Another reel leash injury

[tonycp]

Mel,

You are probably right that the snagging happened after a previous fall, and that i did not notice it - i guess i should take that away as 1 lesson - if the leash is on, make sure from time to time that is it also unsnagged.

The thought about a bright floating reel was this - if the reel releases its safety device (maybe velcro, maybe something else), then retrieving the reel or some point on the leash might be easier than retrieving the board, which might be a long way upwind. Of course, if the retract spring is too strong, the reel will just end up at the board, as you say.


Tony

[Bintan Kiter]

Bart, I suppose this could happen if you extended the leash with a fixed leash as well. If the fixed portion which is dragged along in the water springs back and gets caught around the reel or parts of the harness, it will in effect be a fixed leash which could then load and send the board back to the rider.

Hmm... makes you wonder about using a leash at all. Definitely better to lose a board then get badly injured. The problem with my board is it is not very visible in the evening hours. One evening I tried to drag up wind to the board and went to far in one direction. When I came back I could not see the board. Dark wood bottom did not help. Luckily I got it back when it washed ashore.

Pete

[chirojoseph]

hey boys..like the thread..but nobodies insulted anyone yet...whats going on!!

I used a reel leash for over a year. It NEVER even came CLOSE to causing me any accidents and definately allowed me to progress faster...less time spent dragging to my board. However, I always used the concept that was presented by somebody in the yahoo group way back then..concept of the weak link. I had my bungee connected to my board by an old piece of line..shoe lace or just some old weak rope that i had laying around..something fairly rotten works perfect. For me, the leash is convenience ..so If there is enough pull when the board submarines or I loose my footing during a 360 and the line pays out fast, the weak link just breaks and the board flies away.

i know its not foolproof, but i can tell you that in a year of kiting i probably broke that weak link about 15 times...and very happy that it broke too!
now, in interest of feeling less "bulky" walking around the beach and the fact that there are finally some other kiters at my spot I have stopped using the leash most days. ONly time it gets used is when its a sunset session and im all alone AND using a bigger, harder to relaunch kite. Leashes are GREAT when you have to struggle with a big high aspect kite 15 minutes to get it backup in the air...also great for the occassional swim back to the beach if something breaks and you are all alone.

weak links work...say that 5 times fast after a few tequilas.

ciao

[kiteboarder@pacbell.net]

"tonycp" wrote:
Mel,
...lesson - if the leash is on, make sure from time to time that is it also unsnagged.

"From time to time" is likely overkill. Mine ONLY gets snagged after retrieving the board, so just check it after getting back up from falling off your board.

retrieving the reel or some point on the leash might be easier than retrieving the board, which might be a long way upwind. Of course, if the retract spring is too strong, the reel will just end up at the board, as you say.

The minimal stock spring strength is plenty to pull the reel to the board (or vice-versa) if it comes off your harness.

[kiteboarder@pacbell.net]

"Bintan Kiter" wrote:
The problem with my board is it is not very visible in the evening hours. One evening I tried to drag up wind to the board and went to far in one direction. When I came back I could not see the board. Dark wood bottom did not help. Luckily I got it back when it washed ashore.

You ARE lucky. I lost my bright yellow board* one evening, with the sun setting upwind, & never got it back, since it's side-offshore where I ride (side-on where I launch**, but the coast curves away once I'm out past the downwind rocks)

*so I don't think the color matters much

**the worst of both worlds

[Protos]

I never had any snap back problems with my 2 Reel leashes.

That's because the webbing itself broke before the board could rebound!

On the bright side...this is how I learned how to body-drag back to my board.

[Fatolebastard]

Maybe I've been smoking too much bong or something so please excuse what is about to follow.

If a leash of any type could cause an injury somehow /sometimes and if you don't use a leash you could lose your board because bodydragging isn't going to happen sometimes then why couldn't you have a little "pop up sail" that popped up when you came off the board so that it would sail back downwind to you as well as being more visible to other dudes on the water.

Nah think I had better twist up and come up with another suggestion but......?

The fatone

[screven]

The way a board responds to being yanked by an extended leash is dependent on the board shape and on the attachment point for the leash. By experimenting a bit it is easy to find a spot on the board to attach the leash that will provide enough drag to prevent the board from making it the 16' or so it would take to get to you but no so much drag that it breaks the leach system. I can attach to the tip of my flat plywood board because the nose will dive into the water. Other boards may require different attachment locations such as between the footstraps with a bungy. It would be nice of the board manufacturers figured this out for their specific boards and provided an optimal attachment point.

Chris

[theflyingtinman]

...why couldn't you have a little "pop up sail" that popped up when you came off the board so that it would sail back downwind to you as well as being more visible to other dudes on the water....

I've actually been trying to come up with an idea like that myself this last week or so. I gave up an a "sail" as it would only work when the board lands right-way-up. What I though of is to have a short line from the board with some kind of self expanding or inflating 'ball' attached, that can be squished down small enough to fit in a little pocket or pouch on the harness (maybe of some very low density foam inside a lightweight plastic bag or ball that self-inflates like a Thermarest air matress)
When you disconnect from the board the 'ball' gets pulled out of its pouch and inflates and acts a bit like a sail but mainly serves to makes the board visible.
You could even have the top of the line (just before the ball) velcroed to a velcro tab on the pouch so for low tension board losses it stays attached and only deploys the ball for the bigger wipe-outs.
Steve T.

[tonycp]

Steve, I agree that this seems like a nice way to go - like the powder leashes for skis that don't tie on to your leg (because of similar dangers) but have devices to make them float on the top of the snow.

I think that your idea could be _combined_ with a reel leash, so that this eergency system kicks in only if there is so much pull that the reel leash would otherwise be dangerous.

Tony