Larry Bliven wrote: > is the easy and practical choice al rails? i think so, but think better > materials exist. > comments? > How about wood? I risk mentioning this because some people feel I have a bias toward Kleppers and this suggestion will only feed that feeling. Wood is surprisingly strong and with just a modicum of care will hold up well. It has been said that if wood were to have just been invented it would be considered a miracle material. Rather than foot pedals, do what some of the German boats do...have a thick rod run across the width of the boat to act as a foot brace. The ends of the rod fit into holes or notches in side rails also made of wood. The adjustments cannot be as minute as the increments allowed with aluminum or plastic but probably good enough. Your heels would push against it rather than the balls of your feet and put less stress on foot and leg tendons that a toe forward position sometimes can cause. You could also run your feet along the rod toward the center or outward to chance foot position and angles. You might move your feet toward the center when wanting to paddle strongly or to the sides of the rod when you need to brace with your knees tucked under the sides of the deck. The rod should go across the boat just above the floor so that your foot cannot get entrapped. This rod itself could not work to operate a rudder. But it is possible to attach to the rod some pedal type pieces that would pivot forward with slight toe action. These would be attached to cables not dissimilar to the way foot pedal operate rudders on the aluminum or plastic foot controls. To illustrate how this type foot brace looks, picture a curtain rod or shower curtain rod. In the case of the curtain rod, the ends go into U-shaped brackets. In the case of shower rods, into closed holders. Something in between would work. Think about it. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Jan 26 1999 - 05:42:51 PST
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