My poor toes

Decked Canoes, Open Canoes, as long as they're canoes!

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the great gonzo
Paddling Benefactor
Posts: 1718
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:03 am
Location: Montréal, Québec

Post by the great gonzo »

Just two things about curling your toes underneath the footpegs, one problem that can occurr when you do that is that pressing the balls of your foot against the foot pegs creates some lifting force which can blow out, depending on the type of the outfitting, the rear footpeg mounting block. Not fun if it happens to yourself in the middle of a rapid :( , but fun to watch if it happens to your buddy :D ...
The other problem is make sure that there is lots of clearance between the bottom of the boat and the lower edge of the footpeg, otherwise it will really hurt if you boof a small drop and the landing zone is a bit shallow, trust me, I tried it :roll: ...

martin a.k.a. The Great Gonzo!
Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing - Henry David Thoreau
angelamsig
C Boater
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2003 5:04 pm
Location: MD

toes/footpegs

Post by angelamsig »

I haven't run into any toe problems yet but I have been very uncomfortable with the footpegs.

I like the top of my feet flat on the boat. A paddling buddy does the following: cuts a 4" by 4" piece of foam on the diagonal and then glues it to the footpegs so that the diagonal side is what the bottom of your foot presses against. His foam blocks haven't fallen out however someone else had a problem keeping them glued in. I'm thinking I might try something similar but maybe try to put the foot peg into the foam instead of gluing it.

So far I haven't really felt the need to use the foot pegs while paddling. Guessing I might want them on the harder stuff for control. Met someone this past weekend who says he can roll an Outrage with the Mohawk double strap lap belt without using footpegs at all and he doesn't fall out of the boat!

Angie
sqbtr
c
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Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2004 7:47 pm
Location: marshall VA

Post by sqbtr »

I took a cheap pair of neoprene booties, cut holes at all the pressure points on the top of my feet, then I took a piece of neoprene and cut holes at the same spots and glued it on top, I kept repeating until it felt comfortable. then covered the whole mess the a full patch of neoprene. They are not pretty but work great
grinner
Pain Boater
Posts: 64
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 6:38 pm
Location: england, Nottingham

Post by grinner »

when i paddled a spanish fly i could stay init for ages but i have a savage skeeter now and my feet are really uncomfortable.
i used to have some old boots and i never felt anything in the spanish fly but i got some new shoes for canoeing and i cant seem to get my foot in the right place
maybe its my new shoes i got for it
paddling a flooded canoe is easy. stopping is easy as long as you have some kayaks to help you stop.
Li'l D
C Boater
Posts: 38
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2003 3:56 am
Location: Latham, NY

Post by Li'l D »

Thanks everyone, I am going to try some of your suggestions. I will try to put some foam on the foot peg to change the angle of my foot. I already have NRS wetshoes but I will try to glue some foam or neoprene for more padding. I will try to add some ankle support and instead of taping up my toes with adhesive tape I will reinforce my toenails with kevlar with a purple gel coat to match my Zoom. I'm still listening if you have any more ideas.LEW, if I am in the stern I will be watching to make sure you are paddling.
Bob P
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Location: Connecticut

Post by Bob P »

My entry for the Ugly Toes Contest...
[img]http://wwslalom.org/bob/misc/toes.jpg[/img]
Bob P
grinner
Pain Boater
Posts: 64
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 6:38 pm
Location: england, Nottingham

Post by grinner »

Now thats not what i want to see :lol:

i dont know if this would work but could you move the foot pegs back, put a chink of foam on so that your foot slides in at a angle.

or could you trim a bit off the middle/ where ever your top bit of your foot goes so your top bit of the foot slides in.
or
extend the foot peg using foam so you can move your foot sideways to a more comfortable position

would any of these ideas work
paddling a flooded canoe is easy. stopping is easy as long as you have some kayaks to help you stop.
grinner
Pain Boater
Posts: 64
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 6:38 pm
Location: england, Nottingham

Post by grinner »

Hi
i live in england and i was paddling today and i went over straight away. The water was cold ( but i do live in england) and my toes went real numb and have been cold all day. I also got cramp in them. Does anyone know how to stop them getting really cold and if there are any more people that could tell me how to stop getting cramp.
thanks
paddling a flooded canoe is easy. stopping is easy as long as you have some kayaks to help you stop.
Li'l D
C Boater
Posts: 38
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2003 3:56 am
Location: Latham, NY

Post by Li'l D »

Grinner, I had that problem too until I invested in a dry suit with gore-tex socks. Now I can put some wool socks on my feet and they stay warm and dry inside.
NZMatt
Supporting Paddler
Posts: 419
Joined: Sun Feb 23, 2003 8:55 pm
Location: Konolfingen, Switzerland

Toes curled under

Post by NZMatt »

Hiya

I've never had too much problelm - I curl my toes under my foot pegs to really hold myself in tight. I will not paddle with any shoe with a textured sole, however, as I'm worried about it getting stuck under the pegs if I need out in a hurry. So, the onlyshoes I ever use are the NRS Rodeo Socks. The grip isn't great on portages, but I try to avoid those anyway :) Some people find them not warm enough, but I've never had many problems with cold feet.

I also second Martin's view about giving some extra space - I don't have much and have definitely pinched my toes a few times when rocks impacted the hull right underneath the footpegs. Ouch!

Good luck!

Matt
NZMatt

Hmmm....new country, new rivers...-
Still not enough c-boaters....
swisscanoeist
c
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 8:36 pm
Location: Central Switzerland

Post by swisscanoeist »

I was so surprised about all the complaints about the existing foot pegs. Nobody brought a solution to all the pain.
Hey, we're not pain boaters. We are proud C-Boaters!, Open Boaters !
Afters some years in a Mohawk Viper11. I was so uncomfortable in the Prelude. When I bought the Spanish Fly I had to do something.
These new foot pegs my oncle welded for me in aluminium are really good and fine!

Edited to Add:
Image

Image Image

Hugo


P.S.
now idea how to post pictures, sent them per e-mail
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