Worth it?
great Idea. I has thinking off buying the Go Joe to prevent walking up and down the beach looking for the board. I am going to try the foam floats. I know I will get a lot comments but I don't care
cheers
I was considering one a while back, but never really got round to it....
I think the only time it will be a good advantage is when the current is running fast the opposite direction to the wind, ie, your board gets taken upwind faster than you can body drag to it. The float may slow it down i think.
Select to expand quotedusta said...
or you could learn to body drag and recover your board just as quick .
exactly, IMO poor instruction is the number one reason people loose their boards. Back in the days I was put on the board in my first lesson and a few weeks later, lost my first board. Didn't even practice upwind body drag in my lesson and was told I was ''good to go''.
For the cost of a ''Go Joe'' you could buy yourself 45 minutes of lesson in a quality school and learn how to body drag upwind efficiently and never struggle to recover a board again.
Most of the shallow water schools don't spend enough time/effort in teaching solid upwind body drag skills, and as a result, more students end up loosing their boards or even worse, end up getting a board leash.
I lost my board yesterday for 1/2 and hour. Damn thing just dissappeared. It was near a rip so i think it may have sloshed around before it got washed in. Thing is i could not see it. No matter how hard i looked.
Luckily i had my light wind board on the beach too. So grabbed that and blasted up and down the beach till i found it. . .
First time i've lost a board in a couple of years.
Will i buy one of these things? no. Its just a bit gay.
Select to expand quotePlummet said...
I lost my board yesterday for 1/2 and hour. Damn thing just dissappeared. It was near a rip so i think it may have sloshed around before it got washed in. Thing is i could not see it. No matter how hard i looked.
Luckily i had my light wind board on the beach too. So grabbed that and blasted up and down the beach till i found it. . .
First time i've lost a board in a couple of years.
Will i buy one of these things? no. Its just a bit gay.
how about one for the land board plums?
Select to expand quotekitcho207 said...
Much better
BUTT! (lol)
Needs to be strapelss
hahaha touche'
I personally think the Go Joes are great and a fantastic aid in learning to body drag effectively.
The main thing is the increased visibility of the board. If you can see the board easily you can drag towards it.
I think most people lose boards when they lose sight of the board then panic slightly and forget all thier technique and try and swim upwind with there kite at the zenith. The other common error I see are people just down wind of their board reaching up wind for the board and accidentally losing control of the kite and dragging further cown wind again Lofty always recover you board when you are on the up wind side of it. It's so much easier
A much cheaper but a little less effective thing to use is a child's arm floatie around the handle. Even if the board is upside down it is still more visible.
Those foam floats are heavy and very hard.
I nearly lost my board this year after nearly 14 years of kite boarding.
I over reacted and after losing site of my board dragged to a sand bank and ran upwind and started to drag again across the current. After about 15 mins a friend sailed off upwind to look for the board after about anouther 30 mins after trying everything including using my kite to loft me a few feet out of the water to give me a better view. I headed down wind to land. Luckily a guy in the car park told me roughly where my boards was I eventually found it about 20 meters down wind of the original crash.
The main problem was that my board is blue and black and almost impossible to see when it fins up in the water. I didn't see the board until I within 3 meters of it. I'm planing on vinyl wrapping the underside Fluor Orange or putting the handle back on with a floatie around it
Board could be bright pink but you still won't see it in the water, sometimes - glare makes them invisible, if they're not hidden in the chop.
Select to expand quoteLoftywinds said...
[br]Worth it?
I like the idea of being down wind and the board "comes to you". But what if you're not ready to catch it, what if the board whizzes past you? What if it hits another kiter?
Probably a gimmick more than anything.
useless... just more **** i have to pump up
Try this, about $7-$12 at almost any builder hardware outlet, including Bunnings. Its just a wheelbarrow tube - remove handle, put the tube under, then screw the handle back, then inflate the inner tube, works as well as an expensive go jo and can be simply removed when you no longer need it.
