I have a lot of kites, among them small and large parafoils. I haven't tried flying one as a traction device from the kayak yet. I plan to do some experimenting with them though in a couple of weeks up in Maine when I have plenty of spare time. I've used some of the quad line kites as traction while on roller blades, and that was a gas, so if I can figure out how to launch one from the boat, it could work. After all that effort, I'll probably go back to my trusty golf umbrella, but I have to try anyway.