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| Author |
Fish Repair (currently 283 views) |
| Dan Showalter |
| Posted on: February 9th, 2009, 9:00pm |
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Posts: 8
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Last time i had my Fish out a gust of wind came from the side and ripped the very top bridal connection tab and the main line connection rope out. (don't know what to call it, the line that you can hook your fish to your lifter kite line) It didn't tear anything, it just ripped the stitches out. What do you guys think or sewing the two "loose" ends back up to keep the thread from unraveling while still keeping the "pocket/seam" that the tab gets sew into open. Then put a piece of nylon strapping under all fabric and sew through that as some reinforcement as the small nylon cord used for reinforcement will be hard to sew back through. I will try to catch the nylon cord along with the strapping. Does this seem logical, or is there a better solution?
Thanks for any advice,
Dan |
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| Rod Thrall |
| Posted on: February 10th, 2009, 5:09am |
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Posts: 5
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| Sounds like it should work Dan. You have probably already thought of this but start sewing an inch or so past where the stitches are broken and go beyond the other end of the tear an inch or so. That way it will lock in the old seam to the new one. Another way to get started is to start with a zigzag with your stitch length set at 0 and make a bark tack and then stitch it with a straight stitch or zigzag whatever you prefer then end it with another bar tack.. |
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| Jim Martin |
| Posted on: February 10th, 2009, 10:19am |
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Frequent Poster 
Posts: 61
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| Sounds good to me -- if you want to post a picture of the damage, a lot of eyes looking at it might catch something you would like to have caught! |
Jim Martin
Founding Member, Wings Across Carolina Kiting and Okra Society
(WACKOS)
Member, Past Director, American Kitefliers Association
(AKA)
Flight and Safety Officer, The Mega Flag, Gomberg Kite Productions
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| Dan Showalter |
| Posted on: February 10th, 2009, 4:20pm |
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Posts: 8
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There isn't any damage at all really. �It ripped the stitching when the tab came out and it didn't unravel very much further. �The seam is only unstitched 1/2" or so. �I will try to get some pics of it and post them up.
I wanted to reinforce it since that as where the main line connection rope is. �(is there a technical term for the connection rope?)
Inside
Outside
Outside hole size
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| Kevin Sanders |
| Posted on: February 10th, 2009, 5:30pm |
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Posts: 7
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The reason the tab pulled out is because the stress at the time was too strong for the stitching, and not the fabric. This is actually a good thing, because the stitching is easy to fix - a fabric tear is more difficult (and you feel your kite is permanently damaged).
If you choose to reinforce the area behind the tab (which I think is a sensible approach), try and spread the load over a large area - i.e. a number of inches along the seam, not just a couple of stitches either side.
You might want to consider a "failsafe" piece of line between the tab and the connection rope - one that is small enough to be the point of failure, but strong enough to do the job required under normal conditions |
Kevin Sanders
Willunga, South Australia. |
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| David Gomberg |
| Posted on: February 10th, 2009, 6:15pm |
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Posts: 53
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Hey Dan!
Sorry you had a problem. Was your lifter anchored to the Fish (at the lifter point), or did you clip into the lifter line and let the Fish slide up and down?
The reason I ask, is that the lifter loop is designed to carry the load of the "liftee", but not the "lifter". In other words, we can't know what kind of kite or wind each flier will experience. You might be flying a small fish under a 252. The fish isn't designed to hold the Sutton down.
Here's what we advise in the Inflatable Kite pages: For smaller and mid-size inflatables, don't tie the lifter line directly to the primary kite. Wind gusts or larger lifters may cause damage. Instead, anchor the lifter on one line, and the inflatable on a second line from the same anchor point. Then attach the inflatable to the line of the lifter using the "lifter loop" with a snap or other slider and let it float up the lifter-line.
Hope that makes sense.
