin tuck) was one of the changes from the V1 to the V2. There was also a trailing edge tuck that was performed which tightened up the trailing edge of the kite and improved depower and turning. Another mod was to shorten the top strap which also helped.

The kite should still auto zenith with the TST on it. If it is drifting off to one side all the time it may need another tuck. If it is drifting to both sides then there may be another issue.

As long as the mods have been done properly then you shouldn't have any issues at all.

Hope this helps.

He says it will drift to the left. I have no idea how to do a tuck, and if I had a diagram, I still wouldn't do it. Could anyone fix this for me?

may have an asymmetrical shortened lead webbing in hyper mod. hard to say

AWOC describes a TST...hmmm i think it would be a TE tuck, 10% of length TE taken out with a shortening tuck in the center of each cell. you can take them out as well as the webbing components added in the mod all really simple.

if it actually has TST certainly more room for error and strange behavior. but removal should restore to original.

the V16 i have from him as been modded ...but no TST. TE and webbing shortened. super rock solid.

I'm fairly certain it's a TST. That's what he says it is. He said he bought it from a PKF person from Canada (Didn't specify who, but I'm sure I could ask) and didn't know it had a TST. The TST was done by a Canadian kite dealer also on here (Not sure of who he is either). The kite has no tears or repairs... Still waiting on pictures, though. It also has other modifications... not sure what they are yet. He says the tuck was either too small or needs another small one. Should I ask him if he can put in another? Thanks for vouching for him by the way, Phree.

As long as I have this topic posted, what is the best line length to use with a Venom? The bar I'm looking at that I really like comes with 20m lines, but would I be correct to say that it would fly better on 27m lines? Does it matter?

27m runs most all very nicely. good power stroke size and can add a little in light wind. canopy shape and distortion with really short lines added with snappy quirks in behavior never seems propper with the arcs but with c-kites quite fun.

pic of the mod ? KS

Oh, okay. Bar was a 2010 Naish SLE 19-21". Comes with 20m lines. I really like it, very clean. But I don't want to buy extra lines. I'll just ask around here if anyone has a good Arc bar with the right lines.

Still waiting on pictures. He said he'd take some of the mods tomorrow and email them to me. I'll post them when I get them.

Well, I have pictures of the kite. It's beautiful! Looks to be clean and crispy. I was not expecting it to be so nice. It has a TST and TET, which look to be done very carefully and precisely. The front strap has been shortened. Essentially all the things that turn a V1 into a V2, I suppose. I asked him if he could make the existing TST bigger, or add a second small one, just so that it doesn't drift anymore. I can post the pictures if anyone wants to see.