Question to all who may know,
Kiting today in good, solid swell with around 25-30knts, 7mt kite and standard surfboard conversion (6'1 thruster). Wind across the swell direction, got onto a big, fast wave (6-8ft) and nearly lost it due to the speed! Felt like a skimming stone,, bouncing like a muther,, funny stuff but for a while there I could not turn??
Any tips? Different board setup? Different board? Thinking of converting a smaller (5'3) I've got so I can put the strap right on top of the fins...
Cheers, lovin the big surf at the moment..
Daaaave
i've felt like that before but on the twin tip when i'm over powered. Maybe you were overpowered? the kite would power the hell up with aparent wind as you sped down the wave face then simply tear you off the wave face. certainly i was unable to do a bottom turn upwind.
I'm guessing you were going up wind at the time. not down wind down the line?
If you were being pulled by the kite drop a size.
Board is tricky, bigger would give you more float but would slow down your turns, smaller would turn faster but would be less stable.
I was out on my 7m in the surf today ,found myself in that same situation on a couple of waves as well.
If it's not being overpowered due to kite size selection as you suggest then could be the specific shape or even just fins.
If it's fins then if it has futures or better yet fcs (they're cheaper can demo them and have non OEM versions available now) then have a look around for something that has a little less area. Where the area difference is is personal preference to some degree but you'll only know if you try.
If it's the shape the solution isn't necessarily shorter (shorter will reduce area and likely sit a little better but it'll also be more manoevourable which can mean that you find yourself in difficult situations more often, again where the area is is important). Really what you want is something gunnier, most likely on the narrower side all over but particularly in the tail (think pin or rounded pin rather than square or swallow), you'll also be looking for a different bottom shape (deeper concave/s and perhaps slightly more rocker) and lower volume in the rails.
Like everything exact length depends on skill, weight and conditions but you may find it doesn't vary massively from your normal board. Best advice is find someone local who shapes boards for other kiters, take your current board and ask a few questions/ have a conversation about what's working/not in the conditions you are targeting.
There are some people out there who can get away with one board for everything but I'd argue that even they fight their equipment in certain conditions and for the rest of us then having a selection of gear is the best answer.
Just my opinion
Yeh I have often thought about this, looking for the nirvana of boards when the high winds and larger surf is on. I thought more rocker and some vee through the tail combined with a pin tail would work, anyone have any experience with some variations? Also thought to look more at the tow boards for inspiration, a simular dynamic to what the kite surfboards are experiencing. I had a big wave board back in the windsurfing days that would only come out of the bag on the right day, never let me down and was awesome when the conditions were pumping.
Thanks for the replies guys,
Wasnt overpowered, 7m was enough although could have gone down a size in the gusts. But would have paid for it outrunning a couple of monsters....
Kite seemed to pull harder as I went down the face, cross wind conditions, and sometimes picked up more as I turned more downwind? My main prob was the speed, starting to outrun the wave and get out too far in front. Thought a smaller board would allow me to stall (rear foot further back).
Havnt got a pin tail, but will keep an eye out. And thanks for tips about fins! Will try a few different FCS styles.
No shapers round here that I know of that do kiteboards, but will ask anyway.
Tow in board was my first thought, those guys attach lead weights to theirs to keep em on the deck (biggest wednesday?). Also not as wide as a normal paddle style board, kinda like a short gun?
Keep the tips coming,, seen a few guys rippin at Margs on kites, decent waves too (but no chop! luck buggers)
Daaave
( wind and waves here all week :) )
what kite are you running? is it a low aspect wave style kite or a higher aspect boosting machine. My ozone edge use to realy power up doing down the wave face. it was hard to shut the power down. my little reo is the complete opposite. let the bar out and the power melts away.
). I tried to sort it by flying the kite a bit higher up in the window so it wasn't towing me so much, then try and wash a bit of speed off by ess'ing down the face and then maybe try and edge a bit against the kite to get the kite to fly forward a bit to calm it down, just my 2c worth.
I lift the kite higher(not too high!) in the window and make a run towards it when im out of control macking. You feel it, theres pretty much nothing you can do stall wise when your skipping like a stone. The other thing i find is dont take the drop to late rather use the kites power first and let the wave catch you up, that way you can keep the kite at the edge of the window and less powered. I dont mind taking the mega speed drops but only a coupla times a sesh cos the beatings when they come can be rib breakinly heavy.
Hi
May be it is big a 6'1 for 25/30 knots??
even with a smaller board with such wind you wont have difficulties for your transitions
I am using a 5'4 and for low wind it is tricky (15 knots) but from 20 you just enjoy the way it turns, and I have a lot more limits than the board 
it depends which range of wind you have more often
Your options are :
Don't race the line throw some powered bottom turns and smash the lip each time ( this will slow you down and turn the power into up and down as opposed to straight across the wave
Change your stance more weight towards the back of the board and get it to dig in to turn
A smaller board ( has the same effect as the above without shifting your normal stance as much)
The longer the board the faster it will be but ......it requires more weight to keep it stable and to turn..... Notice big wave (paddle in )surfers are usually fairly solid dudes. They need the long board for speed on the wave and to get enough speed to paddle in but then they need the weight to turn the thing ( adding weights to the boards also helps as the riders shifting weight also transfers the board weight to a different rail ( hope that makes sense)
Tow in surfers can use much smaller boards as they are not looking for speed as they get thrown into the wave by the ski they are then ( due to the smaller board able to throw much sharper turns )
From the original posters query riding a 6'1 in 6-8ft and skimming out.... I would say either you are less than 75kg, your stance is too front foot heavy for that size and/ or your board is quite wide particularly in the tail ie: square
A 6'1 with a pin tail would probably solve the problem. But if you have the kite for power go for a smaller board and enjoy the maneuverability and reduced swing weight.
The other alternative is cleaner surf ( more offshore ) when it's butter smooth even the fastest turns just seem to lock and hum.
also if people haven't mentioned it yet, if your riding stapped in and your feet are to far forward, board won't bottom turn well and could be a problem. If so just try diff positions with staps. If unstapped try moving feet till it feels right. But like people saying could just be the shape of the board....
