C-Forum

Well, i finally got my hands on an Atom and am getting ready for her first trip. I noticed from other paddlers with this boat that the hip brace has been removed, any reason? personal preference?
thanx

jim

Depending on your waist size, KEEP IT!

I used to fall out of my Atom before I got mine (this was back when I just started C1ing instead of OC1ing..my outfitting has come a long way, but I'm still a big fan of hip blocks, hip huggers, beaver tails, whatever you wish to call them...).

Just make sure you don't have any problem getting out of the boat (in other words make sure you're feet won't get caught on the hip grabber supports). I never had a problem, but my feet are average sized and I never wear anything other than socks on them in the boat.

So i'm not the only one that yanked out that silly looking glob of plastic
I'll send you mine if you need one.
Larry

The Atom hip pad was a good idea poorly executed. I got one of the first-line Atoms to come out (pre-hip pad edition) and talked to the regional Dagger rep. about the roominess (previous typo. politely corrected by our very own S. Broam) of the cockpit. I would have had to buy that piece of plastic for about $50 and am glad I did not.

The additional plastic adds more weight to a significantly heavy boat (at least it feels that way walking up the Panther Creek trail after a full day on the Upper Gauley ) and it also pushes the backrest forward, which would be fine for the shorter legged c-1'er.

I decided to make my own hip pad for the Atom by shaping some PVC with a 90* bend, bolted it to the thigh strap bolt and added an additional bolt toward the rear of the hip pad. The finished product sticks up about an inch over the cockpit rim and I glued minicell to give me the thickness I needed. So far, it has been working well for me .

KNeal

not sure i get the picture , do you have any pics' of your set-up.
would like to see what you have if you don't mine?
mel

I agree with KNeal. The Atom Hip-grabber is an overweight and useless piece of plastic.
The system used in the Robson Finkenmeister however is excellent and basically the same idea as what KNeal uses in his Atom. I just fitted similar hip pads to my Delirious conversion and they work mint!
To see what I am talking about, check out Kyrill's pictures from his Twintip conversion using the Robson Factory conversion kit on the Outfitting page.

martin

Hi, Mel. I'll try to help you with the hip pads I use in my Atom. First, Kirill's hip grabbers from Robson look really great. They look like they conform to the cockpit rim well. If Robson sells them separately, it may be worthwhile to buy a set.

Now, what I did was go to the hardware store and buy the largest diameter PVC coupler/connector for PVC piping. Next, I cut the coupler in half and took a heat gun (blow torch in my case) and heated the plastic just until I could mash the thing flat (or very close to flat) and used a cold wet rag to cool it off. I then reheated the plastic halfway across until I could bend it into a 90* angle and cooled it off again. Then, I determined the location of the angled plastic and cut off the back inside corner so it could slide in further and flush with the deck. I drilled through the plastic where the thigh strap bolt attaches and bolted the plastic there. I then drilled another hole near the back of the plastic piece through the deck and mounted another bolt there (with rubber and metal washers and a lock nut). Then I cut the top of the plastic piece so only about 1 inch stuck above the cockpit rim. A little sanding, red Weldwood contact cement, and minicell paddling and I had my hip pads completed. Not pretty, but it works well.

I'll try to get pics and add them to this site (or send them to "Sir' Adam).

KNeal

You can actually make your time easier if you use a plastic cutting b oard instead of a PVC pipe. Saves you the time and effort to straighten it out first. All you have to do is cut it to size, then bend it 90 degrees, glue on the minicell foam and install it.

martin

been paddling the atom now for a few years, like the design. but less weight would be better. just picked up another used one, afraid i could wear mine out. thanks for the weight trimming idea.
mel