Dead Leg

Good morning,

I've been paddling a Carbonology vault for nearly 2 years but took delivery of my new Glide yesterday. An intimidating looking boat in terms of stability but did 4km's this morning and loved it!!! Much more stable than she looks and easily linked runs in small wind chop that I would have had to grind through on my old boat.

BUT! The cockpit is a lot tighter than the my old boat and by the time i finished paddling my left foot and most of my leg had gone completely dead!
Anybody else had similar problems and how do I get around this?

Thanks!

Howzit...

Just spoke to one of the pros and he suggested two things:

- Use a bum pad. It'll change the pressure spots on your backside (and give you a better paddling position). The downside is that it will make the boat a little more tippy.
- Adjust the rudder pedals forward so that you push more solidly against your heels without inadvertently turning the boat. It'll reducer the tension in your hamstrings and also change the pressure points on your backside.

Good luck!

Hi,

I've got a Glide and had exactly the same problem, caused by the seat being a bit too snug for me. Rather than use a thick butt pad, get one of those thin aerobics/camping mats and cut that to suit your bucket as you prefer. Its very thin and soft and you can mould it to go up the sides and back slightly.

It worked for me and the difference in stability is minor.

Thanks Gents.
Will fiddle around and try your suggestions. will report back in a few days.

I haven't had that problem in any surfski I've tried, but I've experienced it in several racing- and sea-kayaks. In all cases, putting a piece of camping mat under my feet helped.

The good thing about this solution is that it doesn't hurt your stability. That bad thing is that if you already have your feet high compared to your seat (or seat low compared to your feet, but that's the same thing), which is common in surfskis, you may not want to get your feet even higher.