So Thursday I took my kite out for a nice session winds 15mph . everything is going fine and 3hrs later decide to pack it up. Kite stake down, put kite down turn around and have a big gulp of water......all of a sudden i hear my kite flapping around, i am thinking the wind has just caught it. I turn around and theres a friggin pit bull tearing my kite up like a rag doll. I FREEZE!!!!!!! I have no idea what to do, i have tunnel vision of just the dog and the kite. all of a sudden i react, grab my 2 liter water cooler and start running towards the dog. (I love animals and would never hurt them unless defending myself) Owner sees me running towards his dog with cooler and starts yelling for his dog to stop, grabs his dog and pulls him away......The man is truly truly apolgetic and i am just looking at my kite with almost tears in my eyes, 6 months saving up for my Montana. On the bright side the Kite has tiny pinhole tears. No major rips. He helps me hold down the kite checking for damage while his wife is holding the dog off to the side shooting up or something i dunno, she just seemed to be in a rush, constantly saying it's just a kite. I explained to the man it wasn't just "A KITE" . This is a $800 KITE!!!!!!! I explained to him I didn't want any trouble but i pointed to the sign and showed him that dogs are suppose to be on a leash and what he expected to do about my damage??? He said well i ain't giving you $800...I said i don't expect you to sir. But what the hell!!!!! he said I'll be right back...left me with his wife and dog went back to his car and came back with $150 bucks. he said it ain't much but it's all i got. I kinda felt guilty cause i wouldn't know what to do if the shoe was on the other foot. I took the money and shrugged my shoulders and said we are even keep your dog on a leash. So today i fixed my wounded Montana........16 count'em 16 friggin pinhole tears i repaired......Took it out for a test run and kite worked just the same. Now all my dreams of resale are crushed.....when i do decide to sell it. It will be worth $100 I Use this kite basically as a 1 kite quiver type of deal. I can't afford a new kite.... WHAT WOULD YOU DO???

follow him to his car while calling the po-po on my celly. Get his license plate number and give to police and request his information for me to file a warrant and take his sorry P.O.S butt to court ! and he will pay for the lawyer and the kite and some punitive damages cause he was breakin the law when his mutt tore up my kite!:flaming: use the system , that is what is for. I mean why should you have to have a kite w/ holes in it ? you didn't buy it like that, but because of some law-breaking jerk-off your kite is damaged.

or there is always the fist to face solution. but I don't advise any one to break someones jaw. that wouldn't get the kite replaced.

I hear ya weldngod. It's one of those things that happen so so fast and i realize my mistakes and my shoulda coulda woulda's on my drive home. I should've taken his plate, i shouldv'e taken his info like as if it was a car accident......but whats done is done and now when i do buy another kite it will be full price or full used price, i won't have any money from sale to put towards another kite.

sorry to hear about the kite , man that sux.I have quite a few jerks who take their dogs out on the beach when you not allowed and there is a posted sign. But they live nearby and that makes them "ENTITLED". I hate wealthy people who think the world is theirs to do as they wish like they are above the law or something!:flaming::flaming::flaming:

Damn that sucks man. Sorry to hear.

Wow, that does suck. The kite looked like a giant toy to the dog. The dog isn't at fault in this case. It's the dogs owner at fault. I've known lots of pit bulls that are happy go lucky and as friendly as can be. I can't stand it when people don't keep their dogs on a leash in places they should be on a leash. I also know some police dogs that will rip someones head off one second when told to and then be a perfect happy friendly puppy the next second.

Good luck. Don't know what I would have done. Probably a swift fist to jaw. Or just a nice swift smack to their car with a socket wrench or something as I was driving off.

Scott

dgkid78,

First of all, I empathize with your situation. I love my wings and I don't know how'll I react if someone did that to my property. I had one incident on Nahant where a dog walked up to my kite while I was attaching lines to it. The dog was aggressive and owner a few hundred feet away. I stepped in front of the kite waved to the owner. Well, the owner did come over to grab away his barking dog and was worst than his dog.

Second, don't beat yourself down on how you reacted. Seeing your baby mauled is a pretty unnerving experience.

I'd like to hear from experienced kiters about their reactions to such situations and what did they do to collect the damages.

