RE: [Paddlewise] Escape No. A250

If the seat is like a bucket seat, it was designed around my rear end. This is
what NWK used at first and it had footpedals that were attached to it that
also slid on a 1" aluminum strap (NWK) or with a Nylon bolt in a C-channel
(Mariner). NWK didn't put the seat and slide plate together very well, at one
point even trying to glue them together with globs of Bondo like filler rather
than glassing them together. Also the plastic track that ran on the 1" strap
to hold up the sliding foot pedals mostly broke and they often didn't sand the
bottom of the rubber or vinyl seat holding tracks and the glass below them
when they glued them in with contact cement so many of the seat tracks were
coming up on NWK's Escapes (while none did on the ones that I glued down). I
saw one coming off while still new in the showroom of a local retail
competitor once. That was the last straw, and we ended NWK being able to offer
the sliding seat versions at that time. They still used that bucket seat for a
little while and held it down to the hull with the same rubber or vinyl track
material but used shorter tracks with a stop glued on sat the back so the seat
couldn't slide back too far back (at least until those stops came unglued too)
when someone pushed on the stock adjustable fixed foot pedals (or on both
rudder pedals at the same time if it had a rudder).  I'm guessing that is the
system that you got. I suggest you just get a backband and use your QCC seat
or get a Spirit Line foam seat (if you want to use both kayaks at the same
time). At this point in writing to you I looked at the pictures link you
provided and confirmed my last guess above was correct as to your Escape's
seat. Looking at the seat size in the picture I'm remembering that the then
NWK owner also had made a smaller bucket seat mold that fit his skinny butt
better (I think that is likely the one on this boat as it looks pretty small
in the picture--although the larger standard that fit me one might not fit you
either). The hold down rubber or vinyl white (carpet edge) rails for the
removable (by sliding forward) seat were probably original unless they had
needed to be replaced or glued down again later.

I also noticed from the pictures that this was one of the wholesale kayaks
that had a 4" front hatch and a foam bulkhead in the front (that probably,
from what I can tell of the picture, enclosed off an inadequate amount of
buoyancy by itself but left room for an XL gear storage bag between the foot
pedals and the bulkheads. It was this kind of thing that drove us nuts. How is
someone supposed to use the space blocked off by a bulkhead through a 4" or 6"
hatch? But to NWK it satrisfied the retail stores request that the kayaks they
ordered have a bow bulkhead I guess. Later NWK put a larger bow hatch with a
lid and neoprene cover on the bows (much like on the stern). If I were you,
I'd cut out the foam bulkhead and use a large float bag like the stern bag
available from George Gonseth's Kayak Academy now (when paddling empty and
large gear bags loaded through the cockpit for camping trips). If you leave
what is there already, then I'd use an XL dry sack filled with light pile
garments (or crumpled up paper) between the foot pedals and bulkhead to give
you adequate flotation for rescues when paddling without gear loads.

The Scotty deck fitting held a bent 1/4" stainless steel rod that could hold a
fishing pole for trolling for salmon. Most of the Scotty mounting plates we
used were blue in color. The mount needed to be mounted far enough back that
you could turn and reach back with a pretty straight arm to reach the fishing
rod if you got a strike (or wanted to use the pole for jigging for bottom
fish). If it was mounted too close to the cockpit it was very awkward to reach
the fishing rod behind you with your very bent elbow in the way.

The cockpit was set up so that the trim position for the Escape kayak
(floating level) would be with a persons back of the seat would be about 6"
forward of the inside back of the cockpit (too allow the sliding seat to be
moved back 6" to adjust the trim to best fit the paddling conditions--see our
manuals). For a very heavy guy who protrudes more in the front the trim
position of the seat might be a few inches further back than that. You could
put a level in front of you when sitting in the sat to check at what seat
position the bottom is level. The early sliding seat Escapes had no seat
hangers on the cockpit rim but you could probably fasten a backband to the
deck somehow or use a 4" thick foam block for a backrest that rested back
against the cockpit rim in back.

