Beaglebuddy,
I only have 0-4 catapults a season, and they usually only happen when I'm in the straps haulin
butt. I usually just hit a wave wrong or miss judge a gust when it occurs.
Select to expand quoteObelix said...
, one of them I cracked, got it repaired amd cracked it again on the first outing. Repaired it , sold it, the new owner cracked it the next day.
Exactly the same thing happened to me too.
Select to expand quoteBeaglebuddy said..
... It seems to happen most often while getting going, hooked in but not yet in the straps. Perhaps try getting in the footstraps before hooking in.
Beaglebuddy, I think you are right about when it happens. so your saying not being hooked in gives a bit better control.
Ill try this as well.
Just remeber to try and keep the sail balanced in equilibrium. Once the sail moves forward ever so slightly towards the nose of the board and out of equilibrium or balance, you will be proned to catapult every single time. The faster your moving, the more intense the catapult will be. We all have developed our own system that works and helps prevent catapulting and so will you.
I guarantee what works for someone won't work for another person, so try all our suggestions and you will figure out what works for you.
Just to throw another suggestion out there for you, anytime it is windy enough to hook into the harness lines, I hook in everytime, even when non planing. The reason is, I dont want my arms wearing out, and shortening my session on the water. I let the harness do the work as much as possible. I have never catipulted hooked in, while transitioning into the footstraps. I always hook in first, then move into footstraps. But that's me, and it works beautifully for me.
Good luck...
Select to expand quoteRAL INN said..
Anytime you sheet in and have mast forward you will catapult.
You will learn with experience where the point of "mast forward" is for you and your rigs.
This.
I want to add to prevent catapulting I sheet in, but with the front hand, not the back. If that makes sense?
The front hand is where you control the mast, the power, the X and Z angles of the rig. The back hand is for trim, minor adjustments, and if anything making the rig slippery and fast; the Y angle.
Select to expand quoteMagic Ride said..
... anytime it is windy enough to hook into the harness lines, I hook in everytime, even when non planing. The reason is, I dont want my arms wearing out, and shortening my session on the water. I let the harness do the work as much as possible. I have never catipulted hooked in, while transitioning into the footstraps. I always hook in first, then move into footstraps. But that's me, and it works beautifully for me.
Good luck...
Magic Ride Your a Legend,.. and that's what I do.
It seems that catapulting is an inescapable part of the sport, and experience is our best defense in minimizing it.
Select to expand quoteMagic Ride said..
Beaglebuddy,
I only have 0-4 catapults a season, and they usually only happen when I'm in the straps haulin
butt. I usually just hit a wave wrong or miss judge a gust when it occurs.
I think that's called a forward loop 
or simply a crash.
Select to expand quoteDiscus said..Beaglebuddy said..
... It seems to happen most often while getting going, hooked in but not yet in the straps. Perhaps try getting in the footstraps before hooking in.
Beaglebuddy, I think you are right about when it happens. so your saying not being hooked in gives a bit better control.
Ill try this as well.
Not really, what I'm saying is being in the foot straps mostly prevents being catapulted. Being hooked in and planing and NOT in the foot straps it's EASY to get catapulted. AND if you aren't hooked in it's very hard to be catapulted because you can simply let go of the boom.
I've only smashed the front of my board ( lots ) when in the harness. It's an nesicary evil. 
Did I even spell that right ?
Get used to it. If you don't occasionally catapult, you're not pushing it hard enough.
Get into your harness. Get settled in front footstrap. Quickly get the back on in. Get balanced. I usually get catapulted in between getting the front and back foot in. And nose diving. Broken 2 ribs doing it.
Still love the sport. It's my drug.
I get into harness then back strap first ( I know it's old skool ) helps with flying over the handlebars.
When dropping off the plane it's the front foot that comes out of the strap first , so shouldn't it go in last ???
Comments ... . ...?
Gents, Ladies- i think figure of speach maybe. I am an active tranvestite and i was not put out.
THe catapault, we all do it occassionaly experieced or beginner. i say just hang on , pull in hard with back hand and you have started your foward loop training. 
I think I usually gybe, flip the sail and hook in immediately, if it all goes well I only need to slide my new front foot a few centimetres into the strap. If I feel myself dropping off the plane I reckon I take out my back foot, lean forward to flatten the board and hopefully get back on the plane. If that doesn't work I take the front foot out of the strap and start moving forward.
^^^^
Two different techniques.
Where I sail it's rough as guts , and I'm old , I like back foot first , it's all about damage control .
No matter how good you are its a spooky place getting on the plane.
Remember that's why we got into it the first place.
Imax,
That makes perfect sence, the type of waters you sail in. It's amazing how many different ways we all learn this sport, but we all seem to get at a skill level in different ways, but we get their.
Select to expand quoteBeaglebuddy said..Discus said..Beaglebuddy said..
... It seems to happen most often while getting going, hooked in but not yet in the straps. Perhaps try getting in the footstraps before hooking in.
Beaglebuddy, I think you are right about when it happens. so your saying not being hooked in gives a bit better control.
Ill try this as well.
Not really, what I'm saying is being in the foot straps mostly prevents being catapulted. Being hooked in and planing and NOT in the foot straps it's EASY to get catapulted. AND if you aren't hooked in it's very hard to be catapulted because you can simply let go of the boom.
Beaglebuddy,
If I let the boom go, the board could be completely demolished??...and be blown away from me?
Perhaps that's why some people recommend sheeting in ?
Select to expand quoteImax1 said..
