Two questions: 1) I have been paddling a variety of different sea kayaks over the last year, and because of that used a suite of different paddles. Some paddles have a strange feel in the water: as if you pull your hands through sand. It seems as if I pull a vacuum behind the blade, and the collapsing of the vacuum bubbles gives this strange feel, and give me the idea that I am not transfering my power efficently through the paddle onto the water. Some paddles do this, others don't (independent on material, quality or price). Any ideas on why? Is this poor design, or is it my technique? Also, some paddles are very noisy in the upstroke out of the water, very splashy (yes, I know what is up and down :-), while others are very quiet. Curious enough the paddle I like best is a cheap, aluminum/plastic thing with broad blades. Might be related to my 6'2". I prefer to make long, powerfull strokes instead of multiple shorter ones. 2) Yesterday I did a great trip to Anclote Keys (near Tampa, FL) in an Eddyline Falcon 18. Such a nice boat! But, as I had noticed before in this boat, my legs and feet start getting numb after an hour. I have fiddled around with the footpegs, but that doesn't seem to help. I guess there is something in the seat design that pinches a nerve or artery, because I never have this problem in the Dagger Magellans I frequently use. Yesterday I tried sitting on a towel(couldn't find a piece of foam), to modify the seat mold. But that didn't help either; today my legs and feet still feel a little numb. Any suggestions for dealing with this problem? Peter *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>Peter wrote >2) Yesterday I did a great trip to Anclote Keys (near Tampa, FL) in an >Eddyline Falcon 18. Such a nice boat! But, as I had noticed before in this >boat, my legs and feet start getting numb after an hour. Do the sides of the seat turn up pressing against the sides of the buttocks and legs? If so that's the problem, where the preasure is. I've sat in what appeared to be comfortable seats and then found they caused numbing. If the seat is convex (ridge running fore and aft) rather than concave and if it is tilted up at the front and if it is long enough, then you might have comfort. Side pads near the top of the pelvis will give lateral support. Kayaks should not be sold with seats. These should be bought as a separate item (included in the cost if that's what you want) and chosen to suit each customer. Alex . . Alex (Sandy) Ferguson Chemistry Department University of Canterbury New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Peter 1) I would start by having someone assess my forward stroke form to ensure proper technique. This will lead into being able to evaluate the paddle. 2) I have seen some people place a paddle float under their thighs to elevate the angle. This may help aleviate the numbness. Hope some of this helps. I'm sure others will be providing suggestions. sid (Embedded image moved Peter van den Hurk <pvdhurk_at_ufl.edu> to file: 11/22/99 03:30 PM pic20537.pcx) To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net cc: (bcc: Sidney Stone/AMS/AMSINC) Subject: [Paddlewise] paddles and seats Two questions: 1) I have been paddling a variety of different sea kayaks over the last year, and because of that used a suite of different paddles. Some paddles have a strange feel in the water: as if you pull your hands through sand. It seems as if I pull a vacuum behind the blade, and the collapsing of the vacuum bubbles gives this strange feel, and give me the idea that I am not transfering my power efficently through the paddle onto the water. Some paddles do this, others don't (independent on material, quality or price). Any ideas on why? Is this poor design, or is it my technique? Also, some paddles are very noisy in the upstroke out of the water, very splashy (yes, I know what is up and down :-), while others are very quiet. Curious enough the paddle I like best is a cheap, aluminum/plastic thing with broad blades. Might be related to my 6'2". I prefer to make long, powerfull strokes instead of multiple shorter ones. 2) Yesterday I did a great trip to Anclote Keys (near Tampa, FL) in an Eddyline Falcon 18. Such a nice boat! But, as I had noticed before in this boat, my legs and feet start getting numb after an hour. I have fiddled around with the footpegs, but that doesn't seem to help. I guess there is something in the seat design that pinches a nerve or artery, because I never have this problem in the Dagger Magellans I frequently use. Yesterday I tried sitting on a towel(couldn't find a piece of foam), to modify the seat mold. But that didn't help either; today my legs and feet still feel a little numb. Any suggestions for dealing with this problem? Peter *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ *************************************************************************** [demime 0.92b removed an attachment of type application/octet-stream which had a name of pic20537.pcx] *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Peter van den Hurk wrote: > 2) Yesterday I did a great trip to Anclote Keys (near Tampa, FL) in an > Eddyline Falcon 18. Such a nice boat! But, as I had noticed before in this > boat, my legs and feet start getting numb after an hour. I have fiddled > around with the footpegs, but that doesn't seem to help. I guess there is > something in the seat design that pinches a nerve or artery, because I > never have this problem in the Dagger Magellans I frequently use. Yesterday > I tried sitting on a towel(couldn't find a piece of foam), to modify the > seat mold. But that didn't help either; today my legs and feet still feel a > little numb. Any suggestions for dealing with this problem? Alex has already chimed in with the ultimate solution: make a seat that fits you. This will entail significant outfitting, and is best done by fitting a minicell seat (custom carved to fit *your* tush) in lieu of the stock seat. If the Falcon 18 you paddled has the stock Eddyline plastic seat, I suspect the front edge of the seat comes up too far, shutting off blood flow on the bottom side of your thighs. If you own the boat, you can remove the seat and cant it forward a little by removing some of the foam on the underside of the front. Not for the faint-hearted! -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>Peter van den Hurk wrote: > >> 2) Yesterday I did a great trip to Anclote Keys (near Tampa, FL) in an >> Eddyline Falcon 18. Such a nice boat! But, as I had noticed before in this >> boat, my legs and feet start getting numb after an hour. I have fiddled >> around with the footpegs, but that doesn't seem to help. I guess there is >> something in the seat design that pinches a nerve or artery, because I >> never have this problem in the Dagger Magellans I frequently use. Yesterday >> I tried sitting on a towel(couldn't find a piece of foam), to modify the >> seat mold. But that didn't help either; today my legs and feet still feel a >> little numb. Any suggestions for dealing with this problem? > >Alex has already chimed in with the ultimate solution: make a seat that fits >you. This will entail significant outfitting, and is best done by fitting a >minicell seat (custom carved to fit *your* tush) in lieu of the stock seat. > True, but the next best solution might be some sort of thin pad. Someone makes a thin gel-filled seat pad that might help. Alternatively, you might try a minimally-inflated seat-sized Therma-Rest pad on the seat. Bob Volin (a happy bum) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:05 PDT