C-Forum

I have been boating in an OC1 for about 4 months and have been making adjustments to the outfitting regarding comfort. I can now stay in the boat for extended periods without my ankles going to sleep. Unfortunately when it is finally time to get out of the boat my knees complain to the extent that I feel like a cripple. Any solutions?

get out and stretch every now and then. my experience is not too different from yours. but this is my first boat and my first outfitting job so i may have done it wrong.

I agree. Get out of the boat more and stretch. I typically get out of the boat to lift up and drain it after a juicy surf, to take photos and video of my companions, or to set safety. I find that hopping out of the boat a lot prevents that crippled feeling. Oddly enough, there's nothing like a swim either for getting those legs moving again fast. Maybe that stiffness is all in our minds.

let's see the outfitting once...

ibuprofen is my friend

I'm with Craig, let see your outfiting! Do you have any knee pading? How tall is your saddle( I find that a tall saddle put more presure on my knees...and a realy low one put my feet asleep)? Do you have your feet close to the saddle(foot pegs) or further out( some people use toe block out to the side of the hull)? All these thing I found could make my knees soar...

I take 800mg ibuprofen x3 times daily. He's in an Option that I added a bunch of comfort foam to at ALF.

Saddle height can help that a bit. If you raise it up it will take some of the constriction out of the knees and give you better blood flow. But the trade off is stability. Another cause can be wetsuits. They can bunch up behind the knee, again cutting off the circulation to your feet. I've seen people cut out the backs of the knees on there wetsuits and they say it helps a fair bit. But some level of pain comes with learning OC1.

I prefer using toe blocks to foot pegs. They allow more distance between your feet and a lower saddle. Mounting them is probably difficult in a PE canoe. I suppose you could extend the pegs somehow, but haven't seen it done. Using pegs my ankles like the support hightop Chuck Taylors give.

Smurfwarrior wrote:He's in an Option that I added a bunch of comfort foam to at ALF.

Those Knees Holes in the Bulkheads of the option are pretty close together, get your Knees spread as wide as possible for Maximum comfort, even if that means carving down the sidewall foam and adding foam shims to the inside of the thigh hooks to force your knees to the Chines of the Boat as Much as possible, that will make the boat much more comfortable, open boating doesn't have to hurt.
As others have stated get out of the boat more frequently too.

I believe I added foam to the inside of the knee holes.. and complete shin to ankle support foam along with hip pads and some other stuff..

I'd also suggest learning the Hero pose in yoga (basically kneeing flat on the floor with toes directly out behind... and do that before and after you boat. Its really helped me.

Go to your nearest outfitter that sells Thermorest products and con them out of two of the little 8"x18"(these measurements are approximate) demo sleeping bag pads that they have laying around throughout the store(saw two at Mahoney's the other day). Need more relief, add more air. That was my system for squirting. Use them over or instead of minicell knee pads. Very durable, I am still using the same set I wheedled back in '87.

My current boat came with really 'cushy' ankle blocks. But after an hour or so on each outing, my knees would be screamin'. Finally, in survival mode, I ripped out the blocks and have been pain-free ever since.

My knees are happiest when the tops of my feet are flat on the floor, soles up. (Tall saddle helps to reduce the bend on the knee too!)

-K

I've used a few setups for my feet. Ankle blocks and really any set up where my feet are pushing off the footpegs make my ankles go numb and then eventually really start hurting.

I've recently been in a few boats that have the footpegs raised a bit where you can slide part of your foot under it.. Really helps me out

I too like the feet relaxed under the footpeg thing... easier to lock in and roll too