I'm always looking for new ways to play with my kites & have a pair of water skis that have been collecting dust for the last 8 years, so I'm
wondering if the 2 can work together. Has anyone tried this? Would I be an idiot for doing so? Any thoughts?
Cory Roesler ( sp ) was one of the 1st kiters on water . He used water skis and his kiteski set-up. Search his name or kiteski for a bit of history.
It can be done but for reasons I don't know it never took off. Even Cory moved to a sort of mono ski / board thing pretty fast ? Getting upwind was
the challenge back then and I think water skis fell short. I suspect with the newer kites this is do-able?
I have threatened to try this myself ! Please give it a go and report back to us !
Thanks for the quick reply. I will definately give it a go; but it will have to wait till this spring. I'm in Homer, Alaska & lately it's been
between 2 & 12 degrees (farenheit) outside. My wetsuit isn't thick enough for me to be that brave. Kite skiing has been great though. I'm
helping to organise the Kite Festival we're hosting this summer, I think I'll bring my water skis to that just to get a good laugh out of the "what
the..." looks that I'm sure will come my way! haha. Will report back the first chance I get to dive in & try it!
I think I could hold an edge upwind at least as good on skis as I could a kiteboard. Big rudders and two edges help with holding angle. My planing
speed is about the same on both. I've threatened to try this since I'm so comfortable on skis. I see it being alot of trouble if you lose a ski. I
think I'd want hiwrap bindings to keep secure but then again, that's dangerous without both feet on the same ski. Its just less to keep pointed the
right direction if you have 1 kiteboard instead of 2 skis. Other than that, there shouldn't be any reason skis wouldn't work.
Coastal Wind Sports Team Rider Landsegler Disc wheels
PTW Hero Buggy - XXtreme ApeXX Buggy US 88 - Libre Hardcore IvanpahBuggyExpo.com Youtube link
Bob Muse
HQ Montana X 8m, Montana IX 12m, HQ Ignition LEI 5m,
PL Phantom 12m, 15m, Big Blu 24m+, Synergy 10m, Venom 10m, 13m , Phantom II 12m Vapors 3.8, 5.4, Crosskite Sonic 7m, PKD Combat 10.3m
Uturn Butane 2.5m PKD Buster 3m Genetrix Hydra 7m Ozone Yakuza GT 14m
:eureka: I know that using water ski's i can pull the back of my fathers boat around so i don't see why you wouldn't be able to hold an edge and if
youre woried about the two ski problem just use one (Slolome Ski) having said
this i Just built a ply board waiting on pads and straps total cost 80 bucks
either way i still have my water skis will probably give it a go:karate:
Kiting The Natural High
\"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always
long to return.\" Leonardo da Vinci
Ok, I finally got out there & tried it!
The wind was 18-20knots & I was on an 18m Best C-kite. The combination seemed to work well. It definitely takes more wind & a bigger kite to
get going on skis than a board. I wasn't able to go upwind, but that's probably because I haven't been on a pair of waterskis in about 15 years. I
only did a few short runs. I'm sure as I spend more time out there I'll get it dialed in. I spent about 4 hours on my kiteboard riding hard before
I strapped on the skis, so exhaustion was a factor as well. All in all it was an interesting ride, felt very strange at first, but kinda cool. It
forced me to use muscles I haven't used much, so by the end of the few runs my calves were burning. One other issue I had was that my legs kept
catching on the water as I leaned against the kite, which made it a bit more difficult. The water very choppy which didn't help things any. I will
try this again soon, but i think I'll reserve the skis for calmer water, I think it'll be a lot easier then.
