I just took my first seat in my fink, it is not like any of the other finks i have seen, it is all blue with a few little white specks on it. Pretty sweet looking. Now comes the time to start the outfitting, does anyone have any pics of their Finks outfitted and such? and i noticed there was nothing there for the feet, (never paddling a bulkhead before) what have others done?
thanks for the info
-isaac
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bearboater
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Bruce Farrenkopf
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. We need to take it one step at a time.-
bearboater
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outfitting
as of this date, i have only started to shape the saddle, i have trimmed the sides down a bit to help my legs fit into the bulkhead a little better. After sitting in the boat for a little while, i realize how narrow the cockpit actually is, im likely only going to add about half of the width of the hip grabbers to each side. I am 6' 1" and about 215-220.
thanks for the help.
-isaac
thanks for the help.
-isaac
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the great gonzo
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bearboater,
I have done very little modifications to my FM. Cut the saddle down 1.5 inches to increase stability, moved the saddle back 1.5 inches forward to get the trim right for me, added some foam on the inside of the bulkhead to hold my legs in tighter and cut off some foam off the hipgrabbers to be able to get in.
Haven't put any footbraces in, don't feel at this point that I need them. I will however add some more foam to the Bulkhead, as I am just a tad loose in there and for comfort I may add some ankle blocks.
I think the FM outfitting works really well if you are tall, ie long legs and rather skinny. I think if you have short and stubby legs you are better off to convert to a console style outfitting. Keep the hipgrabbers really tight, as they are crucial; for keeping you in the boat.
martin
I have done very little modifications to my FM. Cut the saddle down 1.5 inches to increase stability, moved the saddle back 1.5 inches forward to get the trim right for me, added some foam on the inside of the bulkhead to hold my legs in tighter and cut off some foam off the hipgrabbers to be able to get in.
Haven't put any footbraces in, don't feel at this point that I need them. I will however add some more foam to the Bulkhead, as I am just a tad loose in there and for comfort I may add some ankle blocks.
I think the FM outfitting works really well if you are tall, ie long legs and rather skinny. I think if you have short and stubby legs you are better off to convert to a console style outfitting. Keep the hipgrabbers really tight, as they are crucial; for keeping you in the boat.
martin
Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing - Henry David Thoreau
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Bruce Farrenkopf
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Hello Bearboater,
Martin has covered well most of the bases. I would add that gluing extra minicell to the upper outside of the kneeholes really made a difference for me by giving me better thigh contact with the hull. Keeping your knees and thighs actively flexed outward is critical for C boat control and having solid contact between thighs and hull is essential for this. This may not be necessary considering your size, but give it some thought. The minicell can be glued to the outer 'flaps' of the bulkhead.
Don't hesitate to remove the bulkhead to shape and work it to fit your body. It can be trimmed substantially to remove excess weight and to improve fit.
SYOTR,
Bruce
Martin has covered well most of the bases. I would add that gluing extra minicell to the upper outside of the kneeholes really made a difference for me by giving me better thigh contact with the hull. Keeping your knees and thighs actively flexed outward is critical for C boat control and having solid contact between thighs and hull is essential for this. This may not be necessary considering your size, but give it some thought. The minicell can be glued to the outer 'flaps' of the bulkhead.
Don't hesitate to remove the bulkhead to shape and work it to fit your body. It can be trimmed substantially to remove excess weight and to improve fit.
SYOTR,
Bruce
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bearboater
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console outfitting?
Martin, when you say console outfitting, im not quite sure i understand what you are meaning by that. however, you said you added some more minicell to the inside of the bulkhead, it held your legs tighter, did it also spread them farther apart or was the discrepancy noticeable? You also mentioned cutting your saddle down 1.5 inches, I likely resort to a similar action, perhaps not as much at first, for i am more top heavy than most.
Bruce, i like the sound of the addition of adding some more foam to the lower thigh area, I do feel fairly stuck out of the bulkhead, being that my legs are large, and i have yet to cut the overall height of the saddle at all. i think i will cut the saddle, and then perhaps look more into the padding.
thanks again
-isaac
Bruce, i like the sound of the addition of adding some more foam to the lower thigh area, I do feel fairly stuck out of the bulkhead, being that my legs are large, and i have yet to cut the overall height of the saddle at all. i think i will cut the saddle, and then perhaps look more into the padding.
thanks again
-isaac
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the great gonzo
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bearboater,by console outfitting I mean ripping the original foam out and replacing it with a Dagger Console (if you can find one), or maybe one of the new Drakkar ones. Don Williams could not make the stock outfitting work for himself, so he installed a Dagger Console from an old Cascade I think. Looks really nice, and I think he likes it. He is also a contributer on this board, so if you send him a PM, he may be able to help you further.
