let me roll the eyes for you long time cboats readers
bucking the seemingly conventional thinking, I've developed the belief that I can perform better in a canoe with straps than a bulkhead. Currently I can deal with wild adversity better in the detonator VS my option with its bulkhead and the bulkhead is at the root of that ill feeling.
Not particularly picking on Jeremy's bulkhead....any bulkhead in any canoe I might buy.
Anyone think the same about bulkheads or do you think I'm selling it too short?
Again, I'm not knocking the Option I'm discounting bulkheads and hip pads matched with me in any canoe at this point.
I'm so much down the road on this thinking that I'm thinking about exactly where and how I could drill holes in my brand new Option....the inner thighs are a little thought provoking for attachment points.
you could always go the Dagger Quake/Aftershock/Atom/Cascade plate route if you can find one... maybe he who's name shall not be uttered has one.
Esquif has my plans and specs for a factory plate/saddle set-up... not sure of the status of the project though... having something ready made as an option to buy for those that prefer straps... and for demo boats, schools, fleets etc. made a lot of sense to me. what people would be willing to pay for it though ???
if you make a plate though be sure to glue it down with a 1/2" thick layer of minicell between the plate and hull... otherwise little grains of sand and gravel get trapped under it... plus it adds rigidity.
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Last edited by Craig Smerda on Fri Dec 30, 2011 9:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
And if there's anyone to provide bulkhead advice, it's decker.
Curious---Are there c-1 slalom paddlers who rely only on bulkhead? I wouldn't know how to set up a c-1 with only bulkhead outfitting. I want straps crossing my thighs diagonally from outside my hips, down to the bottom of the boat a little back from my knee joints.
I don't like straps in open boats, because I prefer "loose" outfitting. Neither of my opens have thigh straps. No toe blocks either. But I don't run anything above class 3 at my age.
When I was out east a few months back I paddled Kaz's Spark which had straps and hip pads in it... I didn't feel 'connected' to the boat nor did I feel as though I was wearing the boat which reaffirmed my total hatred of straps. I spent an afternoon in an Ocoee with straps this past fall as well... icky!!!
Last edited by Craig Smerda on Fri Dec 30, 2011 10:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
FWIW, I suck (relatively speaking), but I set up my slalom c-1's without straps, using only bulkheads. I was strongly influenced by a number of National team level paddlers who used bulkheads or knee cups without straps. These guys were so good that they used the lack of total connection as an advantage- specifically pulling the offside knee slightly back on cross-draws/offside ups to gain extra trunk rotation and power. For me, it helps to have a small cockpit, so I've got thigh on composite control. That means I don't know if this would work (as well) in OC-1. Also, in my latest experiment (converted Jackson prototype slalom K-1) I'm tempted to try straps because I can't get my knees in exactly the right place to get the control I want without them, and can't get a bulkhead properly fit into the k-1 cockpit shape.....Edg
I have only felt connected using the bulkhead. I found with Jeremy's bulkhead you need to carve the outside foam to get your knees out farther. YOu will feel much more stable and in control. I know that Phil likes his knees straight ahead though. With my short legs the straps never stay up, so never any tight connection with the hull.
To muddy the water a bit, what about knee boots. I'm comfortable in them , they didn't hinder rolling and are easier to get into than double straps. Mine are 10 to 12" wide so cover a lot of my thigh. That being said I have to work on the fit of the bulkhead in my new boat after each trip. I get it a little closer each time, 4 trips so far. Could it be you're fitting in it well?
Bill
Add thighstraps to the bulkhead setup. Use a water tunnel cross tube to run a short NRS strap through so you can attach the straps near the crotch. Attached the upper part of the straps to the thwart behind the saddle. I do this on my L'Edge whenever I really really need to hit my roll on certain runs. With that it holds me firmly in the saddle and rolling is much easier. Exit is only a quick release pull away and I can still sneak out of the straps when I take my feet off the pegs.
Maybe that's your answer. Id suggest trying that before you mess up you current bulkhead.
Must be the fit. In my bulkhead I feel more in control being able to squeeze with my thighs. Its also much faster to enter and at least for me to exit as well. However overall if I could only have one boat I would still prefer straps for the adjustability. There is no perfect fit with the bulkhead - the best you can do is find the comprimise fit somwhere between shorts and drysuit with fleece liner, and I'm never completely satisfied with this comprimise. I also like to loosen outfitting for comfort accross flats.
DougB wrote: There is no perfect fit with the bulkhead - the best you can do is find the comprimise fit somwhere between shorts and drysuit with fleece liner, and I'm never completely satisfied with this comprimise. I also like to loosen outfitting for comfort accross flats.
This is my problem with the bulkhead route, I've only just got mine sorted out for the summer shorts, now tomorrow I'll spend an entire day floating around a lake with a sureform redoing it for the winter drysuit. Come spring I'll be dickin about with foam trying to get snug again. Grrr
Wayne- how well do you fit in your L'Edge bulkhead? Unless Jeremy has changed his design since I bought my BF playboat last year, I remember it not being as deep. Meaning it didn't sit as far up my thigh as my Esquif saddle. It was an easy fix by adding some extra foam on the front of the bulkhead above and around the thighs to make it fit well. If a hybrid full bulkhead and thigh straps thing isnt your style, try that.
I've used both a bulkhead and knee/thigh strap setup in my C1. As has been said already, I find that with the bulkhead, I'm sometimes too loose or too tight depending upon what I'm wearing (or how much weight I've put on over the winter...). Using both knee and thigh straps allows me to be tight in all situations, if I need to be. The trick is to make cups that hold the knees so that they can't move laterally, and the straps push diagonally so that there is no "slack".