Land Quiver: Peter Lynn Lynx 7m, Peter Lynn Leopard 9m, Flysurfer Speed2 6m, Flysurfer Viron 2.5m, Peter Lynn Phantom 12m, Venom 16m
Water Quiver: Ozone Uno 2.5m, Naish Cult 4.5m, Flexifoil ION3 5.5m, 2013 Peter Lynn Escape 7m, Naish Cult 9m, Vari Vulcan 9m, Epic Renegade 11m, Peter
Lynn Escape 11m V5, Maui Cloud 17m
Kiting Toys: Flexifoil buggy (now with kite bike mod), Peter Lynn Buggy, MBS Comp 90 ATB, Flexboardz Haize ATB, home made skates (now with shocks),
skis, snowboard, home made ice skates (3.5ft long), Progressive Phish 136kiteboard, Progressive Phish 3D 141 kiteboard, Peter Lynn Kite Cat, WindRider
16 Trimaran & a variety of bizzare\"work in progress\" contraptions.
I saw a guy using water ski's at the gorge games blow out which is a famous downwinder
he was haulin on those things.
this must have been at least 5-6 years ago though. back when 4 line C-kites were the norm. I talked to a local about it and I guess this guy did it
every year
I think he used ski's because his goal was to go straight down wind as fast as possible
Back in the day (even before I got into kiting)... Some of the original water kiting pioneers first used water skis. I saw Cory Roeseler use skis in
the Gorge Blowout a 16 mile downwinder from Stevenson to Hood River back in '99 (my last windsurfing trip there since taking up kiting). He smoked
everyone (kiters and windsurfers). Probably the last time anyone used skis on water though (too kooky to be cool).
That's it. If I get some wind this weekend, I'm doing this. I can water ski with my eyes closed and in my sleep. I think the skis will have more
float than even a big board, but we'll see. I might not look cool but I'll be on the water. I have a wakeboard but I'm afraid it is too small to
give me enough float to be able to edge upwind. If the skis go well, I might try the board too. I'll have a boat for rescues, if necessary.
Coastal Wind Sports Team Rider Landsegler Disc wheels
PTW Hero Buggy - XXtreme ApeXX Buggy US 88 - Libre Hardcore IvanpahBuggyExpo.com Youtube link
Bob Muse
HQ Montana X 8m, Montana IX 12m, HQ Ignition LEI 5m,
PL Phantom 12m, 15m, Big Blu 24m+, Synergy 10m, Venom 10m, 13m , Phantom II 12m Vapors 3.8, 5.4, Crosskite Sonic 7m, PKD Combat 10.3m
Uturn Butane 2.5m PKD Buster 3m Genetrix Hydra 7m Ozone Yakuza GT 14m
Thanks Phree. I think I already had all that in my head but it helps to hear someone say it. My decades of experience behind the boat and a year of
making the buggy take me where I want to go should give me a leg up on the necessity to keep enough power on tap to stay on top of the water. I'll
hope for enough wind to be well powered. We have wind today and yesterday so that means it could be gone by the weekend.
Coastal Wind Sports Team Rider Landsegler Disc wheels
PTW Hero Buggy - XXtreme ApeXX Buggy US 88 - Libre Hardcore IvanpahBuggyExpo.com Youtube link
Bob Muse
HQ Montana X 8m, Montana IX 12m, HQ Ignition LEI 5m,
PL Phantom 12m, 15m, Big Blu 24m+, Synergy 10m, Venom 10m, 13m , Phantom II 12m Vapors 3.8, 5.4, Crosskite Sonic 7m, PKD Combat 10.3m
Uturn Butane 2.5m PKD Buster 3m Genetrix Hydra 7m Ozone Yakuza GT 14m
It was wakeboarding's first true spark as well, it just took about 70 years to take hold. I guess us kite folk are more of the early adopter type.
The issue I'm concerned with is handling the kite well enough to deal with the wide turns a pair of skis is going to need. I will need to be well
powered and keep the kite well enough ahead of my turn to stay powered. If I use more high performance skis, they will have more rocker and less
float.
Coastal Wind Sports Team Rider Landsegler Disc wheels
PTW Hero Buggy - XXtreme ApeXX Buggy US 88 - Libre Hardcore IvanpahBuggyExpo.com Youtube link
Bob Muse
HQ Montana X 8m, Montana IX 12m, HQ Ignition LEI 5m,
PL Phantom 12m, 15m, Big Blu 24m+, Synergy 10m, Venom 10m, 13m , Phantom II 12m Vapors 3.8, 5.4, Crosskite Sonic 7m, PKD Combat 10.3m
Uturn Butane 2.5m PKD Buster 3m Genetrix Hydra 7m Ozone Yakuza GT 14m