IanR, try painting your fins flouro Orange or bright red, maybe a 10cm wide strip across the bottom of the board as well.
Simple and cheap idea Steve.... But I think I would rather chance loosing my board than having that. Plus if I loose a bit of gear it always gives a chance of the missus letting me buy new gear..
B
I know it looks a bit "silly" perhaps, but definitely no more silly than the expensive version. Flouro or bright orange/red paint (or stickers) on fins and the underside of your board help too.
Steve's spot on about colour. Bunnings has every fluro colour of spray paint. Enough to cover all the fins in your and your mates' quivers of TTs.
Upwind body dragging = body surfing under kite power
If you call yourself an Aussie and you can't do this... Come and join my under 9 nipper boys any Sunday at Maroubra! Too easy
Happy to teach any Euro or Brazilian the principles of body surfing and then send them off to the flags to practice.
Select to expand quoteKitepower Australia said...
Try this, about $7-$12 at almost any builder hardware outlet, including Bunnings. Its just a wheelbarrow tube - remove handle, put the tube under, then screw the handle back, then inflate the inner tube, works as well as an expensive go jo and can be simply removed when you no longer need it.
IanR, try painting your fins flouro Orange or bright red, maybe a 10cm wide strip across the bottom of the board as well.
That's a brilliant alternative to the overpriced version. Thanks for the idea.
I used the tube idea for a while when starting out ( hand trolley tubes are a good size)
They work fine for a while but the sun and salt destroys the rubber pretty fast and then punctures follow.
Most people will have the skills sorted by that stage though.
If you want one for long term cough up for the Go Jo
I agree that this thing looks a bit silly, but it definitely works! There are more high tech alternatives out there, such as this pop up version, but I'm not sure whether this ever made it to production.
There is also a thread on Kiteforum.http://enserinkdesign.blogspot.com.au/2010/12/go-joe-pro-kite-board-retrieval-utility.html
www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2374442&p=736315
I used a GoJoe for a few months and found it helpful. I always was able to bodydrag but the GoJoe makes a lost board much more visible. Thats the main advantage... it flips the board rightside up and easy to see so you can bodydrag to it. The idea of of the GoJoe acting like a sail and blowing the board downwind doesn't work, but the higher visibility does. Once I got to be a better rider I rarely lose the board and dont need the GoJoe, but I still use heel straps as an added assurance in board loss minimisation.
Select to expand quoteaustin said..
to me it just screams 'kook' - stay the hell away
the biggest kook is the one with a kite in the air but no board. Select to expand quotesnalberski said..
I used a GoJoe for a few months and found it helpful. I always was able to bodydrag but the GoJoe makes a lost board much more visible. Thats the main advantage... it flips the board rightside up and easy to see so you can bodydrag to it. The idea of of the GoJoe acting like a sail and blowing the board downwind doesn't work, but the higher visibility does. Once I got to be a better rider I rarely lose the board and dont need the GoJoe, but I still use heel straps as an added assurance in board loss minimisation.
M8, i've used one of these for a year and a half and it sails so fast I have to loop the kite to catch up to it.
These things work. Most of you guys sound like you want a fashion makeover more than an adrenaline pumped kite session.
If you love body dragging so much just leave your board at home, don't forget your speedos, and snorkel.
I currently use a GoJoe, love it. Tbh I don't really need it anymore as I rarely loose the board and when I do, its generally just behind me. I leave it on more for the visibility at this point, my main TT is colored turquoise (Best Breeze 2014, the greenish/blue color scheme) and is practically camouflaged in the water I kitesurf in. I may take it off if I paint the fins in fluoro of some kind, especially if I can find a glow in the dark version.
General comments on the GoJoe 2.0 system:
- Visibility - it makes it REALLY easy to spot your board due both to the bright stripe in the center and the 3D profile. The GoJoe will pop your board right side up within a minute or two every time.
