Jzh_perth wrote: ↑Fri Sep 01, 2017 6:23 am
Mossy 757 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2017 3:18 pm
Duck tack you kick the nose downwind to spin the board 180*, with a roll tack you ride through the turn facing forward while switching feet (or not, it's still a roll tack if you ride out toeside)
Nah c'mon Mossy, you can't claim an upwind 180 as a roll tack. For it to be a roll tack there has to be a foot switch. I wouldn't claim it unless it was fully foiling either. It's a mistake otherwise.
A roll tack is a direction/sail change that utilizes kinetic movement to pump the sail by "rolling" as you come out on the new heading to create pressure on your propulsion sources (kite/sail/centerboard/foil/rudder) that generates apparent wind and therefore lift (speed). On a foil, it'd be damned near impossible NOT to use some roll for power as you did the maneuver, whereas in a dingy you have to use crew coordination and well-timed healing to get that same pump on the exit.
I'm not meaning to overcomplicate anything, but a roll tack is exactly what it sounds like, it's a tack where you roll to pump your keel/centerboard/fin(s)/foil(s)/daggerboard/rudder as you exit. Whether you switch feet or not has nothing to do with the fact that a 180 direction change where the direction of your sail/kite and your right of way relative to other craft also changes, while also utilizing a kinetic pump for speed is called a roll tack.
It's equally true whether your board touches down or not, just like it's true in a dingy where the hull never leaves the water.
Upwind 180 on the foil without foot switch = roll tack
Foiling tack with foot change facing upwind = roll tack
Tack with foot change where you touch down but still use a solid kinetic pump upwind to tension front lines and ride away with power = roll tack
Tack without foot change where everything goes wrong and you look like a total kook except for the last second where you pull of a nice clean pump as you settle into the new heading = roll tack
I think you and I would agree that kiting has a lot of specific vocabulary that builds on sailing, my point is just that "roll tack" denotes a kinetic component that comes from weight balance and pumping, as opposed to a non-roll tack like you learn in sailing school where you just sit there and let the boat/boom turn around you without using weight shift for your advantage.
This video is one of the best examples of a kinetic tack you'll find on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/m_0ziLpS9Bw