Ever salvaged the C-1 pedastal base out of an Atom??

river0013 · Post by **river0013** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:19 am

I'm trying to extract the pedastal base from my old Atom and it's proving tricker than I initially thought. I have all the bolts removed and I've removed enough of the front pillar to free the front. Aparently there is foam glude to the bottom and it seems to be connected somewhere behind the seat. Any tips for freeing these areas?

Chad

Post by **sbroam** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 1:18 am

Can you get a string between the base and the hull? You could use that to saw back and forth to cut the glue.

philcanoe · Post by **philcanoe** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:11 am

...or maybe a guitar string (guess an 'b' or high 'e' -would be best)

... also have also use an old electric knife for a lot of foam projects, it can sometimes get into hard to reach places and cuts well

river0013 · Post by **river0013** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:24 am

philcanoe wrote:...or maybe a guitar string (guess an 'b' or high 'e' -would be best)

... also have also use an old electric knife for a lot of foam projects, it can sometimes get into hard to reach places and cuts well

Good idea- that would give me a good reason to change my guitar strings at well!

Tiggy · Post by **Tiggy** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 3:00 am

I believe its glued on the stern bulkhead as well.

c1swim · Post by **c1swim** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 3:09 am

With front bulkhead removed; the pedestal needs to be pushed well forward to release it from the rear bulkhead. (6-8 inches) then it may be extracted, rear of the pedestal lifted out first and the front will follow. It is a tight fit, but will come out.
On the 3 or 4 that I have worked on; I never encountered any glue, and don't believe that "Dagger" used any to attach the pedestal.

river0013 · Post by **river0013** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 5:55 am

I just got the pedastal base out. Thanks for all the advise. It turns out there was no glue involved. I had some very hard to remove hip pads that were keeping the pedastal base from sliding forward. Removing another 6" of foam from the front pillar helped a lot once I got it moving.

Now it's time to transplant it into my Prelude.

oopsiflipped · Post by **oopsiflipped** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 5:29 pm

"Now it's time to transplant it into my Prelude"

Seriously? Why?

Post by **sbroam** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 5:41 pm

Doesn't like a bulkhead and wants to add straps using something he has at hand? At least one other board member I know did similar...

http://picasaweb.google.com/scott.broam ... 8183233266

I like the no fuss, no muss simplicity of a bulkhead but find their lack of adjustability frustrating at times. I was perfectly comfy in my Spanish Fly until I put on neoprene pants - had to a bit of adjusting and now wonder how loose I'll be in the spring. My Zephyr fits me great, but, loan it to a smaller paddler and they are swimming in it...

river0013 · Post by **river0013** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 6:02 pm

oopsiflipped wrote:"Now it's time to transplant it into my Prelude"

Seriously? Why?

I tried the saddle and bulkhead system for a while before I switched my last Prelude over to a pedestal and thigh strap. With the factory outfitting my roll went from 100% in flatwater to %25 in flatwater and nonexistant in whitewater. After I switched it my roll was back. While the boat will take on more water, it is MUCH more stable without the saddle. I made a very large opening for water to move under the saddle, but that only slightly helped.

The Atom pedastal setup worked great on my old boat for 6 or 7 years, so I'm inclined to stick with what worked...especially since the boat held up so well and required so little mainenance over that time.

Here's a picture of my old setup...
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2932 ... 3094wfgxYa

oopsiflipped · Post by **oopsiflipped** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 6:21 pm

Gotcha. Looks like pretty much the same reason i like the dagger seat in c1's so much. Lots of extra room for water without the bulkhead, though, eh?

river0013 · Post by **river0013** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 6:31 pm

More room for water for sure, but the same factors that make it easier to roll also make it considerably more stable if I swamp it.

Unlike the last one, I think I'm going to foam out the side walls on this one. That will reduce the volume a bit and it should help the boat roll better since there won't be a hard edge at the gunnels.