Ankles

[Squeakleaf]

I've gotten everything in my boats pretty much perfect, except for my ankles. It seems that no matter what I try they just seem to scream in agony. And it doesn't seem like many of the outfitting guides that I've seen online cover anything about the feet area. So what I'm wondering is if anyone has any hints, tips, or helpful suggestions that I could try out, to try an make my ankles behave a little better.

[Sir Adam]

My ankle-outfitting depends a lot on the boat..in some boats I have 1" pads under my ankles to keep them slightly bent, in others I have nothing. You'll find that lower knee pads (or a higher seat) will most likely fix any ankle problems (stretching and time in a boat help A LOT too).

Comfort-wise one of the best things I've done is lose a bit of weight (I don't know you personally, so this comment is meant for everyone in general)-My family generaly has big thighs, and losing a bit of weight made my legs smaller, and therefore my seats could be lower and still be comfortable. Unfortunately, after I lost weight i had to re-outfit the boats as I was banging around in them a bit!

So, it's a lot of give and take, and trial and error. One other hint-you will find your seat is more comfortable, and you have better "paddling posture" if it slopes forward a bit (e.g. it's NOT flat on top).

In general i just wear socks in my boats...if you're wearing anything on your feet you may want to try removing them and that may solve your ankle issue....

Good luck!

[Mike W.]

The pain may or may not be directly associated with your ankles. I found that a 6" wide seat made my feet go to sleep in 15 minutes. I widened it to 9", kept the same hight (8") & my feet felt better.

Play with diferent sized ankle blocks (length, height & width). Duct tape them into the boat till you find the size, shape & placement that you like. Then glue them in place.

Here is a shot of the blocks in my Big EZ: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/wh20crazy ... pg&.src=ph

My Acrobat has neat foot/ankle pads. There's not much room for feet, much less padding. But the previous owner made pads for the ankle & top of the foot. They fit the contour of the ankle & foot. They're kind of thin, but super comfortable. Sorry, no photos of these.

[allan]

I definately agree with Mike on this one - that it may not be your ankle-support that is the problem, but your saddle.

In my open boat, I had a 6" wide saddle, and even though it was much higher than my C1 saddle (8" wide, 6.5" high) I found my knees and ankles would get sore much more quickly. 8" or wider is definately the way to go I think.

Also, something new that I just did on my most recent conversion, is to really spend time sculpting the saddle to fit ergonomically. Instead of just having a flat saddle, I carved down into the saddle right before it flares up into the backrest. Thus, your bum gets a nice groove to rest in. This keeps you back in the saddle - no sliding forward, resulting in better paddling posture, and IMO, way more comfort.

Here are two pics: http://www.uoguelph.ca/~akostyni/RobsonNRG/index.html

definately spend the time to get your saddle tweaked to your own body. it will make a world of difference. In my new boat, I don't even have ankle blocks... I just wear neo socks, and am always totally comfortable.

cheers!
-allan

[cboater]

I make shin supports from minicell foam for each leg. These keep my legs elevated off the hull enough so that my feet are not riding flat on the hull. Plus, these give my shins something to push against.

These can either be short pieces of foam that you install perpendicular to the center line of the boat or wedge-shaped to support your shin for some distance. (If you use a wedge, install them parallel to the center line of the boat and put the higher end closer to your ankle and the shorter end closer to your knee.) In either shin support, carve out a groove for your shin bone to rest in. Make the block short enough so that it ends BEFORE getting to your ankle. (There is a pulse point in the top of your ankle that, if compressed, will cause your foot to go to sleep.)

You don't even have to duct tape these in for a trial run. The pressure of your leg will hold it in place. Take a pencil or permanent marker with you and paddle around on flat water to test them. Mark the location on the hull where the shin blocks feel best so you can glue them in at some point.

I actually glued my last set of shin supports into my glass Atom C1 with Velcro so they are removable. My shin supports are so high I cannot get my dry bag in and out of the stern without removing them. (Be sure to glue the hook Velcro to the underside of the shin support and loop Velcro to the hull. That way, if you lose a shin support, your leg is touching the softer loop side of the Velcro. And, tie the shin support to your hull so you don't lose it.)

I agree that carving on your saddle so that it fits your butt bones and thighs is a key to comfort, as well.

Cboater

[Drew W.]

you might also try to arrange the blocks so that your feet aren't pointing straight back
in my kingpin, I've got it setup so that my legs and feet slightly point back towards the back-center of the boat and it's pretty comfortable, even with my booties on