^^^^
Two different techniques.
Where I sail it's rough as guts , and I'm old , I like back foot first , it's all about damage control .
No matter how good you are its a spooky place getting on the plane.
Remember that's why we got into it the first place.
Imax1,
Isn't it MUCH harder to get the back foot in first...I end up stalling the board even with the front foot in first. ie the front foot first lets me get the speed up to put the back foot in.
Select to expand quoteBeaglebuddy said..Discus said..Beaglebuddy said..
... It seems to happen most often while getting going, hooked in but not yet in the straps. Perhaps try getting in the footstraps before hooking in.
Beaglebuddy, I think you are right about when it happens. so your saying not being hooked in gives a bit better control.
Ill try this as well.
Not really, what I'm saying is being in the foot straps mostly prevents being catapulted. Being hooked in and planing and NOT in the foot straps it's EASY to get catapulted. AND if you aren't hooked in it's very hard to be catapulted because you can simply let go of the boom.
Beaglebuddy,
If I let the boom go, the board could be completely demolished??...and be blown away from me?
Perhaps that's why some people recommend sheeting in ? Select to expand quotegeared4knots said..
......., pull in hard with back hand and you have started your foward loop training.
geared4knots,
How well does this work? ..isnt it a more violent action than just going with the catapult? does it save you from damaged boards?
Select to expand quoteSputnik11 said..
Get used to it. If you don't occasionally catapult, you're not pushing it hard enough.
Get into your harness. Get settled in front footstrap. Quickly get the back on in. Get balanced. I usually get catapulted in between getting the front and back foot in. And nose diving. Broken 2 ribs doing it.
Still love the sport. It's my drug.
Sputnik11, what do you think about putting the back foot in first?
Select to expand quoteMagic Ride said..
I tried to learn to water start with one leg on and one leg dragging, but I never felt stable when getting back onto the board, so I always put both legs on as well. Gives me much more stability when I get onto the board, plus my knees are not too good, and this way it helps distribute my weight evenly. Water starting has never been easier now. I think it's personal preference.
Try water starting with both heels on the board in barely any wind. You need the other leg in the water to kick with so you can get up onto the board. With both heels on the board all your weight is on the boom so with no wind in the sail you have nothing to pull on... you need to kick to get up.
Select to expand quoteDiscus said..Imax1 said..
^^^^
Two different techniques.
Where I sail it's rough as guts , and I'm old , I like back foot first , it's all about damage control .
No matter how good you are its a spooky place getting on the plane.
Remember that's why we got into it the first place.
Imax1,
Isn't it MUCH harder to get the back foot in first...I end up stalling the board even with the front foot in first. ie the front foot first lets me get the speed up to put the back foot in.
I don't know if my way is best , but that's how I do it. My front foot is up at the mast. As I put the back foot in I push the mast forward so I don't round up into the wind. I can then pull up with my back foot to keep the board flat to get planing. Take a gulp of downwind with weight over back foot and roll off the heel on the front foot. This is the balance point that you can put the front foot in. This technique has saved me countless times from catapulting.
Select to expand quoteImax1 said..Discus said..Imax1 said..
^^^^
Two different techniques.
Where I sail it's rough as guts , and I'm old , I like back foot first , it's all about damage control .
No matter how good you are its a spooky place getting on the plane.
Remember that's why we got into it the first place.
Imax1,
Isn't it MUCH harder to get the back foot in first...I end up stalling the board even with the front foot in first. ie the front foot first lets me get the speed up to put the back foot in.
I don't know if my way is best , but that's how I do it. My front foot is up at the mast. As I put the back foot in I push the mast forward so I don't round up into the wind. I can then pull up with my back foot to keep the board flat to get planing. Take a gulp of downwind with weight over back foot and roll off the heel on the front foot. This is the balance point that you can put the front foot in. This technique has saved me countless times from catapulting.
Worth trying it, Thanks Pal.
When u do get catapulted, we all do stay sheeted in & the mast will go to the dwn wind side of the board, if u sheet out when going over mast will come staight dwn on the nose & cracked it will be. I seen that here somwere b4.
I hang onto the boom when getting catapulted, I think I do it so I know where all the hard bits are so I don't smash my face on them.
N1GEL,
I actually water start with both heels to be more specific. I only uphaul the sail when the wind is blowing under 12 MPH, but then after that, I have enough wind to water start. My trick is I scrunch up like a ball when the wind is light, instead of extending my legs out on the board in the water, that gets me up no problem. Plus having good balance and being gingerly with the rig helps everything work to my advantage in light wind. Like I said, this works perfect for me, as I tried the other techniques in the past , and I wasn't successful with them. So I stick to what works.
Select to expand quoteRus13b said..
When u do get catapulted, we all do stay sheeted in & the mast will go to the dwn wind side of the board, if u sheet out when going over mast will come staight dwn on the nose & cracked it will be. I seen that here somwere b4.
Thanks Pal.
Select to expand quoteAgrid said..
I hang onto the boom when getting catapulted, I think I do it so I know where all the hard bits are so I don't smash my face on them.
Thanks...that makes sense as well!
Keep both hands more forward on your booms, so you don't have full power until you are balanced on your feet. Pump the sail to get the power, don't just blindly sheet in fully.
Select to expand quoteLeeD said..
Keep both hands more forward on your booms, so you don't have full power until you are balanced on your feet. Pump the sail to get the power, don't just blindly sheet in fully.
A friend told me about this Power control technique...Ill be trying it this spring.
Thanks LeeD
