Reply from a beginner-early intermediate on a couple of issues. On small cockpits: My Arctic Hawk has a pretty small cockpit (and it is the larger of the two they offered on the boat) and I find it hard to get in and out. Having a hard time learning to roll, as I am a little panicy after a capsize, so get out of it I must. This is a little different shape than the VCP ocean cockpit, but about the same size. On the custom skirt issue: I had a custom Snap Dragon skirt made for the Hawk and it is truly lovely. However, I need to stretch it out a little somehow, as I am not sure I could get it off under water. You can get neoprene deck with nylon tube and neoprene collar. Very nice people. On the seat issue, I hate the stock seat and have been trying to make one of those foam seats. Trouble is, I have got it down pretty thin and it still raises my center of gravity up enough to make the boat noticibly more tippy. This is something people should think about when replacing their stock seats. The stock seat in the Hawk is thin and very close to the hull. Even an xtra 3/4 inch in a fairly skinny boat can make it feel a lot different (I imagine this works the other way as well: lower the stock seats, and get more stability. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
on 1/11/01 7:06 PM, RWMCT_at_aol.com at RWMCT_at_aol.com wrote: snip > On the seat issue, I hate the stock seat and have been trying to make one > of those foam seats. Trouble is, I have got it down pretty thin and it still > raises my center of gravity up enough to make the boat noticibly more tippy. > This is something people should think about when replacing their stock seats. > The stock seat in the Hawk is thin and very close to the hull. Even an xtra > 3/4 inch in a fairly skinny boat can make it feel a lot different (I imagine > this works the other way as well: lower the stock seats, and get more > stability. Keep carving on the foam seat until area of the butt dimple (or "sit bones") is only 1/4 inch thick. The rest of the seat will be thicker. My experience is that you can always get a custom foam seat to be lower in the kayak than the stock seat. Rex Roberton *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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