Camera mount position

To the guys out there who have mounted Go Pro Hero cameras to their ski's...

What is the optimal position on the foredeck of the ski, for the shot to get the paddler in the frame...?
On a FENN, (specifically a Swordfish) what measurement would it be from the rudder plate to the camera...?
Likewise for the mounting to be behind the paddler looking forward...?

Any ideas...?

With the wide angle lens, almost anywhere you want works.

Full wide does seem to make the ocean smooth and the waves small and far away though.

I'm going to mess with not so wide to try and get a more real perspective.

If you just want to do technique stuff any where will do.
Though I like to keep it symmetrical side to side for reference.

I suggest using a suction cup mount and go mess around in the flat to get a feel for it first.
Don't forget a tether.

I have a mount inside the cockpit and one at the rear of the ski but by far the best is the suction cup mounted as far forward as possible. Gives the best angle for technique work. My avatar was shot from this position.

Mine's mounted forward about 20cm back from the bow.

The exact position depends on the shape of the bow and foredeck. you may need to connect a few of the angled mounting attachments to position the camera square to the water. I've put mine on an SES like Greg's where the base mount sits at 45 degrees to the water, then used an adjustable elbow to get the camera to sit square.

This gives good coverage of the paddler, some feel for the water movement and speed, and captures some of the more entertaining moments occuring just behind you ie. capsizing skiffs, the look on the face of the skipper on the boat you just missed, paddling buddies' attack strategy when attempting to overtake etc.

Don't trust the suction cups when mounting on the fore deck. I always gaf-tape them in place, especially if there's a nice downwinder in store! Unless I'm just using the wrong type of cups?!? What type of cups does everyone use?

I've used one of the large round stick-on mounts rather than suction.

Has been rock solid so far....but I guess you only find out its weak spots when the camera disappears.

Yeah, I always have a lanyard attached to the camera that leads to some attachable point, usually back in the cockpit. The first time I had the camera mounted to the bow, after a few nice wave stuffs the camera was making rooster tails behind the cockpit. Not too worse for the wear and bumping about.

These are the only suction cup mount I'd trust a camera with.

www.ram-mount.com.au/category.php?id_category=50

I have a RAM mount and I gotta say, it's a lot heavier than the GoPro one.

Worries me a bit that it might do damage to the boat if it come off on a long leash.

I've made my own 3-cup mounts, but I think that GoPro suction unit looks perfect, though I’d have to modify it to fit a standard camera threaded stud mount. Probably not hard to accomplish. Those RAMs look awfully heavy and cumbersome. 800 gms for the three-cup unit! Ouch!

Alright... after looking around and almost ordering the GoPro unit from GoPro, I found Delkin mounts were even better.... same suction cup unit, just a better attachment for standard-camera mount-type cameras. They label it a "Fat Gecko Mini Single Suction Camera Mount"
Go here: delkin.com/i-5829839-fat-gecko-mini-sing...on-camera-mount.html
The mount weighs only 300 gms and 360 gms with extension.
Amazon.com carries these as well : www.amazon.com/Delkin-Devices-DDMOUNT-MI...K8Q0EU/ref=pd_cp_p_0
Edit: Ok, the single cup RAM is also 300 gms. Hmmm.

This is what I use. Never had a pb with those suction cups.
www.stickypod.com/osc/

Just ordered the Delkin double cup mount... intending to Frankenstein it a bit to allow camera positions in front of the bow, or behind the transom to get some interesting perspectives.

Kayaker Greg wrote: I have a mount inside the cockpit and one at the rear of the ski...

idem, with fixed anchor points (standard of GoPro).

Kayaker Greg wrote: ...by far the best is the suction cup mounted as far forward as possible. Gives the best angle for technique work.

I agree. See attachments.
Put also a cords to anchor camera in case of suction cup failure.

I recently received a RAM camera mount that I just used successfully for the past weekend's race; 9.2 miles (15km) on the James River, VA, USA (yeah, it was disappointingly flat on Saturday, with a breeze and flood current straight up the nose). I mounted two cameras to the RAM, one aimed forward, the other aft, and mounted the RAM just fore of the rudder. It was a kinda heavy setup for a race (670 g, 1.5 lbs), but I got some excellent footage of the start (I got a good jump on everyone for the first mile and then fatally jammed the rudder while bouncing over some rocks, but managed a respectable second in single skis, third overall behind a double ski, all three of us within seconds of one another). I'll be posting the vid on YouTube under 2012 James River Paddle Challenge, on the SagaSeaCraft channel, within the next couple days after editing. One of the many good features of the RAM is that the camera pad mount has a very wide base with pre-drilled holes along its perimeter, as well as a central mounting stud. I opened up two of the holes to allow a ¼” x 10 bolt to pass through, allowing me to mount both cameras to the base with barely enough room to allow access to the rear controls on each camera. The articulating arm extension is way-overbuilt (could be lighter) but the hard elastomeric ball joints allow no-slip insurance.

I had a play with some different positions on Sunday in some gentle surf. Using a RAM mount with a GoPro, I first put the camera forward looking back, then angled it away to catch the wave shapes, then stuck it behind me. The results are here - vimeo.com/40840544. It was easy enough to just jump off the ski to change the position and then remount.
The best position for a wide and comprehensive shot is from my Stikki pod mounted on an extension pole, which is just above head height.
A video using that set up is here - vimeo.com/33314714 facing back a me, and here - vimeo.com/27268493 - facing forwards.
Mark.