Fixing leaky bladders

     OK, I admit, the headline was click bait.  I really did fix leaky bladders surgically, but I haven't done one of those operations since July 2011.  Now I'm plagued by another kind of leaky bladder.

     This is a (borrowed, stolen) diagram of a kitesurfing kite.  The leading edge is hollow, and the whole thing is given shape in part by inflatable bladders within it and the struts. 

     They are only inflated to about 7-8 pounds per square inch, so not a lot of pressure.  However, they are subject to all kinds of trauma.

     Though probably not a politically correct term, slamming a kite into the water is known as "tomahawking" the poor thing, and the sound it makes causes every head to turn and see who messed up this time.  

     Where my brother kites on the lower Potomac River, there have been forlorn kites in trees, a warning to those foolish enough to brave Mother Nature.  

     Add to that the 'foot cacti' found on the Outer Banks,

and the life of a kite bladder can be hard and short.

     Unfortunately, on our last outing in April to Hatteras, it became clear that my beloved 15-meter kite had suffered a slow leak.  This was not a happy moment.  You see, fixing a leaky bladder on a human is WAY simpler, and I'm close to serious.  You don't actually have to remove the human version, a lengthy and trick procedure on a kite.  The thing is skinny, about twenty feet long (OK, careful, I'm talking about the kite version, not the one in the person), and attached to all sorts of things, and that holds for both kind of bladders.

     And just like with the human version, the bladder is a bit delicate, and you have to make sure you're not making MORE holes while you're fixing the first one.  So, I scrubbed up, donned my surgical gown and gathered my instruments.  Meanwhile, the kite was already unconscious and ready for the procedure.

     Though Paula refused to mop my brow or even address me as "Dr. Henderson," things went well, and after longer than the person version took, I got the bladder out, found the hole, patched it and got everything back together again, which step is also necessary in the human procedure.

     I cautiously blew the kite back up, and was relieved that it held pressure.  Ready for the next "tomahawk" or cactus or whatever awful thing lies in its future.  

     We hope that your bladder isn't leaking, and if it is, that you can find someone to put a good patch on it.

Dave