you should invest in a hairdryer and dry it with that after each session.

yeah its pretty hard alight.
I try to keep flying until its dry then pack up quickly before any rain wets it.

otherwise its leave the struts inflated. and half pump the le at home in the garage.

I find that leaving the kite near my laptop, opening the laptop up on the Kiteboarding pages on Seabreeze is great for a constant stream of hot air - usually takes next to no time for my kite to dry.

I've had print from one panel stain another panel when I've put them away wet. I hang mine by the pump up loop from the ceiling now or at the very least do a very loose fold and leave it of the bag if I know I'm going to use it the next day.

I made a rectangular rack from a length of 50mm plastic conduit 15 years ago when I started kiting. Two 500mm sections then the rest cut in half and joined with 4 90 degree joints. I made it as a prototype with duct tape and hung it from the ceiling in the garage with a scrap of nylon rope. It's been there ever since.

I use it all the time to hang wetties or anything else that needs drying out of the sun.

If the kite is damp I leave it rolled up and just sling it over the rack and it dries. Kites often end up damp from humidity after a late afternoon kite in summer. The salt attracts moisture and the kite is very wet to the touch even if it hasn't gone in the water.

If the kite is totally wet I M-fold it over the rack and it dries just fine. I have even dried a 26m paraglider on it after it went into the lake (sort of on purpose doing emergency training over water).

It is so easy to dry a kite that if the kite gets covered in sand then I wash it and fold it up soaking wet then hang from the clothes line or the rack. It's much easier to deal with a wet kite than a sandy one.

If the kite is just a little bit damp on the leading edge, or I'm going to use it the next day then I just leave the bag unzipped.

After most sessions while I am opening the strut clips I wipe the leading edge and struts with a damp chamois cloth. That gets off excess salt and moisture and removes dust from some of our more grubby beaches. It keeps the Dacron sections looking like new. I also wipe down the board. That gets rid of most of the excess salt water and reduces the risk of corrosion of the zip slides. I have had people try to stir me about it once or twice, but they can go **** themselves.

samokta said...
You only need to dry it if you get fresh water on it. Salt water isnt a issue. I rolled a kite away after it was drenched from a rain storm. Didnt get it out for about 3 months and now it has a stain on the canopy from what i can only guess is mould....It had a damp smell to it also.

I roll my kites up with salt water on them without a issue....

Salt water is quite corrosive.. You might not battle with staining or mould.. But it will shorten the life of your kite, especially any metal pulleys on your bridles or plastic on your struts..

But to be honest, I'm as lazy as anyone else when it comes to drying my kites.. I try and justify it to myself by thinking that UV is worse than water, so I can justify packing away a damp kite to keep it from UV degradation..

NoBS said...
you should invest in a hairdryer and dry it with that after each session.

Knobs? question answered

I'm troubled that you went to your doctor to see if your hands were clean!

Haha he may have a point

Dammien said...

Loftywinds said...

Jesk said...
Salt water is quite corrosive.. You might not battle with staining or mould.. But it will shorten the life of your kite, especially any metal pulleys on your bridles or plastic on your struts..

But to be honest, I'm as lazy as anyone else when it comes to drying my kites.. I try and justify it to myself by thinking that UV is worse than water, so I can justify packing away a damp kite to keep it from UV degradation..

Thank God someone else has common sense.

SALT KILLS MAN

The best way to look after your kite is to allow it to dry straight from the beach under the sun completely and shake off any excess salt and sand. Give it a good rub down with your towel and let it dry properly, on both sides. THEN pack up your kite.

If you cannot do that due to time/weather. Then as soon as practicable, take out the kite and let it dry at home.

And if that cannot be done, then take it out somewhere, anywhere dry and let it dry.

LET IT DRY, LET IT DRY... (John Lennon variant).

Quite an interesting topic. Is there any source to backup your claim that "salt destroys the fabrics" ?

Effect of salt on polyamid doesn't seem to be of a concern, while sun, for most plastics, is very aggressive with UV ray breaking down the molecular chain. Of course kite are UV Stabilized but it's only slowing down the process.

Salt will probably make the fabric more stiff and loose flexibility.

So the point is, it is better to roll the kite or to let it dry right at the sun ?

I personally avoid keeping the kite at the sun as soon as I stop kiting.

Put it this way. How did the kite come out new from the shop? Wet or Dry?

(Windsurf) masts are great. As a former windsurfer you will be able to get some (broken) masts. I have 3 of them hanging in our garage.

Freddofrog said...
The underlying reason why people don't wash and dry kites is it is too difficult a...

Correct. It is too difficult.

I can't understand why you would take a perfectly clean, dry kite (apart from a little salt). Roll it out. Risk abrading it on the ground. Hang it over a clothes line (risking more abrasion dragging and distortion). Possibly creating a set of point loadings by hanging it from bridle points. Then make it wet again for no good reason (risking forcing sand and grit into the seams and struts etc).

My kites have 150 hours each on them (I keep records). They are all in excellent condition. I am a touch obsessive about looking after them but their main reason for existence is for me to go kiting. They exist to be used and abused by me. The sooner I wear them out the sooner I get to buy new ones (it also means I have had shotloads of fun).

Washing clean dry kites is pointless.

My core sensor bar (2013) gets dunked in a fresh water tub after each session and it still looks like new. Its then left overnight on a clothes horse with my harness.

My griffin bar didnt receive the same treatment and its doesnt look anywhere near the same. 2012 bar but not used nearly as much.

I only washed the core when the sand really started sticking to it when rolling up but it is 4 years old now