I have a probe 12 ll that I cut the saddle down to 8 inches. Thinking about going down another inch to 7 inches to get a little more stability. Yes, I have the usual numbness and installed ankle blocks , which help a little. And yes, I know the numbness will increase as I go down, but I just feel a little high centered and unstable on the bigger drops or on a long wave train with high waves. Of course my 210 lbs probably dont help, but just wanted to know if anyone else is using a 7 inch or lower saddle and how it was helping on stability ?
Seat height also affects the angle of entry for your forward stroke, so you need to look at that too. You want about a 45-degree angle. Too low of a seat can result in not enough angle so that you end up starting your catch pushing down on the water.
Are your knees as wide apart as they can be? This will make a difference in comfort as you go lower. I paddle better when comfortable and need to worry about stability less when I'm comfy so I ride around in 9" + plus tall saddles.
The L'edge is sooo comfy at 9" My Mohawk boats, Probe 13 and Viper 12 are at 7.5" Probably a good height for these but definately not as comfy, especially in the Viper. Could never figure out why since the outfitting is basically the same in the two.
DougB wrote:Are your knees as wide apart as they can be? This will make a difference in comfort as you go lower. I paddle better when comfortable and need to worry about stability less.
I can't disagree.
Another factor relating to width-of-knees and comfort is the thickness of the knee pads. Because of the weird hull shape in my Fink, I thickened the knee-pads to about 2". As a result, the knees were wider, but bent too tightly. So I padded the seat from my usual 6" to around 7".
Got the comfort back, and I'm no more unstable than ever, (which relates more to lack of skill, than to seat height!)
