Lap Belt or Thigh Brace for C1

[liskahon]

I personally think the best setup for whatever purpose is bulkhead (knee tunnels) + adjustable backrest + 1) lap belt (waveriding) 2)thigh straps (riverruning) 3)lap belt + thigh straps (holeriding)

Check out photos of my outfitting system + article
http://c1freestyle.blogspot.com/2007/06 ... tting.html]

[ezwater]

In the old days, c-1s had small cockpits that were NOT designed by teams of liability lawyers. Tall people like me could set up the pedestal so that our thighs were somewhat held down by the front of the cockpit. My thigh straps never contributed much to keeping me in the boat unless my butt and knees slipped back from where they belonged. With a setup like that, it is hard for me to imagine why a lap belt would have any use.

Later, of course, we got the bailout cockpits of the Slasher, Cascade, and Atom. Lap belts might help in those boats.... I never owned any of them. My Dagger Zealot and Millbrook Wide Ride both have smallish, supportive cockpits.

And now, lots of people have to convert kayaks to get some semblance of a decent c-1 , and so again there may be some use for a lap belt.

I might add that thigh straps would work better for some people if they knew how to set them up. Illustrations on this board show examples of straps properly angled across the thighs, not crossing the thighs at 90 degrees. A 90 degree orientation tends to make both for poor thigh support and for unnecessary difficulty getting in and out of the straps. If the straps angle properly from back near the hips, attached close to the seam line, and pass obliquely over the thighs to attachment maybe 6 to 8 inches back from the knees, then there is a much broader support area across the thighs, and it is easy to duck the thighs under the straps and forward to the knee cups.

[jim gross]

i'ma bulkhead or just built in thigh hook kinda guy myself. use to have an original caper t with bulkhead in the back. i could roll that. hehehehe JIM