Quote:

Originally posted by dgkid78 He helps me hold down the kite checking for damage while his wife is holding the dog off to the side shooting up or something i dunno, she just seemed to be in a rush, constantly saying it's just a kite. I explained to the man it wasn't just "A KITE" . This is a $800 KITE!!!!!!! I explained to him I didn't want any trouble but i pointed to the sign and showed him that dogs are suppose to be on a leash and what he expected to do about my damage??? He said well i ain't giving you $800...I said i don't expect you to sir. But what the hell!!!!! he said I'll be right back...left me with his wife and dog went back to his car and came back with $150 bucks. he said it ain't much but it's all i got. I kinda felt guilty cause i wouldn't know what to do if the shoe was on the other foot. I took the money and shrugged my shoulders and said we are even keep your dog on a leash. So today i fixed my wounded Montana........16 count'em 16 friggin pinhole tears i repaired......Took it out for a test run and kite worked just the same. Now all my dreams of resale are crushed.....when i do decide to sell it. It will be worth $100 I Use this kite basically as a 1 kite quiver type of deal. I can't afford a new kite.... WHAT WOULD YOU DO???

The shoulda coulda woulda's do suck.

I guess the lesson we can all take from this is to get the persons personal info.

That wife would be shocked to fork out $800 for " just a kite " ! :evil: Sounds like He understood what damage was caused :?:

We all take the chance every time we go out of damaging our kites somehow. It is part of the cost of the game . For some of us it's a bit easier to absorb those costs. It's a major hit to you and I'm sorry !

At least if you can't sell it for much you will still be able to get plenty of extra miles on it while saving up again

Quote:

Originally posted by dgkid78 It's one of those things that happen so so fast and i realize my mistakes and my shoulda coulda woulda's on my drive home. I should've taken his plate, i shouldv'e taken his info like as if it was a car accident.

Thanks guys..I guess eventually when i do decide to get rid of it. maybe i can sell off individual parts of the kite and make some money off it that way. maybe sell the bar?? that should fetch something. i keep the lines as back up. M sure someone out there would buy the bridle maybe??? and even the pulleys?? LOL what the heck am i talking about the kite still flies fine but i think i would prob make a little more money selling off parts. No?

Have you thought about keeping the kite for as long as your can instead of re-selling it? If your kite and kiting is providing you hours of fun and entertainment every week, then perhaps you want to keep it to continually add to the quality of your life. Living a happy life outweighs any other forms of gain IMHO.

Kites are not the kind of assets that appreciate over time even if you have bought your kite at a hugh discount. The damage due to UV exposure (albeit slowly) and normal wear-tear would gradually reduce its value.

Quote:

Originally posted by dgkid78 Thanks guys..I guess eventually when i do decide to get rid of it. maybe i can sell off individual parts of the kite and make some money off it that way. maybe sell the bar?? that should fetch something. i keep the lines as back up. M sure someone out there would buy the bridle maybe??? and even the pulleys?? LOL what the heck am i talking about the kite still flies fine but i think i would prob make a little more money selling off parts. No?

Try not to think of the kite as an investment. As long as you're happy with the flight characteristics of the kite before and after the incident just fly it as usual. If all you do is worry about how much you'll get for it when the time comes to sell you won't enjoy that kite, or any other for that matter, to it's fullest potential whether it's damaged or not.

Clint

someone elses DOG attacked your personal property, just the same could of been you. call the po-pos and turn him in! Ask for a replacement kite or kites.

Sounds like the situation is long gone, and the owner of the dog unable to be reached. I lost a kite in a tree one time because of some junky kite killers, and I immediately got on the phone with the company to see what they were willing to do about it. They offered a discount on a replacement. I was a bit peeved about it, but they did do something, even if its not what I wanted.

I would have to agree with the statements made above. If you bought the kite for your own pleasure, and it is still giving you that pleasure, then all is not lost. Just keep it in your quiver until she wont fly anymore. It certainly is a versatile kite, and as you said... it is still flying.

I'm sorry to hear about the situation, but glad that you still have your kite.

kite makes happy had it out today again. New problem though LOL I need a new set of lines. It's seems my red line is longer than the blue one. took me a long time to figure it out though LOL kept looking at the bridle making sure no tangles and was just avoiding taking the kite off the lines. wind was 18-20mph and I was just not in the mood to dealing with it flying all over the place making tangles out of the bridle while i am attemping to get my board to hold down the kite. LOL

I feel your pain man. I live across the street from such a place and, as a dog owner, push my luck with the on-leash rules BUT my dog is under control and always leashed up if there is potential for disaster. We've trained her to be off of the kites and clear of the lines but that's only because I fly, right?

