C-Forum

How do you brace your feet In a c1? I am looking at my first conversion and I'm curious how does everyone else do it?

oldschoolpiton wrote:How do you brace your feet In a c1? I am looking at my first conversion and I'm curious how does everyone else do it?

Short answer...I don't....yet. In my current C1 setup, I have snowboard bindings on my knees, and seatbelts that come up high on my thighs, starting near the crotch. I can roll the boat pretty well, but being primarily an open boater, I want foot pegs. I think I will eventually build a bulkhead for my C1 with some low-profile foot rails. I have heard of others gluing in foam blocks they push their toes against.

For C1, I get as low as possible, and have a good strap system up high, like Matt said. I never had to "brace" or lock my feet in. I could actually roll really well in a C1. This also allows you to slide your feet around to prevent numbness. My feet in C1 are always flat on the bottom of the hull. Some people use pieces of foam humps under the feet, i tried and never liked them personally. The dagger consoles are nice for retro fitting a kayak. Try different things, and figure out what works for you.

+1 on no pegs. Usually there isn't near as much room in a C-1. you almost certainly wouldn't have room for toes down/heel up position. Toes under pegs are a bad idea (I tried -the boat flexed, thought I'd lose a toe). Plus... I never found I needed them. I'd suggest at most a small foam block, nothing you could get your toes under and caught with. See if you actually need something first. You will likely find there is just a lot less torquing on you and the outfitting and less need to have that extra hold (and hindrance)

I've always found there is enough friction agaisnt the top of my feet (which are laid out flat to the bottom of the boat) that I don't need any toe blocks or anything, trouble I have is finding the comfortable spot twice!

I have experimented with small blocks of foam under my ankles to ease the strain of bearing part of my weight onto my feet but they caused new problems so I ripped them out again. To be honest finding the optimum outfitting for a C1 iseems to have evaded me!

I think with the C-1, part is outfitting, the other part is you. You can make the boat as comfy as possible with properly placed foam (neoprene foam is nice and resilient), properly shaped saddle of the right height, wide straps, etc But it really helps if you can attain the flexibility to have your feet flat - gradually work to it, yoga, something. In the right boat I can have an 8" or taller saddle and when I'm paddling regularly I'm in condition to stay in the boat all day.

I have no doubt that not getting in a C1 often enough is the biggest issue for me!

Should be out in the slalom boat tonight, but I forgot to load it this morning and I'm still exhausted from Seaquest at the weekend (think orienteering crossed with sea kayaking or canoeing)

I like to glue down a thin sheet of foam aft of the saddle. It provides enough grip so that I don't need toe blocks or pegs and for cold water paddling it insulates my feet from the cold hull.

Another vote for I don't bother with foot pegs/toe cups.

In my C1s (two Cascades and a Redline) I'm using the basic Dagger saddle with some extra wedges to hold my knees out. In none of these boats do I have any sort of toe block, nor feel the need.

The saddles in these boats are between 7 (Redline) and 7.5 (Cascades) inches tall. I kneel with the tops of me feet more or less parallel with the bottom of the boat. (plantar flexion of the ankle, for example: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/ ... 7/17-6.HTM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ).

All the boats are using thigh straps. The inboard end of the straps are anchored low on the spine of the saddle and about 4.5" forward of my crotch. The outboard ends of the straps are below the tops of my thighs and ~ level with my hips.

The Redline has ankle blocks, the Cascades don't, but they are for comfort only, not for staying in the boat.

The key seems to me to be the angle between the thigh straps and the top of the thigh. with the saddle heights in these boat the tops of my thighs are at a fairly small angle to horizontal and the thigh straps tend to pull mostly down hold me in nicely with no need to wedge my feet against anything. In my open boat, (Composite Creations Bulldog with Mike Yee outfitting, including foot pegs) which currently has a 9.5" saddle height, the balls of my feet are against the foot pegs (dorsal flexion of the ankle) and I need pressure on the foot pegs to hold myself in the rigging. The higher saddle opens up my knee joint, moving the tops of my thighs further from horizontal, and, unless I'm pushing myself into the straps I tend to fall out of the rigging. In general, I find the C1 much easier on my toes than the open boat, and the open boat easier on my knees. They are both a bit tough on my ankles, but in different ways.

Also, as an aside, in the C1s, the retention in the boat gets better and better as the inboard anchor point moves toward the crotch. The current position gives me a good (for me) balance between staying in the boat when upside down, and being able to wriggle out without having to blow off the straps. If I moved the inboard strap anchors further aft it feels like I would need less strap tension to be able to roll, but I think I would have to release the straps to bail out.

All this said, I also spend 20 minutes or more every day sitting around the house on a 6" inch tall foam block to keep my ankles and knees stretched out.

My two cents.

Okay good to know. Sounds like I just should try shortening the saddle in my cascade

If you're slipping back, off the seat when you roll, you can try a taller back rest. Be sure to round the corners so it's not so tough on your skirt.