Outfitting a Kayak

Ever try skiing without your boots buckled? You try to turn and nothing
happens. Or you try to correct your balance and again nothing happens. And when
it happens it's too late. Well, that's exactly what you're doing in an
improperly fit kayak. About 80% of control comes from the waist down. So, if
you're not fitting well you're not paddling well.
There are a lot of different types of boats out there. Whitewater,
Recreational and Touring are the three main categories (There's also
Sit-On-Top's. We're ignoring this style for now. Sorry) White water boats are
typically the most technical fitting and tend to require the most
personalization. Therefore we're going to focus on this niche. As we do know
that all of the techniques used are applicable to Touring and Recreational
kayaks.
"Most first time kayakers borrow a friend's boat, or slip into a boat that
feels comfortable, and then go kayaking," says Todd Anderson head instructor for
the Kayakshed. "Loose, comfortable boats feel good in the store and on flat
water, but they can make leaning and bracing very difficult. Once the boat is
outfitted to provide a close, snug fit that still allows for easy wet exits, on
water performance can dramatically improve." This rule applies to all levels of
kayakers, from paddling easy whitewater, big water runs or creeks. Customized
outfitting helps transfer the river's current through the kayak's hull to your
body, helping you sense your surroundings, make essential maneuvers and keep
your balance.
To get the best performance you need to have good contact wherever possible
with your boat. This includes hips, lower back, butt, thigh, knees, and feet.
Addition to good contact it needs to be comfortable. We're going to focus on
areas of the hips, lower back, butt and, feet
Hips:
If you can fit a hand between your hips and the seat of your kayak, you'll
probably need to customize your boat's fit. Many of the new boats out there have
adjustable hip pads and come with directions on how to do this. However, if they
don't you have to do-it-yourself. How? Well you can buy preshaped minicell foam
hip pads - customize them to your hips and glue them into place, or you can buy
preshaped hip pads and simply strap them into your boat. When you are done your
boat should fit comfortably - not painfully.
Lower back:
Back bands and seat backs set against the lower back, preventing you from
sliding backward off your seat and holding you forward against your foot
outfitting. They can also provide lumbar support. There are a lot of
after-market back bands out there. The newest and most functional I have found
is from Jackson Kayak. This back band replaces the old ratchet system with the
ultimate in simplicity, strength, and ease of use. Figure out which back band is
best for you by sitting in a couple of boats already outfitted with them.
Butt:
Seat pads have dramatically changed over the past years. Jackson Kayak has
come out with their Sweet Cheeks Outfitting seat system. Done right they are
the best thing you can do to customize your kayak. Historically a seat pad was
simply a piece of minicell foam glued to the hard plastic seat. Sweet Cheeks
form fits around your rear end to make a perfect bucket seat. No pressure
points. No more sliding around on your seat.
The average kayak seat is designed to fit the largest rear end that would
likely fit in the boat, otherwise that kayak would be useless to those with a
big rear end. The Sweet Cheeks allows your rear end to form a butt imprint down
deep, creating a bucket that surrounds you in back, to the sides, and on both
sides of your legs. Low spots are filled in, high spots are taken down, and all
of the areas that aren't normally supported are suddenly supported.
One of my favorite parts is that where the hip pads end the Sweet Cheeks
picks up, offering side to side support perfectly. I hate leaning back in my
boat and having my rear end slide forward. The Sweet Cheeks offers a comfortable
wedge in the front, made by your legs and crotch that prevent forward slippage.
The other part that is huge is that the back of the seat meets up with the back
band in the exact right spot, so your tailbone is protected by foam, and the
back of your rear end is firmly supported with the rise behind you.
How? When you are getting into your kayak with the Sweet Cheeks for the first
time, you'll get in after you inflate it about 4 breaths worth. When you sit on
it the air will rush out of the tube, while the beans rush around to find a
place to go until the air is mostly out. To lock it in for as long as you like
your setup, simply suck the remaining air out and viola! It is a perfectly
locked down seat pad that won't slip around on your seat. The bottom of the pad
is made of Velcro hoops and it stays firmly in place on the Velcro in your
kayak.
Feet:
Historically foot pegs and bulkheads were all there was to offer. More
recently customized foam blocks came into play. Now the latest and easiest (and
arguably best) method is the invent of the 'foot bag'. Or Happy Feet as Jackson
Kayak calls them. Tuck your feet into Jackson's bean bag and get them super
comfy, then close the valve and you have your footprint proudly placed in our
Happy Feet Foot bag. Then pump the bulb which inflates the adjustment bladder
and you will tighten up the bag until you have the right amount of pressure to
give you the control you like. Get to the bottom of the rapid, or pull into an
eddy and hit the release valve, now you have excess room again and can lift your
knees out easily to relax. From a technical standpoint it works like this:
1) The Cross linked Polyethylene Beans are compressible but have memory to
expand back to their mini football shapes. When you put get into the kayak and
push on the bag the air is forced out of it and the beans compress to give you a
fit that works perfectly with your leg and foot type. When you close the valve
you have locked the beans in place. This happens because when you get out of
your boat the beans try to expand to their original shape, but there is no space
to spread out because the valve is closed so the beans lock in place. So you
can fiddle around with the bag and it keeps your foot pockets neatly in place.
Now the reality for the bag is that it takes a little practice to get it perfect
in the beginning. For example: When you open the valve the beans are free to
move around. So if you have it open and carry the boat on one shoulder then get
in without making the boat flat and shaking it a little the beans will be off to
one side. So, don't open the valve and carry the boat unless you don't mind
getting the beans evenly spread out again!
2) The Air Bladder is designed to fully fill up the void in the bow of your
kayak when inflated to eliminate as much side to side motion as possible and
still give you up to 9 inches of adjustability. This means you could go from a
29-37 inseam with one sized foot bag. We have two sizes that covers everybody
in every boat, cool. OK, so the air bladder takes about 10 pumps for somebody
that is nearing the end of the boat and about 40 pumps to fully inflate for
somebody who has really short legs for the boat they are in. The impressive part
is that you can pump it until your legs hurt. The bladder is broken into a left
and right compartment. One of the biggest issues with air for support is that it
can so easily move from one side to the other. Jackson Kayak has a special
bleed valve in between the two compartments that makes it so when you push
hard on your left foot all of the air doesn't rush to the right side and visa
versa. The guy helping me on this project figured that out and for it I consider
him a genius, his name is Jeff Reynolds (Genius). The really cool thing is that
when you want to relax you simply push the release button and the air can be
pushed out by pressing on your feet. It is funny how it doesn't seem like it is
going out at first because it goes slowly (10 seconds for a full release) but
when you stop pushing you realized that you have tons of room to move around,
get your legs out, etc.
Now you have the skinny on the new methods of outfitting your kayak. If you
only wanted to go with one of the above options I would have to choose the Happy
Seat. They are amazing and truly make a difference.
If you have any questions or would like to purchase any of the above check
out our site at Kayak Gear and Accessories = The Kayak Shed
Thanks for reading,
John