David |
***
Gomberg Kite Productions International
http://www.GombergKites.com / http://www.GKites.com |
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| Dan Showalter |
| Posted on: February 10th, 2009, 6:29pm |
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Posts: 8
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The fish was just clipped on the main line with a carabiner so it could slide up and down. The lifter was on its own line. I had stepped inside to go to the bathroom when the kite went down. The person that was outside watching the kite said it swayed/swam like normal and then it kind of jerked one way farther than normal. So my guess was a side gust of wind that caught it. It wasn't terribly windy that day either, the highest gusts that i had recorded during the day was 16mph.
David, would you recommend doing the reinforcing like i was talking. |
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| Darryl Waters |
| Posted on: February 10th, 2009, 6:46pm |
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Active Member It's not rope, it's kite string.
Posts: 34
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I had the exact same happen to me on mine. �Not sure the exact wind conditions as it was flying nicely all day, and I didn't notice the tab popped out until I went to pack up. �The tab tore out, a little stitching broke, but the kite was mostly in good shape.
I decided to do a stronger re-enforcement, and bypass the tab altogether. �
First, I sewed the broken stitching back up, forgetting the tab.
Then on the inside, I sewed another piece of dacron line perpendicular to the existing "super ripstop" line where the tab was. �I made the line go from the front of the mouth to about a foot back.
Then, I took a large needle, and threaded a loop of dacron line from the top, through the skin, around (diagonally) where the original line and the new line crossed and back out. �Tied my bridle line and pilot loop back on to the new loop, and there you go. �It's flown for a couple more years with no sign of wear yet.
I'd have to look, but I think I may have added a small patch of re-enforcement to the area as well, but I don't remember.
I do like Kevin's idea of the failsafe though. I might change the loop on mine to a thinner line.
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Darryl Waters
Providing a suitable anchor since the 1970's.
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| David Gomberg |
| Posted on: February 10th, 2009, 7:14pm |
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Posts: 53
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David, would you recommend doing the reinforcing like i was talking.
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Absolutely. And I'll talk to the factory about beefing up the stitching around the lifter loop.
Thanks!
David
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Gomberg Kite Productions International
http://www.GombergKites.com / http://www.GKites.com |
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| Alan Sparling |
| Posted on: February 15th, 2009, 8:36pm |
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Posts: 31
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Mine did tear loose in high winds. I repaired the seam and noticed there was a dacron reenforcing line stitched into the fabric under the attachment point (officially this is known as super ripstop). �I then went to the fabric store an found a needle I could thread 200# line through. �I passed the line through the fabric around the reenforcing line and back out through the fabric, trimmed it to length and tied a knot. Now the reenforcing line is taking the strain, not a sewn on patch.
Sorry, but I was too lazy to switch to my non admin id.
Alan Sparling
Gomberg Associate (GomAss)
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Alan Sparling
Gomberg Associate (GomAss)
Show Kite Forum Admin
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| PeterB |
| Posted on: February 16th, 2009, 5:22am |
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Posts: 5
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Add mine to the list of casualties as well. The same thing happened on a particularly strong wind day. No damage done other than the need for a few stitches to repair and a few more just to add a bit more strength. That said it hasn't done anything to dampen my liken for the fish as a great display kite.
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Regards
Peter Bindon
www.peterbindon.com
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| Jim Martin |
| Posted on: February 26th, 2009, 1:08pm |
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Frequent Poster
Posts: 61
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Semi related observation:
Flying big kites is going to lead to repair moments -- it is not always a flaw in the kite or the design, but si sometimes just a "something's gotta give" situation.
Luckily, big kites are pretty forgiving of repairs.
The Mega Flag was sewn-up in Kuwait using flying line from some kid's abandoned delta... |
Jim Martin
Founding Member, Wings Across Carolina Kiting and Okra Society
(WACKOS)
Member, Past Director, American Kitefliers Association
(AKA)
Flight and Safety Officer, The Mega Flag, Gomberg Kite Productions
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