12 M Waroo 2006 tuning tips

[djmadmike]

I need some Waroo tuning tips.

I took out the 12 M on Sat and last Sunday and it tends to go into "fits" where it flops around in the sky like a dead fish and trys to invert. It is kind of freaky since it seems like there is nothing I can do with the bar to pull it out, other than let go (depower) and wait for it to hit the water and hope it does not power up too bad in the process.

Any thoughts? My 16 M Waroo does not do this, even when I was out in pretty high winds with it on Sat at Milly.

The 12M needed bar pressure at almost all the time, otherwise it would try to invert. If I could keep bar pressure on it, it was ok. I moved the stopper down from the top, but a strong pull would move it up.

Maybe I need to change the steering lines? I had them on the 3rd knot and I have the rest of the kite all stock (no pulleys on the steering and no front line bridle mod yet).

Maybe I need more air in it? I thought I had it pumped up pretty good.

I played around with the power and depower and that helped a little, but I could not get it dialed in to prevent the dead fish.

Any ideas? Thanks
Mike N

[mdh01]

Hmm...sounds like too much slack on the steering lines. I've never seen that with my 12m Waroo.

I tune mine so the rear lines are tensioned and the kite starts to reverse, then back off the depower strap enough so when the bar is pulled all the way in, the kite won't reverse.

Check out hte online kite magazine that Tighe posted a few days ago. There is some very good tuning tips in there...

http://www.iksurfmag.com/

Mark

[avery]

When at the top end of the wind range on small 06 waroos when you let the bar all the way out, and the leading edge is not inflated properly they begin to act odd.

2 ways to counter act this, more air in the leading edge and don't let the bar all the way out on the upper end of the wind range. Move to a small size kite.

.....or you could get a new 08 Nemisis from BEST!

[misterfun]

I've used the 12m Waroo 2006 and the 7m near or above the tops of their ranges. Like the Japanese Zero fighter planes of WWII, the Waroo represents the minimalist end of the design continuum, and endows the kite with a huge amount of low end performance. The trade-off is instability. Though the kites were touted as stable, beginner kites, I don't think this is true in winds over 30 mph.

I pump up my leading edges pretty hard, so I think what I've observed are general properties of this vintage of kite.

In high winds, let's say over 30 mph, the kites begin morphing into a crescent shape from the point of view of the rider. The tips start falling backward, the trailing edge becomes concave, and the canopy stretches to reach the expanding perimeter of the kite. The kite at this point jumps around in the air and just looks squirrelly. If the wind increases from this point, or gusts really hard, scarier phenomena begin happening. First, the two tips of the kite can fold in and under the kite causing it to go completely flat for a brief, scary instant (I call this "mayor mccheesing"), or the kite can fold in half (this is called "tacoing").

These outcomes are more worrisome than inverting, in my opinion, because they can cause the kite to fall downward into the middle of the window, where the kite can haul you really hard if it then re-obtains flying shape. Usually these problems only occur when the kite is being held in neutral position while not being actively ridden. While being actively ridden, I've never had any of this kind of trouble with these kites.

Honestly, and I'm a huge 2006 Waroo fan. I have to tell you, I don't think there is a magic bullet solution. The only defense is being really careful, trying to keep a little tension on those back lines, pumping up the leading edge really hard, and being on your guard in near-shore conditions. Also, make sure, as always, your release is within easy reach and that it works.

If you want more stability in a kite, look to the Cabrinhas, Ozone instincts, slingshot link or 2007 TD. Otherwise, be aware of the limitations of that now dinosaur-era Waroo and it will give you lots of nice rides, even in really high winds. By the way, the 16m will act the same way. It's just most people don't ride them in 30+ mph, at which point they will pretty much do the same thing.

There's a ton of material written on this subject in kiteforum.com, just search for "Waroo" and begin sorting through the pages. Good luck, and don't buy anything from Best that they say will fix it. Nothing will fix it--it's the kite.

[djmadmike]

Thanks for all of the feedback! Much appreciated.

The issues you described above are exactly what I was seeing, as it only really inverted 2 times on my, but did all of the other stuff quite a few times.

I am thinking on upgrading my 12M 2006 Waroo to a 2007 Cab Switchblade 2. From talking to Rob H, Gary R and others, it seems to be much more stable in the air. Hearther was rocking on her Cab SB2 with no problems this past weekend too! I have not checked out many of the 2008 and will have to pass now due to the crazy prices. Any recommendations/thoughts?

Thanks again everyone and hope to see you all out on the water soon!
Mike N

[JRN]

Mike, Look @ the BEST Forum. They describe a front line stopper knot mod that helps to calm some of the herky jerky movement you describe.
I've done it on my 7 & 12 and would be happy to show you. Jim N.