It has taken a couple of months to organize but I finally handed my Charger over to a sailmaker yesterday. After we did the measuring and marking out together, he has agreed to do the top skins mods and I will handle the remaining belt shortenings and extension. To take care of the belt mods, I bought a Speedy Stitcher:
http://www.speedystitcher.com/ I tried to talk him into the cutting the belts and running them through a hole cut in the rib but it seems he would prefer to unstitch the seam as far up as the new position and then re-sew the unpicked seam.
Having had some time on the Charger with the no-pulley bridle and the shoulder mod, I can say a couple of things. First time out with these two changes done, I had a great time on a twin tip. It seemed the auto-zenith was starting to come back (but still a long way from my Venom II 16) and I actually felt comfortable with the Charger. Ecstatically so ... and then decided to take my second try at a strapless surfboard with the Charger and found that is was as busy as ever, hunting its way across the wind window. All very hands on at all times, without the stability generated by the twin tip edging against the kite.
BTW, I did the shoulder mod as a non-stitch, temporary experiment using pieces of a bamboo ruler cut to the appropriate length, alligator clips with their wings removed after being clipped into position,and some string and rubber bands to hold the hold show together. Undid tho shoulder mod before handing over the kite.
Really looking forward to getting the Charger back as a more sedate ride. Being comfortable with your kit is not to be over-rated. The auto-zenith function of twin skins is a big part of my interest in PL kites.
Once again, many thanks to Tungsten and others for keeping this Charger 1.9 project on track.
Should have something more conclusive to say in a week or so ... I hope other Charger 1 owners are considering how to tone down the high performance aspects of their wings.
cheers
tim