Atom outfitting?

[ian123]

Just bought an Atom. The boat is mint except some assshole porcupine chewed every last piece of foam out of it.... it practically licked the saddle mount clean. Unbelievable. Anyway, does anyone have any pictures of what an outfitted Atom is supposed to look like? Should it have bow and stern pillars? What are folks using for straps?

[cposton]

I don't have a picture. I have modified my outfitting. But you would probably modify the outfitting even if it was still factory perfect.

The pillars fit into the seat and go forward and back from the seat to the ends of the boat.

The thigh straps need to be changed. The original thigh straps are velcroed closed. They are difficult to release when you want to release because the the cowling can clamp the velcro back together after you release it when you are upside down. And the velcro can catch again before the strap slides far enough through the hull d-ring. Replace the thigh straps with cam buckle closures.

I have also added additional bracing foam for my knees under the deck. The thigh straps do not hold my knees in postion, and when i roll I want leverage with my knees. this leverage comes from foam padding that holds my knees still. It is a u-shaped paddling that is glued under the deck and holds my knees down and close to the center of the seat.

The seat pad conforms to the outline of the seat. Simply build up a foam pedestal on the plastic seat. The height should be just enough to keep your lower legs from going to sleep. Build the padding up until you can kneel comfortably, and then lower it until you become uncomfortable. Then raise it 1/2 inch at a time until you become comfortable again. This can be done by glueing closed cell foam in layers. You want the seat as low as possible.

I also have put foam paddling along the inside of the hull next to my lower leg. This keeps my lower leg from slipping out toward the side of the boat when I catch an edge, or need to roll.

I assume you have hip grabbers, but I paddle for two years without them and did just fine.

The result of your outfitting should be the same feeling you get when you slip on a fine leather glove. Comfortable, firm, like a second skin. Wear the boat.

The Atom is the finest canoe I have ever paddled.

Enjoy.

[busterblue]

Here are some Atom pictures. Mine has pillars. Good luck. It's a sweet boat.

[ian123]

Wow, thanks! That's perfect.

That's a cool looking boat! Mine's just red.

[Don Williams]

I have an Atom, I've started paddling it again after my Finkenmeister was stolen.

I didn't remove any of the original outfitting but did add a few things. I added foam blocks to wedge my knees further apart and to make them more secure. I like my knees to be as close to the side of the boat as posible, one complaint I had about the Fink was that the hull form didn't allow this. After gluing the blocks in I covered them and the original foam padding with thin nylon covered neoprene, this added comfort and kept the minicell from getting as slippery when wet.

I also glued in minicell toe blocks, they help keep me from sliding back out of the thigh straps and give a lot more snap to my roll. I used to have minicell pads on the hip huggers (around 1/4 to 3/8 thick), they're off right know but i'll probably replace them in the future.

If you would like to look at my outfitting, and also see some old comparison photos of the Atom, Cascade, and Fink you can go here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1170168352 ... nkemeister#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hope this helps,
Don