reshaping cockpit rim?

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oopsiflipped
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reshaping cockpit rim?

Post by oopsiflipped »

I see the space canoe instructions, but I'm looking for something less radical. How can I move the rim/ top of boat an inch up to make more room for my thighs?

I should've outfitted this Big EZ ages ago. I've had it for a year and my Dagger seat drops right in. The Seat bolt holes are in a good place for hip grabbers, but might have to drill another set to move the thigh strap d-rings forward. Hopefully it is easier to paddle than my sketchy 88! Nothing like trying to roll a boat after your knees pop out of the bulkhead and all that is holding you in is an ill fitting lap belt.

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Tiggy
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Post by Tiggy »

I just converted a big EZ. There was a problem with the part of the boat where the Thigh braces went. I just took a Dremel to them to make room for my thighs to slide in, put a little foam on them and bam, had room. :D
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msims
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Post by msims »

Yeah space canoe approach is pretty radical.

Easiest way is use a car jack, with a towel wrapped around a 2x4. You might not be able to put the car jack under the rim so you might have to use another 2x4 to stick the jack under.... THe cross-2x4 rests on both rim sides, and obviously you put the jack as close as possible to the side you want to raise.

Do one side each time. Heat using a heat gun the side of the rim which you want to raise. When it's sufficiently hot enough start cranking on the jack. I was able to raise my Y rim about 2" doing this, slowly. You need to apply a fair amount of heat across a broad area, and it almost needs to be hot enough so that the car jack doesnt have to do too much work.

You shape the towel roughly to follow the contour of the rim. You can get all space canoe-y if you want here to do a fancier job... but that's how i did it and it worked...
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Last edited by msims on Sat Mar 05, 2011 7:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Mike W.
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Re: reshaping cockpit rim?

Post by Mike W. »

oopsiflipped wrote:The Seat bolt holes are in a good place for hip grabbers, but might have to drill another set to move the thigh strap d-rings forward. Hopefully it is easier to paddle than my sketchy 88! Nothing like trying to roll a boat after your knees pop out of the bulkhead and all that is holding you in is an ill fitting lap belt.
I originally had straps in my Big EZ, but ended up changing to a lap-belt & bulkhead. I had the upper end of the straps on the front set of bolts for the kayak seat. Now I've got my lap-belt on the same bolts. I don't have photos of the Big EZ outfitting ( I can probalby get some if you want), but it's the same set up that I had in my Forplay.
Big EZ: http://cboats.net/c_db/list.php?type=5& ... e=Big%20EZ

Forplay: http://cboats.net/c_db/list.php?type=5& ... me=Forplay
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yarnellboat
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Post by yarnellboat »

FYI,

More thorough thread about the lifting of rims here:

http://cboats.net/cforum/viewtopic.php? ... 0&start=15


PY.
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