Hi allWe have an early 2000's naish c strut kite. However it has a valve that has the glue letting go. I had a look online for how to fix it and it said to remove the bladder. Most of the kites that they were demonstrating on had a zipper near the centre however ours doesn't have that. Any suggestions on how to repair or remove the bladder.

Cheers

Hi Ziggy,

a year 2000 C-kite is very outdated & unsafe for kitesurfing by today's standards. It's not something anyone would bother fixing in the first place.

Do you have any experience kitesurfing ? Have you ever flown this kite you're trying to fix ?

Christian

NAISH kites' a good gynecologist is best' failing that the sail doctor is your man'' but likely to advise you it's not worth the hassle' but don't stress ill buy the off you for a bean bag project I've had in mind

Like Christian said
Your kite isn't worth fixing.
I hope you didn't part with any of your hard earned money to acquire it.

It's really simple to get the bladder out. There's not many places to look to see how to get it out. That's all the advice you should need. Let us know how you go.

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Airborne said..
Hi Ziggy,

a year 2000 C-kite is very outdated & unsafe for kitesurfing by today's standards. It's not something anyone would bother fixing in the first place.

Do you have any experience kitesurfing ? Have you ever flown this kite you're trying to fix ?

Christian

It is only a 5 meter and I am just new to kite surfing
I have a 10 that's a fair bit newer and will mainly be using that
We have flown it before and it seems to fly fine
It has attachments for a 4 line bar so we can depower it.

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Gorgo said..
It's really simple to get the bladder out. There's not many places to look to see how to get it out. That's all the advice you should need. Let us know how you go.

That's gotta be the best kite repair guideline ever

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Gorgo said..
It's really simple to get the bladder out. There's not many places to look to see how to get it out. That's all the advice you should need. Let us know how you go.

It has some velcro openings at the end
But I don't think the valve will fit through it
Do you think picking the stitches is worth trying

Where would you fly a 5 metre ?

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towradgi said..
Where would you fly a 5 metre ?

I'm only learning
So I don't really want much power

It will Hindenburg, fly deep in the window, chances are the material will be delaminating, in light wind if you're learning it will have surges in power, heavy to steer and have no depower. That's all the good points I can think of.

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towradgi said..
Where would you fly a 5 metre ?

In Vicco

As others have said, and with no offense intended, throw it in the bin. Even if you manage to repair it it will slow down your learning curve immensely. There are many perfectly good recent model smaller kites for sale here at bargain prices.

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ZiggyEwart said..

Airborne said..
Hi Ziggy,

a year 2000 C-kite is very outdated & unsafe for kitesurfing by today's standards. It's not something anyone would bother fixing in the first place.

Do you have any experience kitesurfing ? Have you ever flown this kite you're trying to fix ?

Christian

It is only a 5 meter and I am just new to kite surfing
I have a 10 that's a fair bit newer and will mainly be using that
We have flown it before and it seems to fly fine
It has attachments for a 4 line bar so we can depower it.

Did you get some lessons ? Do you understand your safety systems, how they operate and how to get out of trouble ? It not these should be your main concerns right now. The gear you are using is most likely unsafe. As djdojo mentioned it's a terrible idea to use this kite and definitely not worth fixing. Invest in professional lessons and with the help of your instructor, learn how to pick safe, up to date equipment.

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ZiggyEwart said..
Do you think picking the stitches is worth trying

Definitely worth trying. Let us know how you go stitching it up again.

stuff it with straw. It might fly, and it will also scare away birds

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Airborne said..

ZiggyEwart said..

Airborne said..
Hi Ziggy,

a year 2000 C-kite is very outdated & unsafe for kitesurfing by today's standards. It's not something anyone would bother fixing in the first place.

Do you have any experience kitesurfing ? Have you ever flown this kite you're trying to fix ?

Christian

It is only a 5 meter and I am just new to kite surfing
I have a 10 that's a fair bit newer and will mainly be using that
We have flown it before and it seems to fly fine
It has attachments for a 4 line bar so we can depower it.

Did you get some lessons ? Do you understand your safety systems, how they operate and how to get out of trouble ? It not these should be your main concerns right now. The gear you are using is most likely unsafe. As djdojo mentioned it's a terrible idea to use this kite and definitely not worth fixing. Invest in professional lessons and with the help of your instructor, learn how to pick safe, up to date equipment.

