Arrgg. Tangled lines

jdubs · Since 21 May 2008 36 Posts

Whats the trick? so far every time I unwind my lines from my bar they end up tangled. Help a noob out. thanks

kyle.vh · Since 11 Jul 2007 713 Posts city of angels Addicted

when i roll them up, I put each line between a pair of fingers/thumb on one hand. Also when you wrap them around the bar, you need to go in a figure-8 pattern. that's kinda hard to explain with text, see if you can find a video, or ask someone at the beach. your lines, as you are suspecting, shouldn't be tangled when your rigging.

davidcomp · Since 03 Mar 2008 28 Posts

i have used this technique when the time is available while putting kite away, roll lines up figure 8 on bar while lines are still attached to kite, un attach 1 steering line first then unattach the rest of the lines and attach them to the steering line end.

Basically attaching all the line ends together after rolling up the bar with everything straight, should stay straight.

good luck and be PATIENT!

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6549 Posts Couve / Hood Honored Founder

Figure eight and roll them up tight! Should come out no prob. Two front lines in between your legs and back lines in your hands when you are running them. Should only need one pass.

Blue · Since 03 Jul 2007 469 Posts I used to be Obsessed

The problem might be with how you walk the lines. The lines should be straight when you start. Walk them downwind, hold two front lines between your legs, and back lines to the outside. Extend one hand all the way forward and up. Many times minor tangles will straighten themselves up if you give the lines enough room to play.

Another option is to leave lines attached to your kite.

SalmonSlayer · Since 27 Nov 2005 648 Posts Addicted **CGKA Member**

I can't sleep, so I will add my 2 cents. Some of the following repeats what is above.

When laying out your lines (I use four line kites)

1. Try securing your chicken loop to a branch on a log, put a rock on it or use a stick as a stake in the ground. This gives you the ability to use a bit more force when walking the twists out of your lines.

2. In the winter when I use thin neoprene gloves. The lines seem to straighten out easier when wearing gloves.

3. Put the two front lines between your legs, and back lines to the outside. Hold the lines in one hand with your arm extended all the way forward, When you come to a twisted section that is not working itself out easily, push the twist away from your body using both hands in a hand over hand method. If you still can get the twist out, step out of the lines, go past the twist, step back into the lines again with two front lines between your legs, and back lines to the outside. Don't worry if your lines are not color coded when you step past the twist. Just pick any two lines to go between you legs and one for each side. You can straighten them correctly on the last pass.

4. If you suspect that your lines are twisted from the last time you rolled them up, straighten them out at home before you hit the beach again.

When winding up your lines.

1. Leave them attached to your kite.

2 . If not attached to your kite, at least make sure the lines are in a straight line when rolling them up. Sometimes when you land in an awkward situation or self land in the water next to the beach and your lines are not straight. After you secure the kite, you are better off walking the lines out straight before rolling them up.

3. Roll your lines in a tight figure eight. Firmly pinch all four lines between your thumb and forefinger, so, the lines slide through side by side. This keeps the lines from easily crossing each other. If you just let the lines slide through your fist as you wind them up you are more likely to end up with a couple of extra twist.

Side note on rolling up lines in a figure eight.

Rolling up your lines in a figure eight instead of coiling them keeps your lines from twisting because each loop offsets the twist from the last loop. the way you store a garden hose is a good example. Almost everyone coils their garden hose on a circle. With each coil of the hose you add one twist and every time you pull out the hose you need to untwist the hose. If you wind up your hose into a figure eight pattern you twist the hose the opposite direction on each opposing loop. Because of the opposing twists, when you pull the hose off a figure eight pile it will come off straight every time. When I was commercial fishing, at the end of the season we would strip the webbing in our nets away from the lines. We would always stack and store our 50 fathom lines in a figure eight because it was extremely important that our lines had zero twists in them when we hung (made) nets the next year.

P

homerun · Since 12 Jul 2008 22 Posts

I have always been interested in the coil vs figure 8 wrapping of kitelines, bucked the common belief that the figure 8 was better, and coiled my lines, mostly because it was more natural for me.

This year my lines for my new kites seemed to untangle less readily while walking them (probably because of the waxy substance on them), so I started using the figure eight. Sometimes they walked easily, other times not so easily. For the last several weeks I tried it both ways, and neither method seemed better than the other. Now, as before, it seems to me that the only benefit to the figure 8 is that the lines may not as easily slip off the ends of the bar prematurely.

Obvioulsy fisherman are the authority on this sort of thing, but I have been too lazy to analyze it thoroughly for myself and wonder if others have had similar success with the coil method.

Interestly, I coil my hose also. When the hose nozzel is closed, and I turn on the spigget, the hose creates its own figure 8 on the spool when pressurized. Smile

I will try the figure 8 method in the future, as I do experience kinks in the hoses.

pdxmonkeyboy · Sun Sep 14, 08 11:11 am

everytime you loop your klines around the bar (without doing the figure Cool

you put a twist in them, Its hard to explain but its true. that's why climbers don't roll up their lines in a big roll.

Do the figure 8 and you should be fine.

your hose is a prime example of the twist phenomenon. that is way after its been outstretched all day and you roll it up, you have to twist it to aly flat on the hose hanger.
Smile

SalmonSlayer · Since 27 Nov 2005 648 Posts Addicted **CGKA Member**

homerun · Since 12 Jul 2008 22 Posts

Granted, the figure 8 method may/must be the best for kite lines, since hoses, climber ropes, extension cords, etc, seem to roll and unroll better with the figure 8. However, these examples are of only one line, not 2 or 4 or 5 lines rolled together as with kite lines. It also doesn't explain why I have had such success with the coil method.

I assume that I don't have much of a problem with kite lines when I don't use the figure 8 method, because I unroll the lines just the opposite as I roll them. Thus each twist created when I roll them is untwisted as I unroll them . Since the lines are lying on the ground while rolling them onto the bar, they are unable to twist all the way to the ends, thus the twist remains local to each length of the bar and thus untwists relatively easily.

I have definitely noticed that when I roll an electrical extension cord around my arm, it tries to flop around on the drive way all the way to the far end as I finish. Since it is able to flop (twist) several times to the far end, it then probably has the same amount of flopped twists during the unroll.

jdubs · Since 21 May 2008 36 Posts

Thanks for the good info. See you at the beach! Very Happy

hiker1 · Since 01 Jul 2007 125 Posts Portland Stoked

Good advice - also a noob and was wandering after doing the figure 8 to wind up the bar, what is the best way to tie off the lose ends of the lines?

Thanks Smile

Spike · Since 13 May 2007 1414 Posts Alameda Spelling Expert