I did not notice a big difference in terms of spreading the legs out further from the added foam on the inside of the bulkhead, I did it just to hold me in tighter.
martin
I did not notice a big difference in terms of spreading the legs out further from the added foam on the inside of the bulkhead, I did it just to hold me in tighter.
martin
Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing - Henry David Thoreau
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bearboater
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hip grabbers
im still waiting on a skirt, so i have had alot of dry time in my boat. I have some more questions, concerning outfitting again...
the hip grabbers were you able to have them effective by keeping them parallel to the cockpit, or did you have them more so paralle to the hull, as in straight instead of angling outward?
Saddle, the front of my saddle goes upward from the rear by about an inch to an inch and a half, i was intending on cutting that down, because that seems to be one of the hindrances to letting my legs farther into the bulkhead, what have you guys done?
how far do the legs ideally go into the bulkhead? my legs feel comfortably set, but am unfamiliar to the feelings coming from a set of double retention straps.
thanks for the info
-isaac
the hip grabbers were you able to have them effective by keeping them parallel to the cockpit, or did you have them more so paralle to the hull, as in straight instead of angling outward?
Saddle, the front of my saddle goes upward from the rear by about an inch to an inch and a half, i was intending on cutting that down, because that seems to be one of the hindrances to letting my legs farther into the bulkhead, what have you guys done?
how far do the legs ideally go into the bulkhead? my legs feel comfortably set, but am unfamiliar to the feelings coming from a set of double retention straps.
thanks for the info
-isaac
-
the great gonzo
- Paddling Benefactor
- Posts: 1718
- Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:03 am
- Location: Montréal, Québec
bearboater, I have my hipgrabbers angling, i.e. parallel to the cockpit rim, however it might be worth a try to cut them straight to see how this works. The really important part is that they are really tightfor maximum holding and boat contact.
As far as the saddle is cincerned, I cut it down to about 7inches in height and I removed the raise in front of the saddle.
Be careful when cutting the saddle down, as it is important that the hipgrabbers are in contact with the widest part of your hip. If you cut the saddle too low, then you are either loose after getting in or you won'r get in at all (learned that the hard way).
I movwed the saddle (i.e. just the back of it) forward by ~2 inches gwt the trim to what I like and to get my legs deeper into the bulkhead.
Thry to get in there as deep as possible without compromising your ability to do a quick wet exit if necessary.
martin
As far as the saddle is cincerned, I cut it down to about 7inches in height and I removed the raise in front of the saddle.
Be careful when cutting the saddle down, as it is important that the hipgrabbers are in contact with the widest part of your hip. If you cut the saddle too low, then you are either loose after getting in or you won'r get in at all (learned that the hard way).
I movwed the saddle (i.e. just the back of it) forward by ~2 inches gwt the trim to what I like and to get my legs deeper into the bulkhead.
Thry to get in there as deep as possible without compromising your ability to do a quick wet exit if necessary.
martin
Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing - Henry David Thoreau
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bearboater
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- Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:22 am
- Location: Phoenix, AZ
finally done
im finally done with outfitting, and have gotten my skirt. I have left most of the height of the saddle. left most of the shape of the bulkhead, and there is next to 1/2 an inch of padding on the hip grabbers, very nice fit, feels very snug. and would have taken it to the water, except its mostly frozen, so im waiting for pool sessions.
As for the skirt i received it was an actual robson skirt, im not sure if it is produced by someone else, with the robson logo on it, but i an unable to find any insignia of any other company.
hopefully it will warm up around here then i can get out on the river.
i am also eager to feel the change in initial stability compared to the inertial stability that has been talked about.
anyway, have a nice new year,
-isaac
As for the skirt i received it was an actual robson skirt, im not sure if it is produced by someone else, with the robson logo on it, but i an unable to find any insignia of any other company.
hopefully it will warm up around here then i can get out on the river.
i am also eager to feel the change in initial stability compared to the inertial stability that has been talked about.
anyway, have a nice new year,
-isaac