Necky Eliza hip pads?

Valley Avocet LV
Put that on her list too. Comes with hip pads.



See you on the water,

Marshall

The River Connection, Inc.

Hyde Park, NY

www.the-river-connection.com

Excellent
Will do. Do you know if the Eliza does as well?

Nope, outfit yourself

Ok,
Thanks!

No Eliza info
I stock and use P&H, Valley, North Shore and Venture Kayaks. Can’t help you with particulars on the Necky line.



See you on the water,

Marshall

The River Connection, Inc.

Hyde Park, NY

www.the-river-connection.com

No worries
Thanks again

Often better to make your own
I started with the ones that they sell to add into boats, and some of them are slippery. That tends to defeat the purpose of the hip pad. Easier to use minicell, get something that starts out near the right width, and as she changes her mind about her fit you can just shave them.

Excellent

– Last Updated: Apr-10-13 2:54 PM EST –

Thanks. Could you possibly send me a link? I mean, where to buy the correct type?

Would something like these work?

http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=2048.4

Check how aggressive they are
I am having a hard time telling from the photo. For WW folks they want a very aggressive inset, but for sea kayaks you usually go less so. You want to be tucked in there some, but with a less aggressive hook at the top.



If you can find just a square 4" by 4" block of decent thickness, that often fits more easily in a sea kayak than the ones for WW boats. The WW boat pads tend to assume they’ll be glued to the hull of the boat, but for sea kayaks you are usually gluing them to the side of the seat itself. (That is, until you decide you hate the seat and take the whole thing out to replace with a foam seat from places like Redfish.)

Would a kit
Like this work?



http://www.harmonygear.com/products/9678/Hip-Pad-Kit.html

Skip the kit
That seat is hung by flat metal side pillars. Just stop by, pick up a sheet of 1/4" & 1/2" self adhesive minicell foam, trim to fit on the pillar to the thickness you need to make contact and stick it.



'course if you’re really wanting to buy that kit go for it.



See you on the water,

Marshall

The River Connection, Inc.

Hyde Park, NY

www.the-river-connection.com

Ha
We’ll test the boat first, and then if she likes it we’ll see how to outfit it. I’ve never done it before though, so all of this helps a lot and I want to be ready.



Thanks again.




DIY
You can buy a block of minicell foam at a variety of sources such as http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=2076.



The foam is easy to cut with a breadknife (or bandsaw). You can sand it or shape with a perforated tool such as a Stanley Surform or Red Devil Dragon Skin, etc. I use double-sided duct tape as a temporary measure to test the pads for fit. If they feel good you can glue them in with contact cement.



With a little practice you will be able to get a custom fit – cheaper and better than a “kit”.



Make sure than any outfitting changes that you do don’t affect your ability to exit the kayak.



Greg Stamer

Ok great
Thanks all for the advice!

Not that kit
If you recall, I said that I found the cloth covered ones to be slippery compared to straight minicell? That kit is exactly one that I got and had that problem with. Plus the strappy pat tends to let it move around.



As below, you also have to take a look at the shape of the seat hanger/side to which the foam needs to be glued. If it is what is described below, you are going to be best off just getting a block of minicell then cutting and shaping it. Then glue it in.

Follow up
So after trying a couple of boats, my wife went with the Eliza after all. She ordered it in fuchsia (looks excellent btw). We got a big block of minicell, cut and shaped several sized hip pads. They get wedged in tight to test, so we’re going to wait to glue until she decides which size is best after using it on the water more. This past weekend she was able to balance brace it perfectly and roll it almost unassisted. (We’re still learning in pool sessions near us).



So thanks again everyone for all the help. Much appreciated!



Cheers,





Luke

I have
a brand new spare pair of Wildwasser adjustable minicell hip pads if you might be interested in them:

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5PUlu7cLyiU/TvF1bju_YFI/AAAAAAAAFsc/waHhdsVzUQs/s800/WildwasserHipPads.jpg

For now
I think we’ll be ok with the blocks we cut ourselves. Thanks though!

Congrats to your wife!
It sounds like she had a great session.



I love hearing that an instructor has introduced a woman early on to the balance brace. It is a great confidence builder for someone to know they can lie in the water and relax without having to boat fall over one them, and it is usually easier for women than men. I wish someone had gotten me into one early on - we had been taking lessons for a while before I ever heard of it.

Thanks Celia!
Our instructor was excellent. He had us start by balance bracing with paddle floats on each end of the paddle. We then learned to collapse the boat on top of us and then balance brace into laying on the back deck. Then we moved on to assisted rolling with paddle floats, and afterwards took the paddlefloats off. In a couple of lessons we were both getting the hang of it. The interesting thing was that my wife was able to balance brace without a paddle from the start. She’s so petite and flexible that she lays at 90 degrees to the boat and floats perfectly without a paddle. I can only do it with the paddle, but managed to get down to using just 1 finger on it.