> > On the other hand, I am enamored of what is generally termed a "keyhole > cockpit," which is I believe is a modification of the whitewater > cockpit. This is on many kayaks, including NDKs. It is longer than the > ocean cockpit, but has flanges that come up over the thighs to allow good > bracing. The WW keyhole cockpit is considered to be far safer than the smaller cockpit. There had been a significant number of fatalities in the US when a WW paddler was pinned and either could not get out of the boat or the boat folded and he was leg entrapped. With the keyhole one could scrunch a knee over and out fairly readily. In a vertical pin one could place a foot on the forward edge and push out. It's hard to get good statistics but from Charlie Walbridge's reports I'd say that it's helping a lot. The other major improvement was the installation of a bulkhead type platform in lieu of footpegs. Joe P. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Jan 11 2001 - 07:49:42 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:36 PDT