Stiff glutes/lower back

[leong]

12 hours ago, josko said:

I just remembered that I have two peg positions; long for 'club paddles' and rough water, where I want my legs pretty much on the hull, and a shorter peg position for exercise paddles, where I really put the legs to work. Is there a way to foam out and still leave this kind of adjustability?

The Onno footbar slides on the same tracks as the foot pegs do.

[josko]

21 hours ago, leong said:

The Onno footbar slides on the same tracks as the foot pegs do.

Onno footbar seems a bit hard to find. However, the Stellar footplate looks sort of similar. Has anybody here had first-hand experience with it?

[leong]

52 minutes ago, josko said:

Onno footbar seems a bit hard to find. However, the Stellar footplate looks sort of similar. Has anybody here had first-hand experience with it?

Josco,

I assume that the Stellar footplate is at least as good as the Onno (I couldn’t find the Onno either, Patrick’s link take me somewhere else).

The Stellar has pull straps so you can pull on one side while pushing on the opposite side (great for all-out racing).

Remember, since a kayak’s hull tapers in going forward, the standard slide tracks on each side of the hull are not parallel to each other. So you can’t use the original slide tracks with a footplate, unless you never want to slide the footplate forwards or backwards. The Onno system solves this problem by adding spacers to the hold the two tracks in parallel. I don’t know if Stellar provides the hardware to do this.

 

[mattdrayer]

It's easy enough to contact Pat and ask him directly -- he may even have one already made-up that would fit your boat.  Here are some pictures of the one he made to fit the Merganser and, fortunately for me, also the Surge I raced @ the Blackburn.  It's a pretty simple piece -- just hangs on the pegs and I didn't drill/screw I just used duct tape because versatility.  It's not a full-foot design as you can see.  You are free to give it a try if you think it will fit. Happy to bring it with me to the L2L on Saturday 9/17 if you will be there.  And as I mentioned before it's pretty straightforward to emulate as well with a piece of wood for trial purposes, although you may feel a bit of flex with wood.

Matt

 

[Paul Sylvester]

I put a Stellar footplate in a boat I built but it was two peddles for rudder control. The type used in surf skis. It is a nice set up and well built. Bit of work to install. I had to fabricate wood rails that were parallel for the back and forth adjustment. The one Matt shows above would be simple and give you better options IMO. Plus you could easily fabricate and affix a lower plate to set down on the hull to give full foot support.

Edited September 9, 2016 by Paul Sylvester

[kattenbo]

FWIW, good thread.  Cut the seat out of my Explorer and took the pegs off the rails 15 years ago and began using foam.  What is great is you can carry a small rasp with you (Stanley makes one) and modify it on the fly. 

The layering of foam on the bulkheads works well, I use it when switching footgear for cold water paddling.  The foot position flexibility is great.  Enables both locking in and relaxing, really important over a long trip.

Seat back is a block of foam shaped with the top tapered back to provide good support without impacting layback rolls.  Hip pads are slightly tapered thinner towards the bow to allow leg spread.  If you feel too locked in, out comes the rasp.

Seat pan is single piece.  If you want real comfort use two sheets - bottom has a donut hole in it, top is solid.

Good luck.

 

[josko]

FWIW, a new Taran (euro) seat completely solves my lower back issues. Would anyone know of a drop-in footplate for the Taran?  Is there a local place that would stock and install it? (It seems that Onno has disappeared as a viable vendor of kayaking equipment.)

Edited July 3, 2017 by josko