I kid you not, I was flying my Rage and a chocolate lab took such a keen interest that he TOOK IT OUT OF THE AIR! I couldn't believe my eyes. I was desperately trying to keep it up on one of those "where'd the wind go" days and it came charging across the field for the kite. It was all I could do to not kick the poor thing - I'd never hurt an animal either but sure came close just because it seemed that nothing else would work. No amount of yelling by me or the owner seemed to want to work. I ran to the kite, balled it up and held it high and the bugger STILL thought it was a toy and ran around e trying to jump at it.

Worst part? I know the owner of the dog - he's flown the Rage before and KNOWS what it's worth. He didn't say a thing. Lucky for me the kite somehow miraculously survived damage save for it's first red slate ball diamond stains. Now I only fly when I know the coast is clear or the kite will stay aloft.

Hey one way to think of it is when you go to sell it(if you do) and it does sell for $100, well, you did make $150 off of it already :D . So technically you "sold" it for $250?

Hi all new here.
No such thing as a bad dog only bad owners

One other lesson you may want to take from this. Being on a low budget. Don't EVER think you will buy a new kite and re-sell it for 1/10th of what YOU think it is worth. :!: I paid over $1,000 for that Naish I can't sell for $100 "It" happens !

If you are on a low budget and want to keep costs down + re-sell kites. Buy the model that everyone has been raving about second hand when the next generation has come out. I still buy that way. Partly out of habit and partly because I know the model isn't just hype.

You have a good kite that should give you a TON of good service so get over it ( I mean that in a nice way ) and get flying. You can always sell that kite MUCH MUCH later for about $150 or more complete. Add the $150 you have recieved and that's 3. If you thought you would re-sell for much more than 4 then read the 1st 2 paragraphs again :wink2:

Usually you can make up the difference in line length by adding a knot either at the bar or bridle leader, or both. Are you sure the LINES are different lengths ? One or the other may have slipped a knot ????

yup my red line is way off and one of my back lines is off a little. I attachted them to the kite stake and walked them out that way. I put some knots on the bar leader. it will have to do for 2 weeks till i can get some new ones. M sure it's time to change these. they are the original lines. colors starting to fade and gray lines look a little white.

Easy fix is to purchase a sleeving kit from your local kite shop. The one we carry is called a Spleever, made by Shanti. This kit allows you to fish your flying line through some sleeving material so you can re-adjust your lines. What you will need to do is to stake all four lines down on the ground and pull them so that they are all tight. Cut off the sewn sleeving from your factory lines and then re-sleeve the lines with the sleeving tool. Mark all four lines so they are perfectly even when you fold them over and then re-tie the lines with the sleeving. That way all four lines will be even again. You will lose about 5-6 inches of line but it is a heck of a lot cheaper than having to purchase new lines. Losing that small of an amount of line will not change the flight characteristics of your kite at all.

If you can't find a sleeving tool at your local shop, a quick and inexpensive alternative is to get a broken Guitar E-string (High E - the small one), fold it in half and use that for your sleeving tool. Push the folded end through the sleeving material, fish your flying line through the loop that is poking out of the end of the sleeving and then pull the E-string back through the sleeving with your flying line. If you can't find a broken E-string, Wall Mart sells a replacement guitar string set for about 10 bucks.

Hope that helps....
And I am sorry for you about the dog thing, that's just wrong.

WOW I am a Friggin Noob. I have never heard of such a thing "awindofchange" either one of those options. LOL I will def look into that. the only local kite shops around here are Kitesurfing shops. Not sure if they got a sleeving kit but will look into it ..thanks for the info

animals will be animals, esp when not controlled.

that kinda crap kills any session

owner was at fault that's why he gave $150. which really surprised me in the story. when you accepted the $ you took it for apparent damages. that's the end of it.
all flying kites are used. new is a retail dealer's position for the manufacturer. only occurs once. don't be attached to it.

The sail tape, line repair you're flying.you still have the flying rig plus the skills of repair AND $150.

the EXPENSE(not an investment) just made you $150

glad it was an easy fix

the gear is now "seasoned" and you have been paid to fly it, now your a paid professional.
the sleeving tip is great line saver BTW. i love replaying seasoned gear.

goldendmd, I wouldn't call it "seasoned" ,more like tenderized. ah jeez I'm sorry dgkid, terrible dam thing about the kite.but if it still flies, so be it!

Ya it's all good guys....she still flies like a beauty....really wanted to take her out today. While i was at work wind was blowing 14mph. now that i am out of work.....any gust you feel is because a flea just passed gas, or a butterfly fluttered by . LOL oh well. Sheesh i need a low wind kite.

glad to hear the patient pulled through