C-Forum

so i went to a pool session, and had a bit of a problem with the roll of my race boat, i think it was partially due to the fact that i havent outfittede the boat yet, other than to put some padding in for the knees(not glued in) still figuring out placement and etc. but i wasnt able to bend my torso very much to reach to the surface for the roll, and when i ewnt to square the paddle under my shoulders, i found that it was at such an angle to the water that it sliced right through, and didnt catch much of it. should i try to leave the paddle in front of my body, and swing my body over the paddle in the middle of the hip snap? I found that once i was able to get it up to the edge, it was uber stable, but getting it to that point was fairly hard. any help would be sweet,
thanks guys.
cheers
sybtg(see you between the gates)-thought of that myself
-isaac

isaac, i think you will find the race boat very easy to roll once you.......
GET SOME OUTFITTING IN IT!

Isaac, does your race boat already have glass hip brackets? Race boats are shallow, so that your hip joints may well be above the cockpit rim. Vertical brackets or supports keep your hips located and help prevent your butt from sliding sideways on the seat. There is a guy on C-boats who sells a wonderful bracket system, but I can't use it because my feet are size 14 and I can't risk anything impeding foot removal. If you don't have hip brackets, I can post instructions on how to glass them in.

I use knee wedges on the bottom of the boat to keep my knees from swimming around. Knee cups do not offer enough control, but cut-out bulkheads are too restrictive.

I believe you should end up so that there is some downward pressure on the tops of your thighs from the front deck, though you may have to add foam under the deck to achieve this. A lot of knee spread usually brings the upper-outer sides of the thighs in contact with the deck. This deck pressure helps a lot to keep you in control when you are hanging upside down. Otherwise your butt has more of a tendency to rise off the seat, and backward.

Try to add such features so that you don't have to run your thigh straps super-tight. This is not only uncomfortable, but makes the locations where the straps attach to the boat bottom more vulnerable to breakage. Depending on your dimensions, you may have to move the upper and/or lower strap mounting points. On my Zealot, the straps were already in the right place because Adam Clawson is not much shorter than I am, but on my Wide Ride, I had to move the lower strap attachment points forward. The straps should not go straight across your thighs, but should pass diagonally forward. That is, the attachments near the seam are somewhat back toward your hip, and the front attachments are forward toward your knees.

Larry,
yes outfitting may be a key, i think youre headed in the right direction.

i think i am going to try to spread my lega as far apart as possible, because with the size of my legs, which are huge, i have trouble getting them far apart. i think that i will install some hip brace of sorts, im not sure if i just want to try to make my own, or but some of the already pre-fab ones. I tihnk the first step will be to start the knee situation, then some sort of hip brace would be a nice additive. im going to see. but i need some time to do all of this in. anywho, thanks for the advise, if possible, your take in how to glass up some hip braces would be cool ezwater. I had thought of the foam on the bottom of the cockpit rim for more pressure. i think ill do that then.
cheers
-isaac

don't laugh.
i am really getting lazy with outfitting so i came up with some funky but suprizingly effective hip braces for my race boat.
my saddle is low low and my thigh straps just happen to cross my hips in the right place so i could simply duct tape foam to the straps in the right spot. the foam is like 1/2 thick, and about 4 " long. i put one piece on each side of the strap to make like a strap sandwich, and wrapped it with duct tape. when i'm all strapped in the foam is between my hip bones and the cockpit rim, it's tight and comfy. easiest hip braces i've ever done!

of course, your boat may not allow this superior set-up with all the variables involved. or maybe you don't want to be ridiculed by your peers for having cheesey outfitting... but you never know.

i use a dashboard (or bulkhead, WHAT ever!) for my knees. they are easy to make, comfy and keep your knees in place super good.


btw--- i just recently got this (my first) race boat.....
man, you can get away with some sloppy paddling in creek boats!! not so in slalom i use to think i was hot sht. now lets just say, well, i've got a lot to learn. luckily, i've got some good role models to learn from. yes. in california!