- Sail power - I agree with prior poster, it sails fast. I've had to catch up to my board after starting downwind of it on numerous occasions. It is more sensitive to current than you are with the kite as it just sails/floats downwind/downcurrent, so depending on wind speed/current speed and directions, you may have to actually chase it down. It does make for a lazier recovery since the board stays closer to you on a relative basis. If the current is going opposite way from wind, it will just sit in one spot until you go get it.
- Interference - none. The GoJoe doesn't touch me when fully inflated and I ride my normal stance so it has no impact on my riding. I honestly don't even think about it until I need to recover my board.
- Durability - I've abused mine and its still going strong just fine. Although some of the seams look to have burst, it suffers no issue inflating/deflating.
I was motivated to buy the GoJoe after I lost my board on my second independent session out. 6 year old child came running up to me from half a km away with my board. That day I had a GoJoe 2-Day air shipped to me. Never come close to losing my board since.
The quicker recovery time, ease of visibility, and extra confidence is fantastic for learning. Best beginner tool ever. If you are not too proud to call yourself a beginner, buy it, you won't regret it. There is a reason there is such a thin used market - no one really sells them. Aside from being a beginner, if you start working on a new set of tricks it becomes useful for faster recoveries from wipeouts.
More useful for TTs than surfboards though.
Select to expand quoteLoftywinds said..Kitepower Australia said...
Try this, about $7-$12 at almost any builder hardware outlet, including Bunnings. Its just a wheelbarrow tube - remove handle, put the tube under, then screw the handle back, then inflate the inner tube, works as well as an expensive go jo and can be simply removed when you no longer need it.
IanR, try painting your fins flouro Orange or bright red, maybe a 10cm wide strip across the bottom of the board as well.
That's a brilliant alternative to the overpriced version. Thanks for the idea.
That wont work, cause the tube will fall flat along the board on its side, theres nothing to hold it upright which defeats the purpose.
The GoJoe will tip your board over and will act as a sail then with the winds help it will travel down wind for you jump on and off you go.
I use it and love it, especially in light winds, you try body dragging up wind in 7-8knts.
Hi Peeps,
The GoJoe does scream "kook", but they do work. My issues with them are more from the fact that they are a band aid fix. Learning spatial awareness and good upwind body dragging will negate the need for such an ugly contraption.
Other problem with Go Joe is that in a strong wind, they travel VERY fast downwind. If your kite goes down and gets tangled and you cannot relaunch, your board is a goner. It will sail past you and you wont be able to swim fast enough to catch up with it. In this scenario, a late session in the afternoon when the wind starts to swing offshore means your board will be miles out to sea before you can think about recovery.
I am a bit old school in that I believe in learning how to recover your board without the need for gimmicks and gadgets. I've been kiting now for 14 years and have never lost a board and I have kited in places notorious for losing boards like Noosa River mouth in a strong run out tide, Coloundra river mouth, Dolls point, Botany Bay in a NE with R/O tide,and also Pinnaroo and Scarborough where huge deep ocean chop and sweep run with the wind. I learned the skills required early on and have benefited ever since. I emphatically recommend learning the proper way for the sake of saving money and having self confidence.
Problem these days is people want instant gratification, they'll pay for short cuts to be riding sooner and put aside the time and effort required to learn, but then become dependent on those short cuts and never develop the skills to go without the gadgets. In short, GoJoe's and leashes etc will keep you a Noob for a much, much longer time. Put in the hard yards and learn the essential basic skills and you will have more confidence and be better prepared regardless of your situation .... oh, and it will save you money
DM
PS. The wheelbarrow inner tube works just fine for a fraction of the cost of the GoJoe. 
I used a go joe for a couple months and I never lost my board! I did lose all my friends and my wife and my job and my ability to maintain an erection though
I tried the wheel barrow tube idea today. No good for me. The spray from the board would hit it. And cause all sorts of drama. Will probably end up getting the Go Joe now.
Select to expand quoteKiteHume said..
I tried the wheel barrow tube idea today. No good for me. The spray from the board would hit it. And cause all sorts of drama. Will probably end up getting the Go Joe now.
or you could learn to body drag ?
Surely this was taught to you in your lessons ?
