Hello!

I’ve been “just getting into” kiteboarding for quite a while now. Too broke to take lessons or buy my own gear I was talking to a friend of mine and he said, here! Have all of my stuff!

Now I know what you are thinking. You’re going to die! Take some lessons! I assure you that I have had a 2 line 3m kiteboard trainer kite for a good number of years and I have been using extreme caution, making sure I know my gear (as much as possible anyways) and the advice of friends who kite as well.

The trouble I am having is this kite seems to be rigged wrong and I cannot find any instructions on doing it correctly. It will fly over my head and fall out of the sky if I drive it straight up to the top of the window. I believe I need to make the back lines shorter and my main question is: Is this rigged totally wrong?

I am thinking that it should not be attached at the middle of the extension. I think it’s made to be attached with 1 end to the kite and 1 end to the lines. Also, What are the A, B, and C points on the line side of the extension. Basically in what conditions should I attach to which point.

If anybody has used an old diablo more than a few times: Any information would be greatly appreciated!

The A B and C on the line corespond to the three different attachment points on the kite.  As you attach further up the leading edge you need a longer pigtail to keep the attachement point the same relative to the back lines.  Looks like the previous rider went even farther and attached at a point halfway up the pigtail.  Your gonna have to trial and error it out a bit, but You are currently using attachement B on the kite so that is where the kite should be attached on the red pigtail. There are multiple knots on the other end of the pigtail to give you some adjustability when attaching your flying lines to the kite.  Use the knots farther from the kite (ie longer front lines relative to the back lines) if the kite is shooting over your head like you describe.  Use a knot further up if the kite is too easy to back stall.  Attachement A will allow the kite to sit farthest forward in the window and depower the most, at point C it will sit deeper in the window, depower a little less but give more consistent pull.  Point B is a happy medium and a good place to start.  Generally you want to find what works and rig it that way every time out, regardless of conditions.  The different options can make a big difference so while learning you wanna keep it simple. Plenty of time to experiment once your a little further up the learning curve.  For now just find a setting that works and stick with it for a while. If I remember right I flew my diablos on attachement A for max depowerability and the best possible upwind angle.

One more thing. If you found it like it is there is probably a reason.  Looks like he wanted to really shorten the front lines, but your problem also sounds like the fronts are too short.  When going back to a standard factory setting on the kite make sure your bar is also set up in tune.  As in all four lines equal when the trim strap is let all the way out and your bar is pulled all the way down to the chicken loop.  Check out any number of online videos about tuning your bar.  The way your kite is currently set, I would bet the front lines on the bar are pretty stretched and the bar needs tuning.

Thanks Brent! That is hugely helpful! Before the next time I go out I am going to check my lines and tune my bar.

Once I am ready to rig I will attach the extension to the kite with the inner most of the 2 knots on the kite side of the extension and the point that corresponds to the letter of front attachment point I am using on the kite. Then I’ll be prepared to pull the safety when I launch in case anything goes crazy! I have a feeling that is exactly what I need though.

It is definitely possible that the reason he had it set that way is that he didn’t know what he was doing either!!

Thanks again for the great info. I should have been able to figure most of that out myself, durr. Now I just have to wish for some more wind! It’s 15kts right now at the beach and that’ll probably just be enough to frustrate me more!