Wayne Dowler

Good choice - more varieties of the similar sail!! Yes, Race rods, you'll like them, after you get used to their slightly different flex than the 3 wrap! Sorry, but I've never had to use 2 LEs in any sail I own yet! But with the rod combo you have, most conditions are open to you! Again - don't get hung up on numbers!! Kiting is all feel, only you can see if there's too much flex, or not enough! Or too much pull for comfort!! As you get more experience, you'll feel the wind and pull something out that you feel will work! If it doesn't - change! You'll start to make good choices faster and faster, til you can nail it on the setup right off the bat! Takes a little time and there is no substitute for time on those lines!! Believe me, flying as much as you can will teach you more than any book! Yes the info in the book is valid, but until you change it into personal experience, well it's just words on a page!! Same with the tutorials, you got to put things in your hands and feel it, work through it!! Remember the winder thing? It didn't get better til you did it a few times, then it became easier!! Get out there and fly!!!

What fails first??? Most likely - YOU!! Sounds like you had the correct setup for those conditions!! Of course catching a wingtip or something, increases the chance that something snaps, (you make the wrong move in that much wind, you'll pay for it)! It is amazing that the equipment is capable of handling much more than we expect! But in conditions like those, it's us who get worn out first! How long did you fly for??

Only believe in the "hippy dippy weatherman" - "Today's weather is ...outside!"!

OH NO!!! Another using his Indoor, outside!! And video to prove it!!! What's this world coming to????

I'm guessing that you had the 3 wrap frame in it!! Gets too much higher and you'd be well served to put a vented kite on the lines!! Yes, you can fly the SLE in high winds, but the sail stretch that occurs will never be reversed!! You'll also find the venteds so much smoother, able to handle the gusts better, and just able to lessen any strain on you as a flier!! One of the reasons so many of us have such a variety of sails to use: we match winds to sails to get the best out of our equipment, everyday we fly!! For a simple set of choices: have a full sail and a full vent on hand to switch between, as conditions warrant! They overlap enough to let you fly in most conditions you'll encounter!! PS: since you have the handles and lines that came with the full sail, you can now get a "kite only" pkg that will save you having to get duplicates of things you have already!

Try that download on a 256k connection!! Takes forever!! Internet access at that speed is OK for emails and forums, but not so much for downloading!! But it's cheap and at least keeps us connected! PS: I did look through some of it, fairly dated info!! But to add to that info - ALWAYS leave your kite parked LE down and handles staked at the TOP! While the book is correct about staking at the bottoms and leaning the sail back, anyone runs through your lines, or a big enough gust blows through, your kite is in position to launch - unattended!!! Not good!! LE down position, staked at tops of handles, leaves the kite trying to fly into the ground if disturbed!! A much safer situation!!

Maybe not. Have you changed any medication lately? Hmmmm ! Let's see - NO ! But when I feel lucky, I'm usually lucky ! Watch out, it's coming Buy a lottery ticket, then!! Share with the rest of us!!

That's right, Nick. It'll be coming to NC (from TN) when my wife and I make our annual pilgrimage to Corolla. Ya'll must be looking into a broken "magic mirror" or something? Wish in one hand, s**t in the other - see which one fills up faster!!

Looks like you could get away with some 30's in there!!

Feeling old age Nick, not a kite!!

All banter is aimed towards our feeling better, not a bit of it affects the RNG!! Cold and impersonal it is!! Talk all you want - you pays yer money, ya takes yer chances!!

I'm in the inverted group mostly! I don't hesitate though, to roll my kite over to launch LE up! As stated before, you'll use all the launches!! With the LE down, if the kite falls down, just a few backwards steps will usually bring it back up!! Just remember to ALWAYS "park" your kite LE down and stake the handles at the top of them for safety!!

Yep - Skybond comes to mind as the only one being offered now! Used to be "Berry Blue" too, but that company is no longer, that I know of! Still some places have some in stock, but supply is dwindling!! See the lines?? Don't need to see 'em to know there's a kite on the end of them!! lol!

Please take all of this as suggestions, not gospel!! We've ALL been down the road of winding and it's messes! But those that really want to fly, figure it out for themselves!! Those that don't, won't! They give up, call it quits, chuck it!! It just takes practice (in any way you choose) to get it down to your science!! On the two winder method - still put a finger between lines! Keeps them separated as you lay them out!! And remember to still watch for "handle spin", it can put unwanted wraps in lines, really fast! You have a color coded set, so should be no issues at the kite end! And still remember to larkshead the pair together, even on 2 winders!!

