C-Forum

I just picked up an OC1 with a Perception molded pedestal. The boat had never been outfitted. I installed bow and stern bag cages, put in foam for my knees, and added footpegs, but I'm not sure about the pedestal. Should I foam it out like a bulkhead?

The storage compartment seems like a cool thing - do they stay pretty dry?

If this is the old original Perception saddle, which came out 20 or so years ago, I found it to be:

1. Heavy

2. Ugly

3. Uncomfortable

4. All of the above.

(And no, the hatch wasn't always waterproof.)

I recommend a small nuclear device, and then a few evenings sculpting a work of art in mini-cell.

I've got a spare minicell saddle if the molded one is too bad. The plastic one probably does weigh a chunk. I'm going to paddle the boat today, so I will get some posterior to brain feedback.

You might like it. I've paddled a few Whitesell Pirhanha's, most of which were outfitted with these.

Many people find that the seating surface is too narrow, and that using the "wings" of the saddle, in lieu of thigh straps, positions their knees too close together.

No doubt it is heavier than a minicell saddle. I have found the storage compartment in this saddle, and in a rotomolded Bob Foote Grand Canyon saddle (with the same brand hatch cover) to be tolerably dry. If you want it drier, use some silicone grease on the O-ring of the hatch cover, and seal any holes with Aquaseal, or something similar. There are usually holes where the foot braces mount and there may be holes on the top where it secures to thwarts.

One positive (I think) for this saddle is the way it distributes stress on the hull bottom. Minicell pedestals always seem to create a stress riser right at the front edge of the pedestal which increases hull bottom wear at this point. The Perception saddle spreads the stress over a longer distance well forward of this point.

I paddled the boat today and that is some hard plastic - I've got to add some foam. I was also sliding backward and forward on the saddle and some foam ought to help that. Didn't get an idea of how dry the pedestal was. It does seem to be a bit heavy.

conceptually they were terribly cool

other than that... i prefer to shave my own foam

http://kayakoutfitting.com/tips/wwcanoe/index.html

there were several strap vs. bulkhead conversations at nationals... o.k. mostly it was the guys with bulkheads giving the guys that were blowing out strap patches a hard time.

fwiw... I finally had to re-glue my Spanishfly's saddle (the one in the article) back to the hull this summer after breaking it loose this spring. Cold water and a lot of ledges finally busted it free. Seven years and a lot of abuse... 1/4 of a can of Weldwood and it was good to go again.

i hate straps

I started out using one of these on my first Blue Hole Sunburst 1. The problem is that the pedestal in harder than the layers of vinyl and abs. Over time the pedestal punched through the floor, but I had already gotten my 7 lives of use out of that great little boat.

I started out using one of these on my first Blue Hole Sunburst 1. The problem is that the pedestal in harder than the layers of vinyl and abs. Over time the pedestal punched through the floor, but I had already gotten my 7 lives of use out of that great little boat.

Had one of those in a Probe 12 and loved it actually. Took some 1/4" foam to the seat area to handle the "hardness". Having the storage area was nice for shoving stuff in and the pedestal allowed pretty much anyone to try that boat out without having to readjust a bunch of straps.