Bulkhead + thigh straps

[leclercraven]

I'm considering adding thigh straps to my L'Edge. I would like not to rely on the foot pegs as much for rolling. Does anybody use this system, and if so, could you post some pictures of your setup please? Cheers.

[the great gonzo]

Here are some pics showing the thigh strap set-up in my Big Dog Force. The upper strap anchors are attached to the bolts that hold the side floatation tanks in the boat. In a L'edge You will have to drill a hole through the hull on each side. The important part is to make sure that the anchor point is slightly behind your hip bone and also low. You want the straps to pull you down into the saddle and not just back for optimum results. Some people just attach it to the thwart, but that is too high for my liking. Make sure you use some big washers to spread the load nice and wide on the strap. Seal with Marine Goop.
Fort my lower anchors I bolted 2 D-ring patches to the Big Dog factory plastic saddle. In a foam saddle I would insert a dowel or a piece of pipe and run a threaded rod trough it and bolt 2 d-ring anchors to it, but some folks simply pull a loop on webbing through the pipe in the saddle and use it as attachment point.
As you can see from the pictures, there are no foot pegs. This outfitting holds me in so securely that none are needed.







TGG!

[leclercraven]

Here are some pics showing the thigh strap set-up in my Big Dog Force....

Interesting! Thanks.

[mahyongg]

TGG, if you ever want to get the weight of your force down to 20kg total, I have some suggestions for that.. you still carry the mayhem outfitting around.. those kg's really make a difference, my score so far in converting others is two ppl. The only two who own a force that ever tried mine, to be precise ;D

Cheers,

Jan

[the great gonzo]

Jan, it's on the list of things to do. I will replace the plastic tank with foam and replace the factory thwarts with hockey sticks. Maybe I'll cut out the deck area and replace the plastic with traditional lacing That should shave off some weight. But I'll keep the factory plastic seat, as it allows for great strap anchor points.

TGG!

[rcgalwa]

I have straps in mine, but I went the easy way. I poached a Dagger saddle and put that in. You would need to find one, but if you can its a fairly easy way to do it.

[busterblue]

I hope Big Dog is taking notes. They've made a great open boat. But the stock outfitting that I saw seems to make the boat heavy and hard to handle.

[RobertM]

The Great Gonzo, I was wondering what the saddle height in your Big Dog is?

I have a Composite Creations Bulldog that I love, with Mike Yee outfitting that I haven't come to terms with yet. Beats my toes up trying to stay in the boat. I like the idea of being able to lay my feet flat and still be in tight.

[Neill.2]

Great Gonzo...thanks for posting those pics of the thigh straps in the bigdog. I have been trying to figure out which direction to go in order to tighten my ride up in my force OC1 without retro fitting the entire saddle. My winter project is here!