Hi I know how to use the saftey and it is now the first thing I do as I start getting pulled down the beach.
I have had 4 years of experience with sailing 2 years of windsurfing and a bit of wake boarding and surfing.
I managed to learn to windsurf in 4 sessions with only someone telling me how to steer.
Im not to worried about kite stability and all that mainly just the saftey and depower. (which this kite has)

My 2000 or 2001 model naish aero had a rear line wrist strap as a safety. If the kite landed on the water there was little chance of accidentally or even intentionally relaunching it so I never tested the wrist strap.

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simon78 said..
My 2000 or 2001 model naish aero had a rear line wrist strap as a safety. If the kite landed on the water there was little chance of accidentally or even intentionally relaunching it so I never tested the wrist strap.

The original 2 line bar had the wrist strap
But the kite has attachments for a 4 line bar
So the saftey is the modern chicken loop

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ZiggyEwart said..

simon78 said..
My 2000 or 2001 model naish aero had a rear line wrist strap as a safety. If the kite landed on the water there was little chance of accidentally or even intentionally relaunching it so I never tested the wrist strap.

The original 2 line bar had the wrist strap
But the kite has attachments for a 4 line bar
So the saftey is the modern chicken loop

The original Naish 4 line bars and kites also had the wrist strap. I had an Aero and an ARX, both with 4 line bars and both with the wrist strap.

On those kites, the bladder was removed through the velcro slot on the wingtips. It was a PITA to do, but was still doable. I did it on larger kites (like the 17), so there was no issue getting the valve out, but I can see how that could be a challenge on a 5.

If you post some pictures of the kite/bar it might help. The bar at least sounds a bit newer than what I remember an early 2000s bar being.

As others have mentioned, if one valve has gone, the other 5 valves on the struts are likely to go the next time you pump it up as well.

If you just cut some slots in the leading edge that will turn it into a foil kite, then you won't need to pump it up anymore

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ZiggyEwart said..

Airborne said..

ZiggyEwart said..

Airborne said..
Hi Ziggy,

a year 2000 C-kite is very outdated & unsafe for kitesurfing by today's standards. It's not something anyone would bother fixing in the first place.

Do you have any experience kitesurfing ? Have you ever flown this kite you're trying to fix ?

Christian

It is only a 5 meter and I am just new to kite surfing
I have a 10 that's a fair bit newer and will mainly be using that
We have flown it before and it seems to fly fine
It has attachments for a 4 line bar so we can depower it.

Did you get some lessons ? Do you understand your safety systems, how they operate and how to get out of trouble ? It not these should be your main concerns right now. The gear you are using is most likely unsafe. As djdojo mentioned it's a terrible idea to use this kite and definitely not worth fixing. Invest in professional lessons and with the help of your instructor, learn how to pick safe, up to date equipment.

Hi I know how to use the saftey and it is now the first thing I do as I start getting pulled down the beach.
I have had 4 years of experience with sailing 2 years of windsurfing and a bit of wake boarding and surfing.
I managed to learn to windsurf in 4 sessions with only someone telling me how to steer.
Im not to worried about kite stability and all that mainly just the saftey and depower. (which this kite has)

Select to expand quote

ZiggyEwart said..

Airborne said..

ZiggyEwart said..

Airborne said..
Hi Ziggy,

a year 2000 C-kite is very outdated & unsafe for kitesurfing by today's standards. It's not something anyone would bother fixing in the first place.

Do you have any experience kitesurfing ? Have you ever flown this kite you're trying to fix ?

Christian

It is only a 5 meter and I am just new to kite surfing
I have a 10 that's a fair bit newer and will mainly be using that
We have flown it before and it seems to fly fine
It has attachments for a 4 line bar so we can depower it.

Did you get some lessons ? Do you understand your safety systems, how they operate and how to get out of trouble ? It not these should be your main concerns right now. The gear you are using is most likely unsafe. As djdojo mentioned it's a terrible idea to use this kite and definitely not worth fixing. Invest in professional lessons and with the help of your instructor, learn how to pick safe, up to date equipment.

Hi I know how to use the saftey and it is now the first thing I do as I start getting pulled down the beach.
I have had 4 years of experience with sailing 2 years of windsurfing and a bit of wake boarding and surfing.
I managed to learn to windsurf in 4 sessions with only someone telling me how to steer.
Im not to worried about kite stability and all that mainly just the saftey and depower. (which this kite has)

Some good advice was given by a lot of people and when you start trying to justify your ability and how you think it can overcome you lack of experience then most kiters will have judged you as not listening and stop giving anymore advice. You money, health and the safety of others is best directed at getting a few lessons and leaving the kite alone.

Ziggy be Careful mate. When i first started kiting i had an 08 Liquidforce Havoc and my friend had an 04 Slingshot Fuel. Simply by having a more modern kite that could relaunch, depower and handle better i was able to progress much faster in kiting than him and enjoy the sport. I would suggest picking up a Cabrinha Switchblade 2010 + some absolute bargins on the buy and sell and are one of the best learner and intermediate kites out there.

After kiting for 10 years + i have gotten into foiling and realised how much i had no idea about this side of the sport. "Old timers do it, must be easy as i have kited forever ", how wrong i was haha. No shame in taking advice from people that have the knowledge.

I was waiting for the pie chart.
Can't remember the psychological term associated with it.
Edit: it's the Dunning Kruger effect

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Hardcarve1 said..

Some good advice was given by a lot of people and when you start trying to justify your ability and how you think it can overcome you lack of experience then most kiters will have judged you as not listening and stop giving anymore advice. You money, health and the safety of others is best directed at getting a few lessons and leaving the kite alone.

WOW! Spot on!

More on this here:

The world's gone Gay ' not that there's anything wrong with that' a great sign of ball size is what kite you fly' early c kite' sir take a bow' you've a fine pair

Pull the bladder out through the hole that can be accessed at the end of the leading edge.
Remove ALL valves and re glue them. Re install the bladder WITHOUT twisting it.
Fly the kite if you must but you're waaaay better off chucking it and getting something more modern. A 5m is worse than useless ESPECIALLY for learning. It will give no power and no pull and just leave you tea bagging about in the water.
A nice 9m Bow type kite , minimum 2015 will actually be a usable kite.Should cost you about $500 and you won't even really outgrow it.

To relaunch the naish aero I pulled the bar back behind my head and swum downwind toward the kite 4 or so meters quickly, hoping it would roll onto its side, or a position to relaunch from, trying not to get tangled in any of the 4 lines!

i dont think this would work in 30+ knots with a 5m.

perhaps try a reverse launch...

My memories of the naish 10m aero 2000 or 2001 were-
the pump- lol my bicycle pump is bigger.
having to inflate/deflate each strut individually.
lucky dip relaunch.
6 to 7 knot wind range.(vs 15-20 in some 2007 bridalled and almost every 2013+ kite)
what safety? Just crash the kite leading edge into the water and roll up the lines, the aero was never going to relaunch with constant line pressure and the leading edge in contact with water.

Perhaps land boarding the 5m in 15 or 16 knots could be fun if all else fails

post a pic, if not for anything else, nostalgia!

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ZiggyEwart said..

towradgi said..
Where would you fly a 5 metre ?

I'm only learning
So I don't really want much power

Better off learning on a 10 or 12 in moderate conditions.
you'll need to be learning in storm conditions on a 5m.

As others have said, don't waste your money on it. If one valve has gone the rest will go, and you're going to spend money on parts etc. and time only to end up with a kite that's largely useless.

Flying a smaller kite isn't safer or easier to learn, it's a pretty common misconception that a lot of people start out with, but smaller kites are faster and less predictable, yet still quite capable of generating enough power to do harm. You're nearly always better off with a larger kite in lighter wind.When you're learning you need more power, not less, as generating power with a smaller kite takes skills and understanding that you won't start out with.

Decent bow/hybrid styles kites that would suit to learn with have been around for years now so there's no shortage of cheap old ones if you're trying to keep the cost low. If you had old and outdated ~2010 era kite that was in similar condition it may be worth spending the time/money repairing it because at least it would give you some value. An early 2000's Naish C shape just isn't worth it, especially in a 5m.

If you've got a newer 10m already, just use that. The 5m is just a waste of money and effort, only reason I'd recommend repairing it is if you want to do a practise run repairing bladders before you try it on a kite that's worth something. I think someones already mentioned it, but you'd generally remove the LE through the little velcro tabs on the wing/strut tips.