The Escape has little need for a rudder, and for a big guy who can lean it
(even when heavily loaded with gear), it responds well to a lean to the
outside to make a quick turn. This provides a strong lean controlled ruddering
effect, so I'd try to fix the footpedals in place where you want them and use
it without the rudder. That rudder was built of nylon and aluminum by NWK and
was meant to be lowered by gravity just as you supposed.

The pigmented (once black) fiberglass outside seams and the fiberglass rear
hatch lid have glass fibers being exposed that could leave little slivers in
you if you rubbed against them with tender skin (like on the inside of your
forearm). I'd paint them with black gelcoat with some surface agent (liquid
wax) and a smoothing agent mixed in it to get a complete (non-sticky) cure and
less brush marks. Mask off the seams with masking tape when painting them.
Some other urethane Marine paints like Awlgrip might work to cover the
erupting glass fibers on the seams and lid as well but I'm not as familiar
with them for that use.

Your last picture seemed to show some cracks in the gelcoat somewhere. If that
is correct, they are probably just stress cracks where the gelcoat was once
overflexed outward. Nothing to worry about unless there are exposed broken
glass fibers from a crack in the structural vacuum-bagged fiberglass laminate
underneath them (which is unlikely).

Read the last of the FAQ's on our FAQ page of our website for directions for
how to replace the fore deck shock cords that once were threaded through those
six holes in the deck. We did it that way so that if you rubbed across the
cords during a paddle stroke you wouldn't bloody your knuckles on raised
fittings. NWK soon used nylon eyelets there but apparently not yet when yours
was built. This was likely because customers in a showroom who didn't
understand why it was done that way probably thought it looked like a cheap
way to do it. We did it that way for all the kayaks we made unless someone
requested something else because we thought it was more funtional. The figure
eight knots in the shock cord were hidden below deck, The shock cord filled
and sealed the very small holes so they didn't leak, and nothing stuck up that
could bloody your knuckles while paddling. It was easy to adjust for shock
cord as it stretched out (as all shock cord does eventually). We never saw any
downside to the holes through the deck shock cord system in the 27 years we
did it that way other than it was a kind of a pain for us to string it and
customers who didn't know how we did it and wanted to replace the shock cord
could get frustrated (which is why I added those directions to the FAQ's
rather than have to type them over and over again).

>From the number you gave it looks,from my records, that your Escape was built
in late 1984 or very early 1985. The Coast Guard hull ID number which should
be found on the right side within a foot of the stern may tell you the month
and year it was built. See our stolen kayak webpage for how to read that
number (which probably starts with with the manufacturers three letter ID,
NWG).




.


> Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:23:36 -0700
>>>>> I've included a link to some photos I took in case anyone wants to
> answer a few more questions. I wonder if the seat in this boat is the
> original Mariner design. Sadly for me, it wasn't designed to fit a rear
> end like mine! It does slide on a type of rail system, but there's no
> way to lock it in. The rails almost look like they were added later, but
> I'm not sure.
> One thing that has me baffled is the large plastic piece by the back
> hatch with the word "Scotty" written on it! I wonder if it held on some
> kind of latch for the hatch? Never seem anything like it before.
> The boat also has three holes on each side in front of the cockpit where
> other boats usually have bungees, so I wonder if it held some kind of
> rail for bungee attachment.
> The rudder has a line to lift it, but I assume relies on the heavy blade
> for lowering for use. I thought the boat turned nicely on it's own, so
> if I plan to keep the boat, I don't think I'll be using it. My foam seat
> from my QCC fits it nicely, but that leaves me without a backband for
> the time being. I'll be taking it out for a spin Sun. or Mon. in the
> mean time.
>
> http://www.sandmarks.net/Escape/Escape1.html
>
> Mark Sanders
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