Attaching the bridle to a Prism 3D

[Welcome to the GWTW Forum]

Welcome to the GWTW Forum.
Guests (non-registered users) can view the forum but are unable to post.  If you don't have anything to say then why would you bother to register?
One of the most popular sections of the GWTW Forum has long been the Swap Meet.  A great place to sell old, seldom flown kites or to get great deals on used (gently flown) kites.  Only registered users can see the Swap Meet section, let alone wheel and deal.  1000's (literally) of kites have changed hands thanks to the Swap Meet.
There are several more benefits to being a registered user, but you'll have to join our little community to find out all the "secrets".
Questions or concerns?  forum.gwtwkites@gmail.com

[Josiah]

I finally got around to framing an old 2nd generation Prism 3D sail I have.  After getting it all put together, I went to attach the bridle and realized I din't quite know what I was doing. 

The ends of the bridle have what seem to be stop knots. This leads me to assume I tie loops onto the frame with a pruslisk knot (or similar) and then larkshead those onto the ends of the bridle?  I could also imagine using some clever knot to tie the bridle directly to the frame.

Am I way off?  Anyone have an old 3D they can check?

Thanks!

[NormP]

I'm not fimiliar with Prism products, but I did have a 3-D a friend gave to me sitting quitely
in the closet. I have no idea what generation it is. It is numbered 949. The upper leading edge has a simple overhand knot that formed a 3/8" to 1/2" loop. the bottom was tied on using a larkhead. So when they put the leading edge in it just slid through that small 1/2" loop on the upper leading edge. Does that make sense??

[bfranz]

I had to retie the bridle of a 4D in three of 4 places. The line is tied with a single overhand knot and the stop knot at the end is pulled tight to the overhand hitch at the spar to keep it from coming loose. Not a lot of strain involved and this seems to work fine. I'm sure Prism support will be able to give you any more info you might need.

[mikenchico]

Ken McNeill over at Blue Moon Kites has a nice video on his method, I don't know if this is how Prism does it but if it's good enough for a Blue Moon it's good enough for anything

Cow Hitch

[Josiah]

Decided to go for a direct attachment to the frame using the cow hitch. When I went to tie the knot, I realized what I thought was a fat stop knot was really an overhand knot tangled around a smaller overhand knot.  Seems like Prism tied the bridle directly to the frame with an overhand knot, and used the other single overhand knot as the stopper.  I stuck with the cow hitch anyway.

Thanks for the responses!

[thief]

Decided to go for a direct attachment to the frame using the cow hitch. When I went to tie the knot, I realized what I thought was a fat stop knot was really an overhand knot tangled around a smaller overhand knot.  Seems like Prism tied the bridle directly to the frame with an overhand knot, and used the other single overhand knot as the stopper.  I stuck with the cow hitch anyway.

Thanks for the responses!

Josiah Either way works....prism's method is the overhand knot OVER the rod with the little knot at the end as a stopper as you said....but either way will work just fine....

keep in the back of your mind though that if you are ever doing anything with the bridle and measuring the length of each leg you will have used up a little more linear length of the bridle.....so measurements might be slightly off....nothing bad...just a reminder for later...

[Josiah]

Thanks for the definitive answer Thief!  Obviously I am worrying about very small details that probably don't matter all that much. That sort of leads into a question that might have been more salient than just asking how to do it.

What are the acceptable tolerances when bridling a kite? 

I understand there is no blanket rule like 1/8".  Obviously it varies according to kite size and bridle design.  But still, can we make some generalizations?  Would I have significantly messed up the flight characteristics by adding an extra inch to each leg by using pigtails instead of attaching the bridle directly to the frame? 

Our forum is made possible by the good folks whose ads appear in the right margin of the forum and by the members of our community (PayPal donation button at bottom of the page)
In case you missed it each ad is linked to the sponsors web site.  So please, take a moment and visit our sponsors sites as this forum wouldn't be possible with out them. >>>
Interested in running an ad for your business or kiting event?  Contact Steve at advertise.gwtwkites@gmail.com for a quote.