Dave Kruger wrote: <<Although it is normal to do some outfitting to make the cockpit fit you,...>> This brings up some questions I have thought about for some time. I am asking the following with the idea of really optimizing my paddling efficiency and boat control. With that in mind, I am really looking for changes that make a significant enough difference that the effect would be readily apparent (20% of the things you can change usually give you 80% of the total possible improvement). If a boat is a little large you can bring you knees or thighs into contact with the deck and or braces by either padding out the deck/brace or by bringing the footrests back so that you knees are more bent. Besides adjusting to a comfortable position is there any plus or minus to more or less knee bend. If so how is a good way to judge if you might benefit from more or less knee bend. One of my paddling partners thinks it is easier to edge and roll with the knees bent quite a bit I did discover that when I brought the footrests back so far that I could not fully straighten out my leg that it was much more difficult to edge the kayak. I now have the rests adjusted so that I can straigthen out my legs such that the back of the knee touchs the hull when I slide my heel forward so that my toes are pointing straight up. I still have firm contact with the footrest, but it is more on my arch than on the balls of the feet. I get contact with the deck by bending my knee up, letting my heel slide back, and pushing the toes forward. Contact with the footrest is now on the balls of my foot. Having one leg flat on the hull while lifting with the other knee seems to have improved my edging quite a bit. Any problems with this kind of adjustment? If you are using a sliding footpedal controlled rudder should the footpedal adjustment really be determined by being able to move the rudder enough. How much swing would you want to get out of the rudder when you leg is fully extended (45deg, 60deg, as much as the rudder mech allows)? Or do you just do a normal adjustment with the rudder centered and live with whatever amount of rudder travel that will give you. If you have thigh braces is there any benefit to padding out the knee contact area for a tight fit as well as padding out the thigh braces? If you do not have thigh braces do you need to make a kneepad with hooked shape (thicker toward the middle of the kayak) to help keep the knee from sliding inward? Finally is there a benefit to really tightening the fit at the hips. I know I do not want to feel like I am sliding around, but should I keep making the fit tighter until I start to have trouble with a wet exit and then back off just a little. Is there a rule of thumb for testing the hip fit in a kayak? Mark J. Arnold *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Thu, 19 Oct 2000 MJAkayaker_at_aol.com wrote: > This brings up some questions I have thought about for some time. I am > asking the following with the idea of really optimizing my paddling > efficiency and boat control. With that in mind, I am really looking for > changes that make a significant enough difference that the effect would be > readily apparent (20% of the things you can change usually give you 80% of > the total possible improvement). I would start by working on your forward stroke mechanics. A really good forward stroke will make a huge difference in how far, how fast, and how long you can paddle. Try looking into freestyle canoeing http://www.mbnet.mb.ca/freestyle/freestyle.html. That paddling style has phenomenal boat and paddle control. Some of the moves can be adapted to a kayak. > If a boat is a little large you can bring you knees or thighs into contact > with the deck and or braces by either padding out the deck/brace or by > bringing the footrests back so that you knees are more bent. Besides > adjusting to a comfortable position is there any plus or minus to more or > less knee bend. If so how is a good way to judge if you might benefit from > more or less knee bend. One of my paddling partners thinks it is easier to > edge and roll with the knees bent quite a bit I like my legs so they have room to wiggle around, a couple inches of play at the knees, but can be snugged up quickly. I like to be able to keep my butt, both knees and both feet in one place while edging and rolling. When snugged into place I prefer if my butt stays in contact with the seat, even when upside down. > If you are using a sliding footpedal controlled rudder should the footpedal > adjustment really be determined by being able to move the rudder enough. > How much swing would you want to get out of the rudder when you leg is fully > extended (45deg, 60deg, as much as the rudder mech allows)? Or do you just > do a normal adjustment with the rudder centered and live with whatever amount > of rudder travel that will give you. Eek. Shoot the sliding footpedal controls as soon as possible. > If you have thigh braces is there any benefit to padding out the knee contact > area for a tight fit as well as padding out the thigh braces? If you do not > have thigh braces do you need to make a kneepad with hooked shape (thicker > toward the middle of the kayak) to help keep the knee from sliding inward? I want my knees to stay where I put them, regardless of what angle the boat and my body are. > Finally is there a benefit to really tightening the fit at the hips. I know > I do not want to feel like I am sliding around, but should I keep making the > fit tighter until I start to have trouble with a wet exit and then back off > just a little. Is there a rule of thumb for testing the hip fit in a kayak? Hip outfitting gets tough for those of us in cold areas. What's snug in a drysuit with fleece will be loose in a bathing suit. Leaving room on each side of my hips to slide in my fingers (sungly) has worked for me. kirk *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I have overcome that by making two sets of foam that I use to block my hips into place. They are attached to the kayak with velcro. At the end of the warm weather season I pull out the thicker set and attach the thinner set, making room for my fleecey clothes and my drysuit. John Kirk Olsen wrote: > > Hip outfitting gets tough for those of us in cold areas. What's snug in > a drysuit with fleece will be loose in a bathing suit. Leaving room on each > side of my hips to slide in my fingers (sungly) has worked for me. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
on 10/20/00 3:24 AM, MJAkayaker_at_aol.com at MJAkayaker_at_aol.com wrote: snip > Finally is there a benefit to really tightening the fit at the hips. I know > I do not want to feel like I am sliding around, but should I keep making the > fit tighter until I start to have trouble with a wet exit and then back off > just a little. Is there a rule of thumb for testing the hip fit in a kayak? You should feel the hip pads on each hip but should not develop any sore areas after paddling for several hours. Proper torso rotation in the paddle stroke also creates a slight rotation at the hips and if the pads are too tight you will develop pressure points in the hips. Here is a good general on-shore guide for checking to see if your hip pads are too tight or too loose. Put the kayak on the lawn or another protected surface. Get in the kayak. As mentioned above, you should feel the pads touching both hips. Roll the kayak over on one side so all your weight goes on one hip. Now how much space is between the other hip and that pad? If the pad is still touching the hip then your fit may be too tight. If there is about 1/2 inch between your hip and the pad then you are close to a good fit. Go paddle and see how it feels. I shape my hip pads so they catch my hips if I lift straight up so I'm "locked" in the kayak at the hips if I want to be but as soon as I turn my hips a little I come right out. After you've done a custom fit go practice wet exits with a friend near by. Check out Ken and Kathea Rasmussen's web site at www.kayakfit.com. Go to the photos for pictures of several custom cockpits. The skin-on-frame is my boat which I built three years ago. It has custom knee/thigh braces, custom hip pads and a custom seat. They are covered with a black synthetic fabric which is used for covering speaker grills. The hip pads in the other boats are covered with a layer of 1/16" dual density self adhesive foam. Rex Roberton *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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