Sports/Fitness :: Other |
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Outfitting A Kayak |
| There are a lot of different types of boats out there. Whitewater, Recreational and Touring are the three main categories (There's also Sit-On-Top's. |
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Ever try skiing without your boots buckled? You try to turn and nothing happens. Or you try to correct your balance and again nothing happens. And when it happens it's too late.
Well, that's exactly what you're doing in an improperly fit kayak. About 80% of control comes from the waist down. So, if you're not fitting well you're not paddling well. There are a lot of different types of boats out there. White water, Recreational and Touring are the three main categories (There's also Sit-On-Top's. We're ignoring this style for now. Sorry) White water boats are typically the most technical fitting and tend to require the most personalization. Therefore we're going to focus on this niche. As we do know that all of the techniques used are applicable to Touring and Recreational kayaks.
"Most first time kayakers borrow a friend's boat, or slip into a boat that feels comfortable, and then go kayaking," says Todd Anderson head instructor for the Kayakshed. "Loose, comfortable boats feel good in the store and on flat water, but they can make leaning and bracing very difficult. Once the boat is outfitted to provide a close, snug fit that still allows for easy wet exits, on water performance can dramatically improve."
This rule applies to all levels of kayakers, from paddling easy whitewater, big water runs or creeks. Customized outfitting helps transfer the river's current through the kayak's hull to your body, helping you sense your surroundings, make essential maneuvers and keep your balance. To get the best performance you need to have good contact wherever possible with your boat. This includes hips, lower back, butt, thigh, knees, and feet.
Addition to good contact it needs to be comfortable. We're going to focus on areas of the hips, lower back, butt and, feet
Hips:
If you can fit a hand between your hips and the seat of your kayak, you'll probably need to customize your boat's fit. Many of the new boats out there have adjustable hip pads and come with directions on how to do this. However, if they don't you have to do-it-yourself. How? Well you can buy preshaped minicell foam hip pads - customize them to your hips and glue them into place, or you can buy preshaped hip pads and simply strap them into your boat. When you are done your boat should fit comfortably - not painfully.
Lower back:
Back bands and seat backs set against the lower back, preventing you from sliding backward off your seat and holding you forward against your foot outfitting. They can also provide lumbar support. There are a lot of after-market back bands out there. The newest and most functional I have found is from Jackson Kayak. This back band replaces the old ratchet system with the ultimate in simplicity, strength, and ease of use. Figure out which back band is best for you by sitting in a couple of boats already outfitted with them.
Butt:
Seat pads have dramatically changed over the past years. Jackson Kayak has come out with their “Sweet Cheeks” Outfitting seat system. Done right they are the best thing you can do to customize your kayak. Historically a seat pad was simply a piece of minicell foam glued to the hard plastic seat.
Sweet Cheeks form fits around your rear end to make a perfect bucket seat. No pressure points. No more sliding around on your seat.
The average kayak seat is designed to fit the largest rear end that would likely fit in the boat, otherwise that kayak would be useless to those with a big rear end. The Sweet Cheeks allows your rear end to form a butt imprint down deep, creating a bucket that surrounds you in back, to the sides, and on both sides of your legs. Low spots are filled in, high spots are taken down, and all of the areas that aren't normally supported are suddenly supported.
One of my favorite parts is that where the hip pads end the Sweet Cheeks picks up, offering side to side support perfectly. I hate leaning back in my boat and having my rear end slide forward. The Sweet Cheeks offers a comfortable wedge in the front, made by your legs and crotch that prevent forward slippage. The other part that is huge is that the back of the seat meets up with the back band in the exact right spot, so your tailbone is protected by foam, and the back of your rear end is firmly supported with the rise behind you.
Ho
9? When you are getting into your kayak with the Sweet Cheeks for the first time, you'll get in after you inflate it about 4 breaths worth. When you sit on it the air will rush out of the tube, while the beans rush around to find a place to go until the air is mostly out. To “lock it in” for as long as you like your setup, simply suck the remaining air out and “viola”! It is a perfectly locked down seat pad that won't slip around on your seat. The bottom of the pad is made of Velcro hoops and it stays firmly in place on the Velcro in your kayak.
Feet:
Historically foot pegs and bulkheads were all there was to offer. More recently customized foam blocks came into play. Now the latest and easiest (and arguably best) method is the invent of the 'foot bag'. Or Happy Feet as Jackson Kayak calls them. Tuck your feet into Jackson's bean bag and get them super comfy, then close the valve and you have your footprint proudly placed in our Happy Feet Foot bag. Then pump the bulb which inflates the adjustment bladder and you will tighten up the bag until you have the right amount of pressure to give you the control you like. Get to the bottom of the rapid, or pull into an eddy and hit the release valve, now you have excess room again and can lift your knees out easily to relax. From a technical standpoint it works like this:
1) The Cross linked Polyethylene Beans are compressible but have memory to expand back to their mini football shapes. When you put get into the kayak and push on the bag the air is forced out of it and the beans compress to give you a fit that works perfectly with your leg and foot type. When you close the valve you have “locked” the beans in place.
This happens because when you get out of your boat the beans try to expand to their original shape, but there is no space to “spread out” because the valve is closed so the beans lock in place. So you can fiddle around with the bag and it keeps your foot pockets neatly in place. Now the reality for the bag is that it takes a little practice to get it perfect in the beginning.
For example: When you open the valve the beans are free to move around. So if you have it open and carry the boat on one shoulder then get in without making the boat flat and shaking it a little the beans will be off to one side. So, don't open the valve and carry the boat unless you don't mind getting the beans evenly spread out again!
2) The “Air Bladder” is designed to fully fill up the void in the bow of your kayak when inflated to eliminate as much “side to side” motion as possible and still give you up to 9” inches of adjustability. This means you could go from a 29-37” inseam with one sized foot bag. We have two sizes that covers everybody in every boat, cool. OK, so the air bladder takes about 10 pumps for somebody that is nearing the end of the boat and about 40 pumps to fully inflate for somebody who has really short legs for the boat they are in. The impressive part is that you can pump it until your legs hurt. The bladder is broken into a left and right compartment. One of the biggest issues with air for support is that it can so easily move from one side to the other.
Jackson Kayak has a special “bleed valve” in between the two compartments that makes it so when you push hard on your left foot all of the air doesn't rush to the right side and visa versa.
The guy helping me on this project figured that out and for it I consider him a genius, his name is Jeff Reynolds (Genius). The really cool thing is that when you want to relax you simply push the release button and the air can be pushed out by pressing on your feet. It is funny how it doesn't seem like it is going out at first because it goes slowly (10 seconds for a full release) but when you stop pushing you realized that you have tons of room to move around, get your legs out, etc.
Now you have the skinny on the new methods of outfitting your kayak. If you only wanted to go with one of the above options I would have to choose the Happy Seat. They are amazing and truly make a difference.
If you have any questions or would like to purchase any of the above check out our site at Kayak Gear and Accessories =
www.kayakshed.com
Thanks for reading, John
John Hart - Owner of Kayak Shed
Article Source: www.activehowto.com
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Posted 2006-10-04 04:58:18 By John Hart
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