[Paddlewise] Are those thighbraces? You must be crazy!

Every now and then, you just have to buy a new boat. Something with
hormones, probably. You make up some lame excuse, promise yourself to
buy a secondhand of 100 dollars at most, and come home 2 hours later,
1000 dollars lighter, and with weeks of padding and modifying waiting
for you.

I thought I needed a recreation boat, suitable to take novice paddlers
out for a day, suitable for some lazy floating on summer afternoons, and
small enough to fit in my home. I bought myself a Rainbow Oasis. Very
easy for beginners, but all the usual sea-kayak tricks are possible. Of
course I had to move the seat, replace the decklines, reshape the
cockpit, add flotation, drill a couple of holes... The usual.

What's new is, the boat needed better thighbraces. This time I didn't
feel like using foam or plastic. Instead, I made the kind of braces used
in C1's and SOT's: straps. One end of those straps is fitted to the boat
with the footbraces, the other side is attached to the deck together
with the chair. In the middle of the straps, a short strap is attached
that is fitted to the chair, between my legs, with a quick-release
mechanism. The whole system involved drilling one hole in my boat, in
the middle of the seat.

The straps give a very solid feel, but also very comfortable. For easy
paddling on flat water, I can release them to give my legs some space to
move around. Tomorrow is try-out: I think I can hand-roll this boat with
these braces.

I think the system can be used in any kayak with insufficient
thigh-braces, and there are many of them. Don't hesitate to mail me for
further details.

Niels.
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