For this Sode, you need nine 30cm (12") bamboo BBQ skewers. Also, you need to cut off six short 0.15SL (4.4cm, 1 3/4") lengths of skewer. The photos show how these are all glued together.
Two pairs of skewers have the pointed ends raised up off the table, forming the upper and lower horizontal spars.
The remaining skewers are just lined up straight, flat against the table top. This is the vertical spar. To make sure there is no kink at the joins, get your head down low and look along the skewers. Do a little shifting, if necessary, before the glue dries!
All glued and dried? Now all the tabs need to be folded and secured with clear sticky tape.
Up there is a close-up photo showing one of the tabs.
The kite is nearly complete, as you can see in the photo.
I was a little more sparing with the tape on the upper horizontal spar tabs, to help avoid nose-heaviness.
20 pound strength Dacron line is ample for all the Skewer Series kites.
All the construction details for the bridle are contained in the large photo below. Look and read carefully, and you can't go wrong on this rather important bit!
KNOTS:
If you are new to this, you might need instructions on how to tie the following knots...
Loop Knot
Double Wrap Slip Knot
Prusik Knot
TIP: Secure the slip knots onto the bamboo of the spars with a tiny blob of wood glue each, so they can't loosen.
ADJUSTMENT:
Once your kite + bridle looks like the photo up there...
Hold the short bridle line up so all the bridle lines are straight, with the kite laying flat on the table or floor. The Prusik knot nearest the sail should be shifted so it is centered - right over the vertical spar.
Referring to the diagram below, shift the higher Prusik knot to the shown position. It's not necessarily the perfect
position for your individual kite, but it should at least fly on the
first attempt! Later, you can experiment with shifting the position slightly, just a little at a time to improve how high your kite flies.
Cut out a long rectangular piece of dark plastic for the tail. Black garbage bag plastic contrasts nicely with the orange sail. Make it about 0.3SL (8.7cm, 3 1/2") wide and 6.0SL (174cm, 69") long.
As you can see in the photo, the ends of the tail are knotted near the tips of the bottom horizontal spar.
You will need to poke holes in the sail plastic, and then attach each end with a simple Half Hitch.
At this point, you've finished making the 2-Skewer Sode!
To attach the flying line, just Lark's Head the flying line to the short bridle line as in the photo.
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Feb 21, 19 06:34 PM
The workshops were busy near the beach in Ōtaki... ---------------------------------------------------------------- Kite flying is all the rage in Ōtaki, now that the sixth annual Kite Festival has be…
Wind Speeds
Light Air
1-5 km/h
1-3 mph
1-3 knots
Beaufort 1
Light breeze
6–11 km/h
4–7 mph
4–6 knots
Beaufort 2
Gentle ...
12–19 km/h
8–12 mph
7–10 knots
Beaufort 3
Moderate ...
20–28 km/h
13–18 mph
11–16 knots
Beaufort 4
Fresh ...
29–38 km/h
19–24 mph
17–21 knots
Beaufort 5
Strong ...
39–49 km/h
25–31 mph
22–27 knots
Beaufort 6
High Wind
50-61 km/h
32-38 mph
28-33 knots
Beaufort 7
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