Just for clarity... Are you asking about twists (spins in the line) or tangles (tightened loops around loops)? Different animals, totally different causes - might help the discussion to be fairly specific about this aspect. The few times that I used the 4 line winding method, I had twists, and tangles, both. The third time I tried it, I was almost to the point of throwing the resulting tangle of lines in a trash can and getting a new set... I must have walked back and forth for over a 1/2 hour and finally got each line separated from the others, one at a time, before winding them all together. I admit , this was most probably due to not being careful enough in winding and unwinding and the mistakes that could be made doing either of both incorrectly, although I tried to follow the tutorial step by step. The next thing I did was to read forum posts some posters difficulties with 4 line winding and unwinding, and I saw that some other folks also had problems. Some posters even mentioned using two holders or winding the line on the two separate handles. A couple of posters even mentioned that they gave up flying four lines, because of the line hassle factor. This is what got me to thinking about my experience with 2 lines at a time, with zero problems. I tried to pinpoint why the 2 lines at a time method for a quad, would be problematic in any way, and couldn't think of any negative, other than having to get another line holder, and one more trip from the stake to the kite. I then decided that a comparison between the two methods might be interesting, and I could prove to myself which method would be more efficient " for me". I am going to give the 4 lines at a time method some sufficient practice, to make sure I am not making any possible mistakes, and giving it a fair chance. Then I will try the two line method, compare problems, and time spent, and then figure out which one I will adopt. The ultimate goal I want to achieve, is unroll my lines, hook them to the kite, pick up the handles, and fly. I always like experimenting... Now if I can just figure out how to keep the earphone cords on my Android phone from getting tangled up in my pocket. I'm going to guess that if you had taken a pair of lines in each hand and opened your arms into a cross position, most of that would have come right out!!! I had a team member with the same issue of what he thought were tangles and an hour of set up in front of him! Could hear him cussing before he even got started!! I grabbed his lines, separated them and POOF, the twists, tangles were gone!! Looked at me like a magician or something!! It really can be easy!! PS: on the earphone problem - I use "behind the neck" earphones!!

It's all what floats YOUR boat!! Find a way that cuts down your time on setup and GO FOR IT! Sure winding on a single winder is probably the fastest way, but not if you have troubles! But that doesn't mean it can't work!! Take it from someone that switched after doing it "my" way for a while!! I used to wind each pair separately, using a figure 8 wind for 1 pair and then straight wind the 2nd pair right over them! Meant 2 trips to set up, BUT at the time that worked for ME! I started trying JB's method on 1 of my short sets (50') first, to see how that went! When I got that down, I went to a longer set of 80', and so forth! Now all my sets are wound the same way, by me only! I know what to expect every time out from any set of lines I use! Why is that important to me?? I had a stroke back in 2000, messed up some things physically, but not mentally (no funnies here)!! Having a pattern to things keeps ME straight during setup! It's also why I use a color code, to keep things straight and in order! So it doesn't matter HOW you do it - it matters that you DO do it, some how, some way, what ever works for YOU!!! If it gets you in the air faster - GO FOR IT!!

CB - sent you a couple of PMs to view! Any more questions, I'll be glad to offer help!!

See my post in that topic!! You can use 2 winders or 1 with each pair separately wound or ??! If that's what makes it easy for you - go for it! Much rather see you flying than untangling lines!!!

I did it another way - I would wind up one pair figure 8 style, then wind the second pair right over them in a straight wind!! The only flaw in your logic is the kite won't be stable during the unwind of the second set to the handle! IF you use 2 winders, run out both sets first, then hook the kite up and remember to leave it inverted for safety!! There are lots of ways to do this, use what YOU feel comfortable doing!! But as someone who switched after doing it "MY" way to JB's, I've never had any big issues using his methods!! Have I added my own little changes - sure have!! But they are mine and I do it every time exactly the same - no change!! Get comfortable with a method, any method and OWN IT!

As far as I know - NO method leaves your lines perfectly laid out on the field!! There's always a twist here or there! JB's method REDUCES the amount of twists to a much more manageable number! It's one of the reasons I use two stakes - to separate the handles, and why I put a finger between pairs - to get whatever twists are in there, out!! Following JB's method, you should never have to fish out line by line, any tangles! In fact, fishing out a line INCREASES your chance to get a knot, because that loose end can now wrap around and get tangled easier, as you pull it through! Almost every tangle or twist can be straightened out with just spinning your handles, either together for twists in all 4 lines, or individually for twists in a pair! If you can see where the twist is in your lines, there's a simple rule to follow - watch the twist as you spin the handles. If the twist gets bigger, go the other way! Count your spins so you can go back an equal number of times to a start point, then go that way from there! Only in bad situations should you need to walk your lines down to unwrap any twists!! Most times for me, this walking is only on my 50# x 120' lines! They are so small to see on a beach with sand!!

Both of yous: Real men don't use any sleeving at all Stop hiding behind that Rev in your avatar!!

Glad to hear the problems aren't terminal!! Yep, practice makes perfect, and once YOU find a way that works for YOU, get in the habit of doing it the SAME, every time!! I don't even like others winding up my lines!! I have a certain way and I do it that way ALL the time!!

PS: hat color is unique, lets my wife find me on the beach real easy in a sea of khaki or pale colored hats!!!

At least it's a "man" color!!!!! lol!! Red and black are my colors for the "code" I use!!! Handles have beads of those colors too, on the leaders!!