Silly moment: getting out of the water. The wind comes from the other side and slowly flips the wing onto my foil rear wing.

I asked the manufacturer for advice (takoon) and they recommend a kite repair place as best option. Well I don't have one of these around...

What's the best fix? I have extra canopy cloth which was in my repair kit but without adhesive layer i.e. peel off and patch.

The tear is about 15 cm by 5 cm.

Sail maker/Sail repairer ?

That is what I used.

www.whitworths.com.au/psp-spinnaker-repair-tape-yellow-50mm-x-4-5m
whitworths have a range of colours. bought a roll that lives in the car ready for use. just a matter of time before I will need it.

Done the same thing give your location and some one will put you in touch with a good sail maker if in Sydney Neil from Barracouta does a very good job.

Advise your location for best advice.

Thanks all.. err location is Estonia.
Anyone have experience with PSP spinaker tape? Or Dr Tuba (Doc Tuna) kite repair products?

The latter sells a ripstop tape. Is that what would be needed as a temp solution till I find a sailmaker?

I had the same happen due to a buddy being careless and parking his foil too close

I used this Tear Aid Type A. It's an easy fix.

I've used spinnaker tape on kites and paragliders for dozens of repairs over the past 30 years. It works very well. There are many threads on the various kite and paraglider forums on how to do it.

In short:
- clean the area well with water and/or a little metho on a cotton ball
- cut some strips to tape both sides
- either offset the patches on either side or make one side smaller than the other so you don't get three layers of fabric lining up and making a hard spot
- round the end to eliminate corners that can peel off
- apply the patches. Smooth down. To set the glue heat with a hair dryer, or roll over the patch with a bottle of hot water (my preferred method).

You want the thinnest possible tape so it doesn't make a hard spot. Spinnaker tape is ideal. Sail repair tape is not.

It's almost impossible to match colours. I use black tape and shape the patches so they look like a feature on the canopy. Super thin white tape can be quite translucent and semi-invisible.

When lining up the torn bit I like to use small pieces of ordinary sticky tape to hold the fabric in position. You only need a few waypoints. Line up the threads of the ripstop reinforcing to be sure everything is straight. Lay it out over a book or magazine. Large tears can be held down with bags of rice or books or weights.

Apply the patch on one side, remove the sticky tape on the other side and apply the patch.

Don't use plastic or mylar tape. It's a completely different material to the nylon canopy fabric and has different characteristics. It looks crap. Think about a nice solid black shape on your wing or a dirty wrinkled bit of plastic.

A professional might oversew the tape edges. That's not necessary. I only sew if the repair goes across a seam. I unpick, tape, then oversew to restore the sewn seam.

Avoid sail makers who don't do a lot of lightweight fabric work. Some sailmakers will just mow their monster sewing machines through your delicate wing fabric with not a lot of thought.

Thanks Pasquales! Will check that out.

Thanks Gorgo for the detailed advice on spinnaker tape. I've ordered psp spinnaker tape from Amazon. The reviews seem genuine and good. Also found a couple of good wind/kite shops selling psp. So that reinforces my belief in the product.

Will go through the steps and advice and post back the results!!

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Found a how to vid on doc tuba site

I repaired a small tear in a kite with the sticky ends off an extra strong waterproof bandaid. The repair's still there 3 years later. I quite like the mongrel look it gives.

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Gone to dark side said..
Done the same thing give your location and some one will put you in touch with a good sail maker if in Sydney Neil from Barracouta does a very good job.

Can you advise with Neils contact details ?

www.barracoutasails.com.au Good guy most windsurfers Kiters and know wingers have there kit repaired
Kevin

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Pasquales said..
I had the same happen due to a buddy being careless and parking his foil too close

I used this Tear Aid Type A. It's an easy fix.

+1

I would use this product below. Metho down to clean off all salt etc. cut patch about2cm past edge of rip, round edges . Once patch is on heat up a bit in sun or hairdryer to get it to really stick. patch both sides

but it does not hold get a sailmaker to sew it on for you. i would charge $30 bucks to repair that as a sail repairer. its a very very quick job.

jaysails.com.au/product/kite-repair-tape/
Damien