2010 11.5 Kahoona High-end freakout!

[matthepp]

Hey guys,
This is a follow-up question after an inquiry regarding bridle-stretching. My trusty 2010 11.5m Kahoona is starting to perform badly when over-powered in big gusts. I (200 lbs, intermediate kiter) ride in variable mountain wind so I love to hang on to my bigger kite to survive the lulls. Starting this past winter, and getting worse every session, the Kahoona 'freaks out' while depowered surviving the biggest gusts. In the center of the kite, the canopy just behind the LE luffs a LOT, and the LE tries to fold in. I had the kite invert twice, so I try to keep some amount of rear line pressure to prevent excessive luffing and just survive the gust. I make sure inflation is up to spec to avoid the under-inflation cause. I feel like this didn't happen last year in similar wind?? So my question to you Best experts is: Is this an inherent part of the v2 Kahoona design, is the canopy and/or bridle stretched, or something else I've not considered? Anything you'd recommend to give it a tune-up? I'm an engineer/tinkerer sort...
Thanks. I'm too heavy to make my 9m Waroo work in these winds. (That kite will behave in any wind, no issues!)
Matt

[RyanEvans]

Hey Matt,

The part of your post that offered up the most interesting detail to me was "I'm too heavy to make my 9m Waroo work in these winds." How much do you weigh?

-Ryan

[matthepp]

Ryan,
I'm 200 lbs. We get highly variable winds. The other day I was on the Kahoona underpowered most of the time, nicely lit 20% of the time, and had maybe 4 short bursts dealing with the in-flip issue. This on a 6' surfboard. If I'd had the 9m I'd be struggling just to plane/stay upwind all day...

[Matt V]

Some days are just like that. I live in the Midwest and we get great winds most of the time. But some days, the wind just rolls instead of blows. If you kite is inverting, it could be due to turbulent winds. When we have those, I just go in and call it a day as you you can't throw any trick in the book. Jumping even becomes nearly impossible.

I use the 2011 Kahoonas along with 1 2012. I also have some time on a beat up 11.5m 2010 Kahoona that a friend owns. It is a much more twichy kite than my 2011's. It really turns fast and somewhat unpredictable compared to my 2011's. The canopy on this 2010 11.5 is at the end of it's life but it is not really terrible with regards to control. It is, however, falling apart.

I would go through the bridles and make sure that everything is in the right place. Sounds stupid, but I once helped a guy who had connected his steering lines to the front of the kite and power lines to the steering attachment points. The kite kind of worked better after we straighten that out. Not saying that you did that.....

In the end, if the kite inverts more than once in the first few runs, go home and wait for good wind or move to the coast where they only worry about rotor. I have seen advanced kiters from ideal kiting locations come here and not be able to make it upwind when I can stay up wind but cannot even name the tricks they are throwing. We do not live in a great place to kite, but you can kite here. Keep it safe, and don't get your local spot banned from kiteboarding posthumously in your name.

[NICKM]

I know this is an old thread but i've been absent for a while and wanted to hit on a few topics around the threads.

I had a 2010 V2 11.5/7.5. My 11.5 did well in moderate gusts however my 7.5 tried to kill me on a regular basis. gnarly ditches and yanks.

The best way i found to help this is two things: 1. pump, pump, pump. That sucker should be wicked hard. 2. fly with one eye on the kite. Mine had a tell tale sign of the leading edge deforming before the Oh SH** moment happened. i would usually veer off down wind and regain control.

Have you got a new kite or figured the bridle lengths?

[matthepp]

Nick,
Thanks for your input. I have a new kite, but still try to fly the trusty old Kahoona on snow when conditions might be abusive to the new gear. The last session was pretty miserable so I might retire the kite entirely. The LE deformation you talk about is exactly what happens to me too. That same day I traded off on a friend's brand new OR tube kite, which not only performed well, but offered up nice big controlled boosts. That really made the rest of my Kahoona survival session disappointing...