I've got a ew 3 - 5 mm abrasion holes worn in my kite, about 250 mm from a strut, one strut away from the centre, in a nice neat row they are too, just back from the leading edge

Damned if I know how they got there either, thought I was being careful.

Do I fix them, do I ignore them?

I am thinking be on the safe side and do something about it, what do you think?
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We're balanced together ocean upon the sky.......NOT!
(It's a goal of mine you know, the ocean, the sky, the balance. Newbies gotta have goals you know!)
Airush Flow 12 '05 / Switch 150 '04.

If the material has a hole in it get it fixed asap. If you crash the kite hard into the water, for example, the shock will be enough to turn that hole into a tear. I've seen a small pin sized hole turn into a completely ripped panel from the shock of crashing the kite into water. so get it fixed, it shouldn't cost much. Just patch it on both sides if its not that bad.

G'Day Padbury,

I sold a kite to a guy on the east coast and noticed a 5mm abrasion hole in ste same spot you mentioned. I told him to repair it before he flew it and he agreed. Three weeks later he rang to tell me that he tore the kite almost completely in two pieces from luff to leach starting at the hole. He had neglected to repair the hole. He then expected me to do something about his kite. Yeah Right!

The other guys are right, get it repaired, it is a high stress area. You can buy some sticky back tape and do it yourself and it will be fine so long as you do a good job it wont need stitching. I've had old school kites in times gone by that had been patched and they had been drilled into the water and beach countless times without further damage to the repair.

Repair method is to get some spinnaker repair tape or insignia tape from a sailmaker, they generally will give you offcuts of insignia from a scrap bin for free.

Cut out a patch with a radius 2 inches larger than the hole and another 1.5 inches larger than the lole. Make sure there are no sharp corners like a square shape. If it needs to be square or rectangular cut it to shape then using a 20 cent piece radius the corners. This will stop the corners lifting.

The two different sized patches are to be layed one on the top skin and one on the bottom skin, but stagger them so than the sides of each patch do not line up with each other as this will creat a stiff point and can lead to fatigue in a flapping kite over time.

Clean the top and bottom of your kite with soapy water and then rinse it really well to clean it. Do not use caustic or petro chemical cleaners or solvents! Once it is clean and all soap residue removed, let it dry in the sun until completely dry. Next lay the kite and the two patches in the sun to allow the glue on the patches to get warm 10 min ought to do on a hot day, then stick the patches on remembering the overlap. I usually put the bigger patch on the outside.

Once the patches are in place find a smooth hard surface like the hull of your board and place the repair against the board. Now with the smooth back of your finger nail or the bottom of a spoon rub the repair entirely to get a good bong. You'll know it is right when you get an even colouring in the glue (it will probably go slightly darker where you have rubbed).

Voila! Fixed kite, now go kiting! If the kite is ripped or torn apply same procedure but have it sewn also by a kite repairer or sailmaker, but pin holes and small abrasion holes generally dont need it.

Our old Wipis and Naishs 4 years ago used to rub holes all along the canopy against the seam of the leading edge. We fixed em like this all the time. A very common fix!

See ya and good winds

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I will fix the holes before flying again. I want to single out "Kitehard" for special mention and a gold star, for typing up and posting the missing chapter in my Airush owners manual on kite repair . I can't go wrong!

From the experience of owning older Wipika's... the ones that still had the raised "piped" seams on the LE and ribs, not the segmented ones with flat seams... it is well worth using the insignia tape to prevent wear to points on the sail where rubbing occurs. You will usually see where the rubbing is happening, even if it's just apparent on one side (left/right) of the wing. If it's visible on one side you can fairly bet it will happen symentrically sooner or later.

The tape need only go on the underside of the sail to prevent wear, as opposed to both sides for a repair.

If you inflate the kite on a windless day, or inside, you will be able to inspect the sail easily for wear zones by wrapping the sail around the airframe to see where it contacts with seams etc.

Most of this kind of wear will occur while the kite is flapping on the beach... minimise this time to lengthen the life of your kite... keep it in the bag with the ribs pumped, only pumping the LE once the wind is up.

Sitting in the sun (UV) will also "rot" the cloth greatly adding to the effects of wear.