To tag on to Craig's post, I have a friend who is trying to find a boat. He is, in one sense of the word, a "big" guy. But he's big across his .. uh .. derrihre, his stomach and he has large thighs. I'd guess he's about 250-275 pounds. He's only about 5'10" or 5'11", so boats that he can fit in, like the Seaward Navigator, or just too high and/or long to be able to get his knees locked in. There seem to be boats out there for the tall people, and boats for us svelte types (ignoring what I see in the mirror in the mornings!), but not much for the the medium height, 'stocky' builds. The Nimbus Telkwa made him happier than his current Navigator, but even that gives him issues trying to get his knees locked in to the thigh braces in bumpy water. Anyone care to offer any suggestions of boats that his body type might be better suited to? -- Darryl *************************************************************************** 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 Sat, Jul 3, 2010 at 6:29 AM, Darryl Johnson <darryl_johnson_at_rogers.com>wrote: > > There seem to be boats out there for the tall people, and boats for us > svelte types (ignoring what I see in the mirror in the mornings!), but not > much for the the medium height, 'stocky' builds. > > Okay... I'll take a shot at this. The "Illusion" by Sterling's Kayaks ( www.sterlingskayak.com) was mentioned in my original post on this thread and it is well worth looking at. Sterling has created a novel cockpit simulator where a potential paddler can see if any combination of volume will suit his/her body type. This is not a measure of how the kayak will paddle, mind you, but simply a way to determine which version of boat will fit your body type best. Once that's dialed in you can try a boat that's close and see how you like the way it performs. Failing that, there is always the SOF route. Brian Schulz, who created the F-1 in SOF from his virtually identical copies of the Mariner Coaster in SOF, is very good at creating a boat that fits the customer. You don't actually *have* to build it yourself as Brian can build the boat from your measurements (for a sum of money over and above the class "kit" version). When I took his course one of our class members was building what amounted to a Mariner Express in SOF but designed around his own body measurements. He seemed very happy with the finished product, too. It's no secret that I like my F-1 a lot but I've been a long-time fan of Mariner kayaks anyway. Many of my ideas about SOF kayaks were completely blown away by the F-1 but the biggest one was that it would feel like a folding boat. In stark contrast, my F-1 feels solid and stable in the water. I suppose it must be flexing somewhat but I certainly don't feel it. So there are two ideas. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
The QCC 500 might do. I think they have one of the smallest cockpit lengths for a large man boat at 30" long. He may just have to get creative with minicel foam! Mark On 7/3/2010 6:29 AM, Darryl Johnson wrote: > To tag on to Craig's post, I have a friend who is trying to find a > boat. He is, in one sense of the word, a "big" guy. But he's big > across his .. uh .. derrihre, his stomach and he has large thighs. I'd > guess he's about 250-275 pounds. He's only about 5'10" or 5'11", so > boats that he can fit in, like the Seaward Navigator, or just too high > and/or long to be able to get his knees locked in. > > There seem to be boats out there for the tall people, and boats for us > svelte types (ignoring what I see in the mirror in the mornings!), but > not much for the the medium height, 'stocky' builds. > > The Nimbus Telkwa made him happier than his current Navigator, but > even that gives him issues trying to get his knees locked in to the > thigh braces in bumpy water. > > Anyone care to offer any suggestions of boats that his body type might > be better suited to? *************************************************************************** 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 Sat, Jul 3, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Mark Sanders <marksanders_at_sandmarks.net>wrote: > The QCC 500 might do. I think they have one of the smallest cockpit lengths > for a large man boat at 30" long. > For me a short cockpit is anathema but that might be just the thing for Darryl's friend. It could put his knees in the perfect place without needing 18" of foam. > He may just have to get creative with minicel foam! > You can only go so far with that but it might be his last resort. I'm not a big fan of lots of foam fitting. I prefer the minimum for comfort and then pulling the foot pegs closer to keep my knees in contact with the deck. If you have short legs but need a wider cockpit and seat the corresponding high deck most manufacturers provide makes that difficult. QCC's support is also fantastic; just ask Mark. (grin) I would also take the kayak paddler-weight numbers with a grain of salt. As an example, in white water kayaks the RPM Max is recommended for "larger" paddlers (I paddle one and I think Mark still has his) and has a volume of 90 gallons. Most "sea" kayaks would list a 90-gallon boat for average to smaller paddlers. 90 gallons is also the volume of the Mariner Coaster, just fyi. A lot depends on what he wants to do, too. The Telkwa wouldn't be my choice for surfing but it is a fantastic boat if you like to do trips. Plus, for bigger paddlers, the Telkwa performs pretty well even as a day boat. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
I don't know if Necky still males the Kyook but that would probably work for him. Of they don't make it any more, perhaps a used one might be available. Joan Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: Darryl Johnson <darryl_johnson_at_rogers.com> Sender: owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net Date: Sat, 03 Jul 2010 09:29:45 Cc: Paddlewise Paddlewise<paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net> Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Boat and People sizes To tag on to Craig's post, I have a friend who is trying to find a boat. He is, in one sense of the word, a "big" guy. But he's big across his .. uh .. derrihre, his stomach and he has large thighs. I'd guess he's about 250-275 pounds. He's only about 5'10" or 5'11", so boats that he can fit in, like the Seaward Navigator, or just too high and/or long to be able to get his knees locked in. There seem to be boats out there for the tall people, and boats for us svelte types (ignoring what I see in the mirror in the mornings!), but not much for the the medium height, 'stocky' builds. The Nimbus Telkwa made him happier than his current Navigator, but even that gives him issues trying to get his knees locked in to the thigh braces in bumpy water. Anyone care to offer any suggestions of boats that his body type might be better suited to? -- Darryl *************************************************************************** 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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