One of my favourite hobbies is kiteboarding. It turns out every time you want to set up the kite, you have to lay down the lines. Although very simple at first, I always manage to make a mess out of it. This is normally wouldn’t be a problem when launching off the beach. However, on a boat is quite a different story, as there is no space to “walk the lines”. People have different techniques to solve this problem, some use table cable holders to keep their lines split. Others use a comb such as this one to keep their lines from tangling.

The idea is that, before disconnecting the lines from the kite, the device is attached to the lines. After disconnecting the lines, the lines can be wound around the bar as usual. When setting up again, the lines are attached and then the device is disconnected, keeping the lines tangle-free.

When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nails. Well, I happen to have a 3d printer so I decided to design something to solve my problem.

My constraints are:

• It has to be small
• it must keep the lines together while not in use
• It must be 3d printable. Preferably in one piece

I’m really not very happy with it. First, it’s a two part design, so it takes more time to print. Second, the “casing” needs a lot of support structures to print properly. Lastly, I printed two prototypes for a few friends and they said that they had experienced the mechanism open on its own. They also reported they wouldn’t care to have something a bit bigger.

UPDATE:

I’ve already designed a version 2. I’ve made it into a single part and included a printed spring to keep it in place. I’ve posted about it here