C-Forum

I think my new boat will be here in time for my birthday on Friday. I couldn't get the day off, so I hope everyone is ready for me to have a Jefe Grande and a giant pile of foam on my desk all day!

I like the idea of ratcheting thigh straps but I recall some you warning against them. Who has had a bad experience getting them to release when necessary? I may just use one of my dagger saddles and I haven't ever needed to loosen the straps to wet exit using that set up. I guess I just like the idea of having cool clickers like all my yak buddies!

I know VW/Airplane belts are the way to go. I'm sure I'll order some soon, but in the meantime have these available. I was thinking about attaching both to one VW type buckle as the anchor. Put both staps attached to male end and attach female end to the rail or the dagger seat.

Feeback?

IR made some thigh straps with ratchets a few years back and thats what I use in my OC, not my decked boat. The only problem I have had is them releasing when I don't want them to due to an elbow or arm hitting the release side of the buckle. I would say if a company actually was producing these I would have them in all of my boats. I think they are easy to release, the kind I have anyway. my .02
B

A couple years ago I had ratchets for a short while. Until I discovered that the more pressure there is, the less likely the buckle is to release. I looked at many (not all) buckles to try to find something better but they all had the same problem. So I took them out and went back to webbing and 2" ladder locks. I do still use snow board straps/ratchets for my knee straps.
Another problem for me is they seem kind of weak. Too many ways for them to break or slip or release at the wrong time. Kind of gadgety, if that's a word. Simpler is betterer IMO.
Other than that, they rock!

Recently my friend David (who has been seen on occasion dangling under his playboat.. unable to release) found some that have a better mechanism, and he says they do release under pressure. I don't know what kind they are...but could find out. Maybe he's lurking??

Jefe Grande eh?? nice!

Do you have any outfitting pics to share Larry? I know you do alot of the kind of stuff I want to do more of....multi-day self support. Are your knee straps totally seperate from your thigh straps? Do you use a backband or foam and if you use foam how much is your backrest tied into your cockpit rim? Any other pointers?

I don't see the point of ratchets. You don't want straps that are extremely tight as it will impede wet exits and make your legs fall asleep much quicker.
I don't recall ever adjusting straps unless I changed to heavier or lighter clothes on my legs. The main consideration is to get the straps in the right place in the boat. This prevents them from slipping down on your thigh. Then all you do is pull them up on your legs and go.
Some of the old racers used to use aluminum straps with foam glued to it. They didn't move at all. Wick Walker even had a rig using aluminum cups for his knees only.
If you roll right, you put only a minor amount of pressure on your straps. You want them there, but don't need to lock yourself in the boat.
IMHO.
Bill

I have just put ratchet straps in my boat for the first time and I have to say that I will be doing it again in my other boats. A big help I found is to mount them to something substantial and wide with foam padding on one side. I happened to have a backband that fit the bill so that is what I used in my remix. This is good b/c it distributes the load over your leg giving you more control with less wasted leg movement- ie: when you move your torso the action is transfered more directly to the boat. I have to say that this is all based on what type of paddling you do/what type of paddler you are. For me the last thing I want is to come out of my boat because the outfitting doesn't hold me in. I typically run class V whitewater where and un-intentional swim due to outfitting malfunction *or* missing a line b/c my leg popped out of the straps or the straps broke etc. is way more dangerous then needing an additional 3-5 sec to get my straps off. I have also noticed that the IR ratchet straps that are used in kayaks release better when they are loaded. I am a little nervous about their durability but it is something that I am testing and will be paying close attention to. The upside is that they are easy to get and pretty cheap so it will also be a part that I will replace as preventative maintenance. Good luck with the straps and at the very least give'em a try to see what you think.
-Bahndo

I came across a German website with some cool c1 setups.

They guys are using snowboard ratchet straps to tget really tight, but the one end is not bolted to the center pillar, but to a piece of webbing. Bioth pieces of webbing are then secured to the boat using a cam buckle. this way you get the advantage of both systems, the fast release of the cam buckle and the ratcheting of the snowboard straps.

Here is a link to the site with some pictures:
http://www.riverrunner.de/?page_id=152 http://www.riverrunner.de/?page_id=154


martin a.k.a. the great gonzo!

Martin- Cool, sweet German Engineering!

Oopsiflipped- I have some pics, but I don't know how to post them. I could email them to you.

I think the buckles I'm using are called Burton Dual-Component Smooth Glide Buckles (I'm not 100% on the name), they are the ratchet buckles that Burton started using last year.

They are totally different than the normal snowboard buckles, they have an extra piece that makes it release REALLY easy, the whole top part of the buckle is on a hinged piece that basically lifts off of the strap part so that it can slide through easily. They are much, much better than the old style which bound up under a lot of pressure.

I've just got a strap running between the two buckles down between my legs and to release I just pull up on it, even cinched down as tight as I can get them they don't bind.

I've been using ratchet straps in all my boats, and I'm going to replace them with this buckle, it is a big improvement.

With ratchet straps you can tighten yourself in enough to make it difficult to wet exit unless you pull the quick release so you just have to be careful of that (or be willing to pull an extra strap to get out), but I love that they don't slip and you can easily control how tight they are.