C-Forum

http://www.coloradopaddlers.org/wiki/in ... ige_4-4-08

Thought I'd share my latest outfitting project. This was set up as a whitewater tripper for a 150lb paddler. She wanted a boat large enough to hold a weeks worth of gear, but still be responsive empty. The Esquif Vertige was the best choice (Bell Prodigy X was a close second).

The outfitting was to meet 3 criteria:

1) Keep weight to a minimum, nothing extra and it can't go over 60 lbs total.

2) She's not going to roll it, so she wanted good control but ease of entry/ escape

3) Bage cages had to be super easy to load/ unload. The bow had to accept a guitar. Heavy gear had to be lashed down to the bottom where it would not shift or move.

I'm very happy with the results. The total weight was around 58lbs. The boat fits her like a glove, she'll just need to do some shaping on the saddle.

Thanks for sharing, great job. I like the bag cage solution...

Florian

Very nice - and I like thebag cages!
Cheers,
Matt

Pretty work!

Eric
Nice outfitting job!
For a canoe outfitted with a bench seat it appears that the use of the knee straps would not create any potential exit problems that the use of thigh straps might create. Have you outfitted any of these knee straps in boats with bench seats?
Also, for carrying camp gear in a boat like the Vertige what are the shortest floatation bags you recommend using? Guess this depends partly on the water.
Thanks,
Lou Nelms

Hi Lou,

Bench seats have their own entrapment hazards. If you have small feet they're less of a problem, but my size 12's can easily get trapped. I wouldn't be in a bench in class II+ or higher. Your comfort may vary.

Knee straps would restrict exit from a bench, not as bad as thighstraps, but it's still an issue. For a pedestal, the way you get out is by kicking back and going back. For a bench you can't go back, you have to go forward.

Given the limitations of a bench, I'd just use doublecups or something with a small degree of support, but nothing that keeps me from going forward.

As for floatbags, I use 60" in almost everything. The final size will be limited by the cage, so it's not like they'll be too big (well, a Taureau is an exception). I've seen too many boats with small bags because the owners though the bag had to be maxed out, and they didn't realize that a large bag would have filled the whole cage perfectly. The more floatation the better off you are.

I also have a Vertige set up for both WW play and tripping. For play I use 60" bags, for tripping I have second anchor points to acccomodate 42" bags. I modify my saddles to be wider, so I can sit instead of kneel on long flat stretches... comfort of a bench with the safety and control of a pedestal.

Eric, I accept your points. I was just thinking of having something to keep my knees from sliding forward in the pads and keeping the straps very low on the knee.

I have the bench seats raised in all my solos. Still plenty stable for me. (My foot size ... just too revealing ... lets just say I'm less likely than you to be "entrapped"). I did find recently that a seat pad (Cooke Custom Sewing) on the caned seat gave the seat more "grab" and me a better feel for a 3 point anchor with the contoured knee pads.

Part of my dilemma is that paddling WW boats spoiled me and that I attempted to make my flat water boats more responsive. So, I'd try snapping an eddy turn and get pulled forward off the seat. Stuff like that. Part of it was technique too like not heeling the bigger, less rockered boats enough. I found a pretty good compromise in the Bell Flashfire, a 13' boat with 2.5 inch rocker on both ends. It does the flat stuff well, plays well, and is suitable for running the occasional class II on predominately flat water rivers. But for more whitewater, I take the Rival with WW outfitting including pedestal.

Anyway, thanks for the comments.
Lou

Outstanding! Thanks for sharing. Much appreciated.

Hi Lou,

If the seat's high enough that you won't get stuck, then the knee straps might be a good fit. On Jeannes boat they're very high, almost mini-thighstraps in themselves. I'd put them much lower on a bench, just enough for contact but not so much you're fighting to work loose.

I'm going to have a different configuration using Mikey knee straps on the Blast. As soon as parts arrive (waiting on a 10" saddle), I'll start posting photos of that rigging.

Nitro's going to have a bulkhead saddle. Just trying to figure out the pump switch for that.