It is embarrassing to admit..

[TomAnon]

I am not as good as I used to be, not even close. So, to get right to the point, my butt is falling off the seat when I go upside down. This causes my thigh straps to slide down my thigh a little. All this room gained in my outfitting now amplfies an already weak hip snap and..... I am really struggling. My shoulder hurts as I am muscling myself out of the water. When I was younger and smaller I fit into boats much better. Now that I have returned to the sport after 15 years and 30 lbs.( 5'11", 205lbs.) crammed inside the same boats, I am really struggling relearning things I thought where ingrained in me, namely rolling.

A word of caution to all, It is not like riding a bike. You leave this wonderfull sport for awhile and you can expect to start from the beggining, again. However, on the good side, it does make Class II,III water exciting again!

In summary, I need some help securing my butt to seat. Will hip pads help? Will there still be some lifting off the seat when inverted? How much should be expected?

In addition, how can I get my hip snap back? Any reccomended exercises?

[ChrisKelly]

enough. But really, you butt leaving the saddle ought not be such a big problem if your knees are still nailed to the knee pads. This is why I like double straps; one over the knee and one higher on the thigh.
I am 59 so have experienced most/all of the ragages of age (and have noted with envy that Michaud has apparantly drawn a pass from Father Time).
If you knees are in tight then try to grab the saddle with your thighs, get a good rotation, get your old decript bod up to the surface, keep that forehead right on the paddle, and crank up on the onside thigh. Slide your head accross, boinking yer nose on both gunwales and you will back it the boat.
I like both Kent Ford's video of the roll in "Solo Playboating and that of Bob Foote. They are both good specific, slo-mo looks at a classic open boat roll. Chris Kelly

[chuck naill]

The back rest in my boats are 8- 10 high and I use a bulkhead to keep the knees down and spread.

The longer you wait to roll the more you are going to fall out.

THe more you think about your upper body movements re the roll the longer you are going to be upside down and the longer you are going to wait to roll.

Concentrate on one thing and one thing only....hip snap. You do not have to be perfectly at 90 degrees to execute the roll.

One thing I know about sports, it is easier to control the big muscles than the smaller ones. This why baseball players and pitchers rely on strong legs. Also, golfers use those legs to generate the power in their swings not their arms. Remember being told to use the lower body to move the boat.

Over the Winter, do some exercises to strengthen those big muscles. Hope this helps.

Chuck/Tennessee

[Marshall]

Make sure the back of your seat is high enough that you don't slide backwards, and that your thighstraps attach pretty close to your body in the center. A lap belt helps too, but that will work so well that you'll have problems getting out of your boat if you miss your roll.

You can also put something behind you for your feet to push against.

[Ken D]

I agree with Chuck, hip snap, hip snap. I have been told by many people that my roll is very snappy. I practice rolling in flat water, pond or pool as often as I can. I have had a reliable roll for many years.

A couple of exercises I do are:

1- In a pool use the side of the pool and hold on with both hands, flip over and then try to concentrate on using your hip snap, rather than pulling on your hands. Another variation of this is with a friend. Have them hold your hands and when you try to roll up, if they think you are pulling to hard on their hands, they let go. This really makes you concentrate on your hip snap. Better trust them to help you up after they let go and you need some air.

2 - Also in flat water or pool. I hold my paddle by the blade instead of the shaft. Practice rolling with the paddle in this manner as it offers very little support.

Another thing I keep in mind when I practice roll that helps keep the head down is I try to see the edge of the boat right near my face before I pull my head out. I have a slalom race boat and I look for the seam.

I have found that hip pads help. They prevent wasted motion since you are constantly in contact with the boat.

Hope this helps..

Ken

[ezwater]

I have a different view from Marshall about where the thigh strap mounting points should be. I put the outer/ upper mounting points fairly far back toward the body, but the attachments to the bottom of the boat are more forward toward the knees. This results in the thigh straps crossing the thighs at a diagonal rather than crossways, and it makes it possible to tighten the straps somewhat to get good support over a broad surface.

I am rather large, and so I have been able to set a reasonable seat height, to use a knee block, and so to get some supplementary support to the tops of my thighs from the underside of the front of the cockpit. This has worked with my Hahn, Phoenix, Zealot, and Wide Ride, but might not work with the bigger "safety" cockpits of the Cascade and Atom. Bulkheads can work there.

[Louie]

What Marshell and the Doc said.