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David Dorn's Plan
Here is the plan which David drew up (overnight!!!) for me:-
| David Dorn's 5th Line Retrofit Plan |
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First Things First ... What you will need
Firstly download the Shift System Manual from Naish's web-site you will find it here :-
Naish Shift System Manual
Next, you will need a single 27m kite line. This will make both the 5th line and the shift line. I suggest contacting
John Holzhall for this. ( www.kiteboardcenter.com ).
Finally, You will need an 8 meter length of 4.5mm Spectra rope core. Try contacting David Dorn ( fun@actionsportsmaui.com ) for a source of this. Alternatively you can strip the core out of some 5mm Spectra core rope. This is available at
mountaineering stores like REI. It's sort of tricky to strip the core out ... e-mail me ( bret@herschers.com) if you need help.
You will also need a sharp knife, needle and thread, a tape measure and a lighter or soldering iron to burn the ends
of the Spectra.
The Retrofit
Here are some pictures of how I implemented the retrofit on my Naish v4 kites and bars. You will need to make three components
which, using David Dorn's terminology are the Shift Line, the 5th line and the Safety Line. They are shown below:-
| Retrofit components |
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| You need to make these three components to implement the retrofit. Double click for full size. |
I will describe how to make each line in sequence. I am assuming 27m line lengths. If you want to use shorter lines,
just subtract the appropriate amount from the 5th line.
5th Line Construction
The 5th line does NOT need to be made to an exact length, I tried to make mine within about 5 cms or so of 20m, this
is more than acurate enough. Carefully measure 20.1 m from on end of the line. Cut the line and burn the end to stop
it fraying. (I use a soldering iron to control the burn) Take the sleeve off the line and cut it in half. Thread the
sleeve over the cut end of the 20m line. (See "threading sleeve on line" below). Fold the sleeve over leaving about
5cm of line outside the sleeve. Tie a simple overhand knot. Tighten the knot bunching up the sleeve until very tight. Cut
and burn the line end leaving about 1 cm of line at the bitter end. Slip about 3cm of heatshrink over the end and tighten.
This completes the 5th line.
| Thread the sleeve over the bitter end |
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| Burn the end of the sleeve to prevent fraying |
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| Cut the line removing any damaged Spectra |
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| Tie off in a simple overhand knot |
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| Tighten the knot |
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| Trim, clean and heatshrink |
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Shift Line Construction
The shift line is the only component which needs to be tied off accurately. Here is how I do them. Firstly you will need
to calculate where to fold the line. Here is how I calculate the fold position:-
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Taken From Shift Length Table
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For extensions of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 cms.
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for the Tail below the last knot
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For example, the Naish shift manual for a 12m v4 kite shows a length of 261 cms, the fold in the line needs to be made
at 314 cms to provide 6 tuning positions. You will want to securely tape the line down to the tape measure somewhere
near the base shift length minus 10cms (about 250 cms for a 12m v4). The folding of the line is shown below:-
| Attach finished end of the line to tape measure |
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| Secure the line at about shift length minus 10 cms |
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| Bend the line over at shift length + 53 |
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Next, you will create six figure-eight knots at the base+0, base+5, base+10, base+15, base+20 and base+25. Each figure-eight
knot will decrease the line length by 3 cms. This is shown below.
| Tie a loose figure-eight knot close to base length |
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| Cinch it down at the base shift length (261 cms) |
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| Repeat six times every 5 cms |
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Finish of the shift line by cutting off the excess line, leaving about 1cm of line. Burn the end to prevent fraying.
Safety Line Construction
Unwind your kite lines from your bar onto something suitable. Disconnect the leading edge lines and safety leash. Remove
the safety leash end stop shown below:
| Take the Safety Line End stop off the bar & lines |
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| Remove the top bobble from the End Stop |
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Pull off the top bobble.Carefully cut and pick out the stitching which holds the end stop together. Remove enough stitching
to pull apart the end stop as shown below:
| Unpick the stitching & Take the End Stop Apart |
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| click to enlarge |
Keep all the components. Re-assemble the end stop onto the Spectra rope core using the sequence shown below.
| Put a bobble on the Spectra core line |
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| Follow with the inner and outer sheathes |
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Now put the captivator and end stop on. If the Captivator has smooth Velcro on one side, this should be facing up as
shown below.
| Push sheathes together, add captivator and bobble |
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| Push bottom part together |
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| Tie a figure eight knot in the end |
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| Cinch the knot down tight |
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Pull the line tight. Throw in some stitches to keep the line taut.
| Put some stitches in to hold it together |
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| Trim and burn the end |
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The safety line is now complete.
Finishing the Bar
The end of the power strap should look like this:-
| Power strap end after disconnecting lines |
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Tie a tight overhnad knot at the bitter end of the spliced loop which ran through the middle of the safety end strap.
This is shown below:-
| Re-use that nice splice |
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| Attach to the bar with a Larks head knot |
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| Re-attach the leash and lines feed the safety thru |
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The final stage is to attach the safety line to the 5th line with a combination of a figure eight knot and a bowline
as shown below: The line should be way to long at this stage.
| Attach safety to 5th Line |
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To Stopper or Not To Stopper
Some people like to add a stopper about 5.5 meters up the safety line to limit the travel of the bar. (see
http://www.highasakite.ca/Safety.htm ). This does not seem necessary, because the bar tends to catch on the bowline knot in the safety line. If this doesn't
aways work, the travel can be stoppered by tying off the excess safety line in a double overhand knot.
Do You really need the Spectra Rope Core?
You can make the 5th line system out of two lengths of standard Spectra kite
line.In fact the North system uses two lines only. But the concept of using a thicker line at the base permits you to safely
hold the kite by the fifth line (without getting rope burns) and do controlled launches and landings, both on and off the
water. Check out the videos at www.highasakite.ca to see some good footage of this.
Tuning the 5th Line
Tuning the 5th line is an easy process for anyone who regularily stretches their lines. Essentially all 3 leading
edge lines should be the same length. Move the figure eight knot and bowline around until the lines are equal when stretched.
You should expect the 5th line to droop a few inches below the other two lines due to the extra weight.
Attaching the shift line
The shift line is attached to the pump leash loop using a figure eight as shown below.
| Feed the shift line through the pump leash loop |
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| Cinch it down to make a nice tight knot |
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The construction is now complete. You are ready to fly the kite.
Flying the kite
I am not an expert on tuning the fifth line (yet), but I have started with the line pretty loose on the 5th knot as shown
below.
| 5th Line attached to shift line at knot 5 |
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With the 5th line attached to the shift line at knot 5 (using a larks head knot), the 5th line will fly with a considerable
amount of droop. The kite behaves in a very similar manner to a four line kite, except in gusts where the line tightens up
and stabilizes the kite. Relaunch is much easier and self rescue pulls the kite OVER the water from the center rather than
from one corner.
Experiment with tightening the line and send me feedback as to how it works.
Finally, many thanks to David Dorn and John Holzhall for showing me how to do this. They are both super-friendly, helpful
and willing to share. Action Sports Maui also gives excellent instruction, so you should check them out when in Maui.
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