C-Forum

Pea Pod wrote:Great post! Lots of detail & clear photos.

Question: how is the transfer tube secured? Because it doubles as the anchor for your thigh straps, I'm wondering how you have secured it to the foam?

Small hole, big pipe. Make a drill from the same size pipe that will be installed. I use an angle grinder to make a bevel on the outside of it. The hole will be the inside diameter of the pipe, which makes for a Really Tight fit. So tight that it made a bulge in the bottom of the saddle after forcing it in, which was easily flattened with the surform. Also, the pipe is shorter than the saddle is wide (8" wide saddle, 7.5" pipe), so its recessed in the foam just a bit.

I don't use any glue or cement (don't think it needs any) so that it can be removed to work on the straps when necessary. I have an identical setup in my Spanish Fly. I put one thigh strap on as tight as I want it, then the other. No problems with anything shifting around.

Here's my 3" drill. I drill half way from each side. Stop at least every inch and check your angle.



The 8" plug removed from the saddle. You can see that the plug is the inside diameter of the pipe.



My only concern with this setup is this...
I have wondered if over time the upward pulling force of the straps will cause the saddle to become concave on the bottom, pulling the hull up with it. Which of course could be easily fixed with an additional layer of foam and a heat gun. This is why I use 3" pipe, to distribute the force over a larger area.

Quick update...

I got the foam glued in and have started to carve out the leg areas. Here's a couple of pics, more when finished.

I always save the corners I trim off of larger pieces for things like this.





All layers glued. Needs thighs carved out more.



And YES, there is still more than enough room for her largest paddle booties. I wish my bare foot was as narrow as her paddle bootie. My plan is to taper the end of the saddle a bit for extra clearance, just to be safe.

More updates...

Had to extend the straps and their pipes. Here's my trick to threading the webbing through the pipes... piece of wire, bend the end into a hook. After adding the extra layers, the 2" hole for access to the strap anchor was too small to reach the bottom. I had to work with pliers.



I tapered the back of the saddle for extra foot clearance.





Rough cut for leg clearance. Still needs some test fitting.





With airbags in. Its getting so close to complete that I just had to see it.



I plan to trim more off the sides above the thighs for easy exit, but I need the paddler to test fit to find the angles.

A little rant on exiting. Do keep in mind that all of this is coming from a guy who is 6'5", 175 lbs, size 13 feet... The shallow bulkhead, thigh straps, and no foot pegs combo makes exiting so much easier than a regular bulkhead. With this setup there is no need to go backwards to get your legs out (big concern for my long legs), and no pegs to get hung up on or under. Just pop the thigh strap release and your legs unfold out of the boat automatically. I find it to be the easiest exit of any outfitting setup I've tried. If completely relying on a quick release is not an option for you, wear the thigh straps a little loose and you can still exit backwards. How loose depends on the height and angle of the seat back. I would argue that this is possibly the safest outfitting that you can have. It keeps you in the boat when you need it, it adds buoyancy while you're wrong side up, it displaces water and keeps the boat light, and it lets you exit from any position with the simple swipe of your hand between your legs. I don't even try to grab the handle, just curl fingers and drag down the center of the saddle, and instantly you're having an out of boat experience.

Those air bags look pretty new. If you bought those, perhaps you wouldn't mind posting the size and what type of bags, where you got them. I have a CU-Fly with original air bags, I might have to buy new ones soon.

Amazing thread. Needs to be put in the outfitting section.

ian123 wrote:Amazing thread. Needs to be put in the outfitting section.

Agreed.

johnd wrote:Those air bags look pretty new. If you bought those, perhaps you wouldn't mind posting the size and what type of bags, where you got them. I have a CU-Fly with original air bags, I might have to buy new ones soon.

Those bags are from Mohawk. They measure 48" from end grommet to corner grommet, deflated.

Thanks for the compliments everyone.