shortening lines Questions Cont'd

I suspect you need a splicing tool to do step 4? Have a look at Gorgos comment here for more details: (www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Replacing-Kite-lines-2?page=1)


Although why do you want to shorten lines anyway? If its a small difference in length then add some pigtails/extensions rather than trying to cut the old ones. If its a large difference (dropping from 22m to 16m) then consider making a new set of lines rather than reusing worn ones. If it all goes a bit sketchy then at least you have the original lines to fall back to.

The usual way to set line lengths is to stretch the line out with a 5-10kg weight (you can get near enough by pulling hard with your hand until the line stops stretching. You can see how the mark on the line moves compared to your tape or fixed point or whatever. )

Mark the length. Fold the end over at the mark and make two marks where the line meets down past the ends of where you're going to sew.

The best of all is to have the line pass around a narrow point (a hook or a nail or a thin line of loop) so it passes back on itself under tension. That's easy for bridle lines (a length of timber with nails to set the length). Not so easy with 20+m of kite line.

Use a soft lead pencil if you're worried about the ink.

You can put the sleeving on then fold the line over and match the two marks and sew. Cut off the excess and away you go.

Zigzag sewing lines is hard. Industrial machines have heavy flywheels so they can so slowly with a lot of power. With domestic machines you need to sew with bit of speed to get some momentum. If you sew too slow you'll get tangles (you can reduce tangles by pulling out about 20cm of thread from the top and bottom spools on the right hand-rear side of the sewing). If you sew too fast you'll get a wonky result. It's possible to sew the sleeving and not the line inside. Too many stitches in the same place are bad too.

You can make a jig to hold the lines by cutting a slot into a piece of cardboard so that it holds the line nice and straight and together.

You want to practice a fair bit. It takes a few goes to get the tension and speed and presser foot pressure right.

You also need to think how you're going to start and end the sewing. Self locking stitches usually end up in a tangle. Starting and finishing with a short length of reverse sewing usually works quite well (or you can do a full length down, turn the line around with the needle down then a full length back).

Most manufacturers have gone to spliced lines because it is easier and stronger. They only use sheathing on the ends that pass through the trim bracket.

Pigtails made out of 3mm dyneema at the kite ends gives something soft with increased radius for the line to attach to.

Sewing tension is not to do with length. It controls where the lock stitch meets. You want it to meet in the middle of the work with nice neat secure stitches on the outside.

If the tension is wrong you get loops on the top or bottom. At best it looks bad. At worst it can lead to tangles and loose sewing.

You tension the line to measure it because some lines have a lot of slack in the weave at rest. Applying tension pulls the weave taut. Expensive or well used lines are pre-stretched. It's an easy thing to tension the lines and it removes a possible cause of error.

You can tell the difference by putting a mark on the line and lining it up a fixed point or ruler, and slowly applying tension with your hand. The mark will move and move then stop moving once the stretch is taken up.