yarnellboat wrote:
Can you start giving advice to us other dads-with-toddlers on how you get 90 days on the river!!? Since I've had 2 kids (4 and 2), I'd seriously be lucky to get 9 days! I could live with once a month, but can't seem to make it happen. So, you've got it good - I don't even remember which boats need work etc., because I never get in them!
Seriously, 90+ days is 1-2 days/wk. Every weekend. What does that look like? "Honey, if you've got the diapers, laundry, nap, groceries, birthday party, dishes, meals, sweeping, and all that, I'm just going to take off and paddle for a few hours, again, OK?" 2-days a week you get away with that?? Please give me some tips on that!
I'm thick legged, 220#, and have a Remix 79 with a 8" pedestal - i think that your boat can handle a taller saddle (very stable). When i boat semi-regularly, i can stay in it all day. If i can't get out regularly, i have a pedestal for tv watching or use with my paddling machine (addition to a rower). Helps a lot.
As for being a paddling dad (of 4) - it helps to have local water. Be awesome and make sure your wife has time for her pursuits. Put your time on the calendar, make sure its a priority. when the kids are big enough (old enough to sit up) - take them, flat water first, of course, working up slowly. Adjust your expectations.
Def. look at the clothing you are wearing. Try to avoid anything below the knee if you can. Take a critical look at your footwear. I would think with that much time in the saddle your outfitting would be good unless you changed it and/or boat recently. Stretch and warm-up routines are a big help to me.
yarnellboat wrote:Feet-schmeet, nevermind the circulation challenges for your feet... Can you start giving advice . . . on how you get 90 days on the river!!? . . .I could live with once a month, but can't seem to make it happen. . .
This is serious -- it's not just the feet that have gone to sleep. . . !
Time for some more work-related reasons to get out of the office during working hours: conferences, consultations, workshops. It worked once, last year -- it can work again. . .
ok. yall have stepped up in spades with your responces. first thank you all. i appreciate your taking time to give thoughtful replies.
yarnell, silentbob, all i can say is that when it comes down to it there are three things that i choose to make a priority in my life. being a good family man, being a competant and proffitable potter, and paddling canoes. you might be supprised if the crystal ball could show a level view of our life and time management. cruise the other related comments in the thread. i have a class II-IV stretch of the east fork of the french broad river that i can WALK to from my house. so a daily or every other daily session of an hour or two is realistically no big deal. it might not be the gnarr every time i paddle but it keeps me tuned up for when i paddle bigger water. i TRY to do that once a week if i can. i am not going go travel the road of how to speak to your wife about boating, mine realizes that im a better and more productive human when i paddle regularly. may you be so blessed. again i live in BREVARD NC there are dozens of runs from slack float through the valley to class VI questionable micro gnarr within an hour and a halof my houe so its really not that hard to maintain.
big love and thanks to ALL of the comments here... i look forward to digesting and applying as fitting!
Let us know if you have any breakthroughs with the feet, l'm curious/confused about the idea of a shim between calf & hamstring. In the meantime, it seems clear that we should be stretching!
I'm not surprised that local water, and probably some flexibility with work hours, are keys to your success with parenting and paddling. I certainly can't walk to "local" water!
Vancouver has some pretty good runs around the city, and you can paddle all year, so we're better off than many... but paddlable flows are not predictable, so I can't really schedule my permission to paddle. This fall & winter have offered fewer opportunities to paddle (& ski) than I can remember, so I I'm getting grumpy. I guess I'll have to go to the pool, and take more days off work when the water is there! I hope we get some water and this turns around a bit, I wouldn't want to have to start jogging or something to keep my sanity!
Interesting notion. However, with the shins flat to the hull, the effect of the shim is to raise the butt -- which underscores the need of a slightly higher seat anyway, methinks. . .
I have been stretching more, wearing a thinner base layer under dry suit, and stepping up the aerobic game. Honestly my feet still snooze a bit, though much much less than before. The aerobic bit honestly seemed the biggest difference which felt a bit convicting. Days on river really do not address method in this respect, more of a heart rate concern I guess. Thanks again for all the great advice. Gratitude...
Daddy-O wrote:she also mentioned that if it is possible to have toes touch behind saddle that it would be the very best possible scenario in terms of longevity of the knee itself, and having them splayed out to sides will greatly increase wear/tear over extended use.
I'll second her observation! Having your toes touch under and behind the seat also helps you achieve maximum width in knee spread, which Adam has previously noted is helpful in reducing pain as well as increasing stability.
The C-boats that I've found the most comfortable to paddle (with regard to lower leg discomfort) all had different varieties of suspended seat rather than a pedestal. The common element with suspended seats is that the area underneath the seat - where you need to position your legs if you're going to have your toes touch in the center - is either mostly or completely clear of any obstructions. I have not had much luck in carving sufficient foam off of a pedestal to enable a similar leg position. By its nature, too much of the bulk of the pedestal resides in the spot that you need to have clear if you want to have your toes touch.
Suspended seats are very "old school" and rarely found in anything but a vintage C-boat, but one advantage they did have was the ease with which you could adopt a position in which your toes were touching underneath & behind your seat. Of course, the disadvantage with suspended seats was greater risk of foot entrapment as your legs were literally "under" a seat instead of being "alongside" a pedestal. However, there are creative ways to minimize this risk. I believe that Bob P has rigged his slalom OC-1 with a molded composite seat that is suspended from a large hinge. The seat literally swings upward on the hinge making it easier to pull his legs out from under. If this is of interest you might contact Bob P for further details of its construction.
I was intrigued by the possibility of tryng the "kneeling bench" mentioned previously, but not to the extent of purchasing one. However a search turned up this neat project that should be within the skill-reach of most of us. Might be a good winter project....
