Fitting out your kayak
Seat Position
To get the best performance out of your boat you should experiment with the seat position. The boat should ideally be in a neutral position. The easiest way to do this is to get a mate to help you, by watching from the bank and feeding back whether you need to move the seat forwards or backwards. You should be aware of the kit you carry in your boat when on the river and out this in whilst outfitting as it will make a difference to seat positioning.
You should also fine tune your boat by experimenting with the way the boat feels in the water and which setup you prefer.
For example I prefer my Dagger Mamba 8.5 seat right forwards as it helps me to drive the edges into the water to make quick sharp turns. This preference will depend on your paddling style, boats you have paddled in the past and type of boat.
Footrests
The footrest should ‘lock’ you into your boat as much as is comfortable, allowing you to have full control over the vessel and maximising the responsiveness of the boat. Having the footrests closer to the seat will force your buttocks into the seat and into you backrest giving you a more upright positive paddling position. Encouraging you to sit up straighter and drive from the front of your boat.
Backrest
Hip Pads
Extra Padding
The main consideration when fitting out your boat is that you need to be comfortable in it (apart from playboats maybe) as you will be in there for a long time and you need to enjoy your trips. You will not have fun if you have cramp five minutes in
10/03/2011 20:09:31oactAdmin