Just finished my harness modifications and it works really well so I thought I’d share.

My old harness was starting to give up so I was in the market for a new one, but I wanted a sliding bar. Problem was not too many are made any more. Dakine had an adapter for their ones but the rest had a fixed bar. I ended up with a harness that fitted well with a fixed bar. I thought, “I could change the way I sail”, “get use to it using it as a fixed” “it must be better cos that’s all they make and everyone uses one .Right. Wrong, I hated it and it hurt my back so much that I had 2 weeks off the water. SO I’m an old dog that doesn’t like new tricks and I don’t like wasting $150 on a harness that I hate.

Go to your nearest engineer shop and collect some off cut 5mm S Steel, if he’s nice it might be free.
Trace the slot set of the bar onto the SS.

Drill a series of holes along the steel, Go a slow speed with the drill so that you don’t temper the steel and stuff it up the whole job.



Take a chainsaw file and file the holes to form a slot. Again take it slow, it works better.

Smooth the slot and edges with a flat file.

Repeat on the other piece of steel.
Now drill and file the slot to take the webbing that holds the bar

I used a seat belt style of webbing to join these two together and form the new slider. I just doubled it up and made a buckle to hold it all together.
You will need to purchase a small bar like the Dakine 6”
The advantage with this system is I can now adjust how much slide I want with out loosening the harness.


Total cost, bar $30, webbing $5
Saved $150, I now love this harness and my back is much better

Saved $150? You forgot to count your labour.

Nice work but wouldn't a couple of stainless D rings work or off the shelf diving/climbing buckles?

$3.07 Bar Slide - 2 inch - Stainless Steel



www.scubadoctor.com.au/diveshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=818

Pardon my ignorance but what does a 'sliding bar' do?

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yoyo said...

Saved $150? You forgot to count your labour.

Nice work but wouldn't a couple of stainless D rings work or off the shelf diving/climbing buckles?

$3.07 Bar Slide - 2 inch - Stainless Steel



www.scubadoctor.com.au/diveshop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=818

Yes it would be nice if those buckles worked but they don,t.Wrong shaped load points. It took 4 hrs to convert which is better than having a harness which doesn,t work for me and I,d buy one if one had fitted
I would like more manufactures to consider offering a sliding bar set up and as I have shown its not a lot to set up.

Pat, the sliding bar set up allows you to slide the bar hook more to one side which can help you to get more weight on your back foot or back hand,like speed sailing Or let you adjust your stance and open up your hips for a more comfortable ride over long distances. Also can reduce the chances of a catapult. Sometimes

Good one Kato, I'm in the same boat, have a new fixed harness I hate because it doesn't slide.
I just don't understand why there isn't more demand for them.

I'll have a look at it tomorrow, see what can be done, thanks.

Hi Kato,
I finally got this sorted with my own sliding bar harness.
The new harness is a Flying Objects Transit with a modified buckle set-up.
This is as close as I could get to the old Dakine Surf/Seat with the running strap over the harness bar for height adjustment.
So far so good, the only problem I found was finding a bar that is small in length to allow it to slide. I had to go back to the Aluminium hook for the Dakine everything else was too long.
I will post a photo when I get time.





The thick harness line through the middle is a Dakine purpose made strap to modify into a sliding bar set-up.
I have tested this set-up in 20-23 knots and I am 100kgs.
I really want one of the Stainless Steel Dakine bars but cannot find one like yours, I am concerned the Aluminium will fatigue and let go when I least want it to

Why do you blokes have your hooks the wrong way up???

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ka43 said...

Why do you blokes have your hooks the wrong way up???

Holy crap, you are playing with dynamite!

Only the enlightened few have the harness hook the right way round and its probably best to leave it that way

Question about old Da Kine harnesses. I have a slalom seat with a Reactor bar, it doesn't have a hook but has a roller. For Christmas I'm getting a Neil Pryde impact vest with a hook. I'm not worried about the hook but does my Da Kine harness have a sliding bar and I don't know it? I always try to buckle it down pretty tight so it doesn't move.

Interestingly, due to strong demand for a sliding spreader bar, Flying Objects have just released a new lightweight thermo-formed waist harness
with a sliding spreader bar. It's called the Indie.

We recieved the first shipment of these a couple of weeks ago.

Very nice solution Kato. You may find that bar a bit short after a while leading to pressure on the hips.

Graceman, is that adaptor a Da Kine part in their catalogue?

I also use a sliding bar. It only has to move a couple of inches but that is vital, It enables the upper body to be turned towards the direction of travel. Once you get used to it, anything else is extremely awkward.

Isn't the da kine slalom seat with sliding bar still available?

edit. It's called Speed Seat and seems to be the only one that still has a sliding bar: www.dakine.com/

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sailquik said...

Very nice solution Kato. You may find that bar a bit short after a while leading to pressure on the hips.

Graceman, is that adaptor a Da Kine part in their catalogue?

I also use a sliding bar. It only has to move a couple of inches but that is vital, It enables the upper body to be turned towards the direction of travel. Once you get used to it, anything else is extremely awkward.

Isn't the da kine slalom seat with sliding bar still available?

I had the same reservation about the hip pressure points but this seat is luxury, it does take some fine tuning but 2.5 hours yesterday in very gusty conditions on a smaller board no pain and no aches.

I got the "conversion" strap from 2ndwind, they sell them for $20, I would check the Dakine catalogue

The Dakine slalom seat is no longer made or for sale that I could find.
Did not know about the Indie, and hopefully they follow up with a seat harness.

Mal: I think that Speed Seat is fixed spreader, the one I looked at in the shop was fixed. Please note I am old frail (fractured thumb, strained knee) and short term memory is failing but forget to stop sailing so I could be wrong.

Mr Auswind, do Flying objects have a seat harness with a sliding bar?

Interesting, I use a sliding 'harness' set up, just requires a rash vest. I find the rash vest is quite smooth and slippery, and I can slip the whole harness around my waist a couple of inches, using the lines, to get the best angle, then twist back at the end of the run. Doesn't work with a seat of course.

Just to conclude,the harness worked very well with no problems. road tested to 361 km,s

hey Kato nice work on the distance yesterday!! glad to hear the harness worked well..
here is a pic of some idiot using a similar sliding hook as well,from memory it was self centering using wide elasti****hink it was a dakine gadget, if i rember right it worked quite well!