Leash Attachment

As a paddler who has paddled most of the new era skis I have wondered why the manufacturers as a group have not addressed this issue. Jude has done a good job with the HUKI skis, and with some of the older double footwell skis it is not too bad to attach a leash. However, with all of the new single footwell skis I wonder if the leash being attached to the footstrap will result someday in having the whole adjustable assemble being at risk in a bad wipeout. Perhaps creating a few alternate anchor points would be a good move for the manufacturers.

Think EVO's and Legends have these attachment points as standard.
They seem to work quite well.

I've added some stainless hardware to the structural part of the footboard to anchor my leashes to. It's worked very well and is very solid. Easy installation also.

Why not just attach the leash to the footstrap?

I feel safer anchored to the boat than attached to something that is attached to the boat...

Hiro wrote:

I feel safer anchored to the boat than attached to something that is attached to the boat...

I think that what you mean to say is that you feel safer being attached, via a velcro connection to the end of your leash, which is attached to the main body of your leash, which is attached to the other end of your leash, which is attached to some leash mounting point which is attached to the boat--rather than being attached via a velcro connection to the end of your leash, which is attached to the main body of your leash, which is attached to the other end of your leash, which is attached to your footstrap, which is attached to the boat.

I think that in this case, your feeling is misguided.

The reason why I wrote the post in the first place was one to express concern regarding being attached to the adjustable footbrace assmebly, whether by the footstrap (which I currently do) or via some hardware. The concern was if the heavy strain on the assembly due to a wave wipeout might cause problems.

I've not heard of any instances that an adjustable footbrace assy has broken with a leash attached to it. I do anchor to the main structural part of it myself because of the enhanced integrity in that location. I hesitate to use the footstrap mainly because of the higher possibility of material degredation over time. Also I'm just not keen on attaching to a two or three piece adjustable strap. It also may cause discomfort on your feet to have a leash rubbing under the strap. If you're talking about possibility of breakage in a surf condition I'd highly recommend not using the leg leash while in the surf zone. In the small surf where I live I still use a paddle leash as to keep the boat from hitting someone on shore. No issues so far.

Nice point yhomas, but I still believe that more parts/connections = more possibility of leash failure.

mbuck428, I second txbuckeye : Don't ever use your leash in the surf zone. The footbrace system is stronger than your knee/ankle attached at the other end of the leash...

Another point about lack of leash anchor point is that I think we pay a lot of money for a ski; a leash is an essential safety item, nothing is specificaly built on the ski to attach the leash to... Doesn't it sound like something's wrong ?

Good points Hiro. Our surf zones in Hawaii are not a place to have a leaseh, but there are other times close to them or near rogue waves in our channels that o\you keep the leash on. My point is an attachment point would be easy to incorporate in the manufacturing stage. By the way, did you paddle in the Tahiti Surfski Races last weekend?

A bad wipe out (surfing) left me with an injured meniscus, and a wouded lateral ligament 3 weeks ago... so no surfski race for me, and no surfing either...

Kind of butting in at the end here but...

Apropos of disconnecting your leash in a hurry when you approach surf, I've modified my Epic ankle leash so that it has a snap lock hook on it (from yachting) that releases instantly when you pull on the one side.

I found the mini-carabiner awkward to undo and fell off once when fiddling with it. The snap hook is way easier to undo.

The Think skis (Evo at least) have a proper anchor point especially for the leash. On my boats I've always used the foot strap.

Cheers
Rob

Have had a few people e-mailing looking for pics of the leash point on our skis.


Here are a few photos.


Daryl put a lot of thought into all aspects of safety on the range when designing it, small items like the leash point help to add up to making the skis as safe as possible for paddlers.

[Editor: See below]

mbuck428 wrote:

The reason why I wrote the post in the first place was one to express concern regarding being attached to the adjustable footbrace assmebly, whether by the footstrap (which I currently do) or via some hardware. The concern was if the heavy strain on the assembly due to a wave wipeout might cause problems.

If there is really enough force pulling between your leg and the boat, I think that you will be quite glad if footrest breaks loose before your leg does.

I have had a very hard pull on my leg just from a small ~1 meter breaking wave when I neglected to unstrap my leash--this was not enough to cause injury, but it was enough to really get my attention.

Here are the pics: