C-Forum

I'm fairly new to ww canoeing and am fine tuning the outfitting on my Esquif Nitro as I go. I recently installed ankle blocks, they are fairly high, 4", I'm 6'5" with a size 11 foot so I figured that I could grind them down if they weren't working for me. I used to not really use the foot pegs (Mohawk outfitting) because it was uncomfortable without the blocks, also my last boat didn't have any. My question is; Do the higher ankle blocks reduce stability? It was more comfortable but I wound up swimming in two spots that I probably shouldn't have swam in. Maybe it was just a bad day. How high are most ankle blocks and do most of you put the balls of your feet on the foot pegs so the bottom of your foot is perpendicular to the bottom of the boat and toes bent foward or do you keep your foot flatter sliding your toes under the pegs and kinda keep the bottom of the pegs on the balls of your feet? Thanks in advance for any help.

I think that the boat is MUCH more tippy with “the balls of your feet on the foot pegs so the bottom of your foot is perpendicular to the bottom of the boat and toes bent forward“, than if you have your entire calf (from your knee to your ankle) on the bottom of the boat hull, which is what I do (toes straight back). I think that this is pretty easily proven by just going out and wiggling the boat with your ankle flattened straight back and then wiggling with the balls of your feet on the foot pegs. I don’t use foot pegs, I have the back of my saddle really high instead, to keep me from slipping back out of the knee straps.. and in an open boat I can stick my lower leg so that it runs back from the knee in a straighter line. That way the feet are wider apart at the back of the saddle (not directly under my butt next to the saddle) and therefor are able to be even more stable because they maintain a wider stance.
I always thought that the idea of the ankle blocks was to keep your calf elevated just enough so that you could relax your lower legs and let your foot “hang” in the proper position. So if your balls of your feet are “on the foot pegs so the bottom of your foot is perpendicular to the bottom of the boat and toes bent forward “, then the blocks would be much higher. But ( I think) more tippy as well.
Hope this makes sense
Ric

Gudday

I have an Esquif Detonator with some of their early factory outfitting. Beluga saddle and double straps with yakima footpegs. I also have ~2"high (at the center) 3" wide 6"long ankle blocks (I think they were standard ones I bought somewhere). The combination is great - really solid and very comfortable. I slide my toes under the foot pegs and find that not only am I really locked in there (great for rolling), but that it's also way more comfortable than trying to keep my ankles high and the ball of my foot on the pegs.

Hope this helps

Matt