C-Forum

Just received my new Octane! I am not overly tall, but I am mostly legs. I found the squeeze into the outfitting disconcertingly tight. So much so that I had to slide my feet over and behind the footpegs to get in and then hoist them back over as I squeezed into the knee cutouts. Gumpy suggested that I move the rails back so I could better adjust the footpegs. And he graciously gave me a large sheet of foam to work with. (Thank you Joe) I have never done any outfitting tweaking, so this is a leap of faith!

So far, so good:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/solo_konoe ... 025628683/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am about to begin gluing. Before I do, I am running to the h/w store for 1" pvc pipe to fill the voids left by removing the rail anchors.

Any advice before I make this permanent?

Thanks!

1. Make sure that you use red can Weldwood in a poorly ventilated area, it's a canoe outfitting tradition.

2. Have plenty of beer on hand, it's not wise to risk running out halfway through.

3. When running things through your saddle, use care to keep them as square as possible, it's easy to get off and then you have uneven foot-pegs.

4. Drink plenty of beer to counter the toxic effects of foam dust and Welwood.

arhdc wrote:1. Make sure that you use red can Weldwood in a poorly ventilated area, it's a canoe outfitting tradition.

2. Have plenty of beer on hand, it's not wise to risk running out halfway through.

3. When running things through your saddle, use care to keep them as square as possible, it's easy to get off and then you have uneven foot-pegs.

4. Drink plenty of beer to counter the toxic effects of foam dust and Welwood.

1. Doh! Silly me - I did the gluing outside in my backyard. It is done.
2. Only 1 Golden Monkey on hand. Running out for a case now.
3. Check, things are square. But... a problem I foresaw came to fruition - the lacing is now too short to make a double loop at one end. Now I have to marry up more lacing.
4. See #2.

There is a chance that you may have to carve out some knee area foam for proper boat trim and knee/leg fit so make sure you can still adjust forward if needed

I like that Blackfly (and probably other) canoe manufacturers make the bulkhead outfitting so tight...gives us a chance to make it as tight/loose as we want. My preference is to be spray-foamed in by a friend after I'm seated! (TIGHT!) I do hate messing with outfitting though...but it's part of the dark side of WW along with shuttles and wet neoprene in the car!

Looks good! My only advice is to use the sharpest bread knife you can find to cut foam instead of the hacksaw blade. Trust me, it will make your life much easier.