Hope you guys can help...

I was flying my Speed 2 19m Silver Arrow (Red Devil) about 2 weeks ago. Love the kite, but it seems to take on water very, very quickly.

I was about a 1/4 mile out in the ocean, and I dropped the kite leading edge down. I don't think the kite was in the water longer than 5-10 seconds before I tried a reverse launch. I tried it on one side only and that tip went up, but the other tip got so water logged in that short amount of time, that it stuck to the water which prevented the kite from going right side up. After a few minutes of trying, I had to do a self rescue, which was not fun. Lesson learned, will not go out that far next time.

So my question is, although the fabric is extremely thin, was that common for the speed 2 silver arrows? Is there something I can spray on the fabric that would make it more water resistant but not affect the flight characteristics?

Any advice would be helpful...btw, the wind was about 14mph so it wasn't due to lack of wind.

Thanks.

Isn't "FredBG" in your neighborhood? He's the resident expert on Speed2's.

hey man, i'm in LA too! Where do you fly it?
I used to have a sa2 and only once or twice had the problem you're describing, sometimes on impact it seemed to let water in through the vents - the material itself should be pretty sound - i crash my speed 3 all the time and its not as bad, in lighter wind it seems easier for a small wave to tuck itself into the kite though!
Hope to see you out there soon!

I dumped my 12m speed2 in the drink a ton a few weeks ago (my first water attempt with it) I let it sit for a while and it got saturated where it was just a dog in the air, but it would still fly with finesse. I'm thinking that the water surged into the vents when your kite slid into position to relaunch. I dragged my kite on its leading edge when I was trying to relaunch the saturated kite, which surged water in making it impossible to fly. If I would have let the wind pull the kite up without charging backwards, then I probably wouldn't of had a water logged kite. Now to find a way to remove that water so that it will fly again...if it would have flown it could have drained itself. Hope I was able to help, I'm definitely no guru in any way shape or form.


shaggs

Yeah, dragging leading edge can pump water into the kite - it will drain out though, just let it sit at the zenith for a bit.

The material does get old though but you can restore it - favourites are Nikwax Tekwash, a dilute mixture of silicon sprayed on or Seal'n'Glide. Finding the time and space is always a problem though

some say the sa2 doesn't hold air. i have the sa2.5 which i understand is an upgraded material...it hold air forever on tthe beach. i've not had good luck water relaunching with more than a 50% failure rate. good thing i rarely crash it..the crashes came from jumping/luffing in too light air.

@ BigKahuna - Good idea...I think I still have his email address. Met him a few times and brought my Psycho 4 from him. Great guy!

@ domdino - I knew you used to live here but I thought you were still in N.Y. . I fly almost exclusively at Port Hueneme. Got the parking pass so I have to take advantage of it ' Also love the huge beach and waves...current is a bit@h though. I sometimes also go to Zuma and Emma Wood. How about you?

@ Kamikuza - Cool...I forgot the names of those products. Have you tried them on any of your kites yet? If so, what did you think?

@ kitesurfer - I had heard the same thing. I also heard the 2.5 material was better and I definitely don't have that material.

Definitely think, the vents could allow the water in, but in my instance, it landed very gently on the leading edge and I pullled the rear lines almost immediately. I also have dropped it on shore and part of the trailing edge got wet from the tide coming in and it wouldn't relaunch...and I was standing on the beach!

Wish I had a way to test the porosity of the fabric...but then again, I don't think it's as important as it is to paragliders but I'm sure it still plays a part?!? Whatever condition it's in though...it still pulls like a son of a b*t@h!

Pete,

I just recalled that I used sailkote on a 13m Venom and remember that it restored fabric stiffness and did well in the water. You might try a can on the leading edge down a couple feet the length of the sail. A large goes for approx 16/17 bucks at West Marine or any sail shop....................

I bought a 13m Psycho 3 from Kami that could use a can (not Kamis fault)........he did rig it with a sweet Ozone megatron............thumbup:

Not yet - I was going to try Seal'n'Glide on the Speed1 ... but I sold it. I was going to do the Psycho3 ... but I sold it :D I'm thinking I might do the Speed2 but I think I need to wipe it down and clean it first. Unless I sell it

One of the guys at foilzone tried 3 methods - I forget the details except for the NikWax ... he said that was the most effective for the amount of effort involved, although it wasn't the MOST effective. If you follow me ...

Sailkote huh? Isn't that an expensive way of doing it?

Yeah, I've gone off the Ozone loop after it smacked me in the thumb a few times :o now, I'd just buy a Switch bar I think and be done with it :D