Huh?
Celia,
Trying to visualize the fitting adjectives you’re using;
“I think it would require padding down for you - think the thigh braces would have you too deep towards the front.”
Want to help describe this to my poor caffine low synapses? Making more coffee now.
See you on the water, (not in a 3, don’t fit)
Marshall
www.the-river-connection.com
Hyde Park, NY
Could be wrong but
When I got into Gail’s (above person) at the Downeast Symposium, I really liked the boat and the fit in the nearest portion of the thigh brace. Came back raving about the boat as you recall.
But I am accustomed to a slightly more flattened down fit all along from the Expl LV and have come to rather like it. I felt like what I’d do at 5’4" might be to add a bit of padding along the length of the thigh brace to flatten out its rise a bit even for me. This poster is two inches shorter, hence a slightly shorter thigh, and I have the sense from her comments about the Tempest fit above that part of the strain she was feeling might be from feeling like she had to pop her thighs up to hold against the thigh braces. I may be reaching - it just sounded awfully familiar from my days with my first sea kayak where that was an issue over a long trip and I didn’t understand padding yet.
With the adjustable braces in the Avocet these days, if they are set all the way back she is probably hooking more on her thigh and pretty much disregarding the rest. Between that and the fact that they are more aggressively shaped than the default in most of these sea kayaks, what was going on with her thigh below the brace may not have been noticeable.
Again, I could be way off. Will alter my above post to add that.
Advice
You are all so wonderful!!!
Here is the plan:
Tomorrow Night: go to a local dealer to demo the CD Oracle (specs are close and it is in my budget). I have now heard too much confirmation that the Rumour has that high foredeck, and budget is an issue.
Leave Friday for Tallahsee to demo the Prijon Catalina.
From there Savanah GA to Demo a Vela for $1500. (YES I FOUND ONE)! It was damaged in shipping, but has been repaired.
If the Vela is a no go, I swing to Tybee Island on Sunday to drive home the Avocet that they have is stock in the color I want.
The tempest was just plain wrong for me, the Force 3 was just plain right. I am sure with more time in it I could maneuver it better, but again budget rears its ugly head.
I believe you are right with the thigh braces on the Avocet. I am probably paying more attention to my leg position because of the right foot being clubbed. One can not really tell by looking at it, but the knee & foot do not move like my other leg. Perhaps I am mistaken in my judgment that is better for me to get the legs right and pad up the tush?
Check out the Cap 161 too…
I’m assuming you’re heading to Savannah Canoe and Kayak to test the Vela. You should test paddle a Capella 161 too. Nigel has a beautiful black-on-black (with carbon-kevlar inlay) boat he is trying to sell!
A previous poster thought this might be too big, but its narrower (21.5") and has a lower deck than the Avocet. Since the Vela is a hard-chined boat, this would give you a good point of comparison.
At your size, any boat you paddle is likely going to have to be padded out for you, but you still want to find a boat that doesn’t swallow you up.
Capella
Oh my word I saw that boat online.
It is breathtaking!!
Will do, but I am afraid of falling in love with it. (The price tag)
Nigel seems like a delight, and I love a good excuse for a road trip.
One way or another I will find a kayak this weekend.
I have the Vela, and on fit
First - “Perhaps I am mistaken in my judgment that is better for me to get the legs right and pad up the tush?”
I am no expert, but I’d say that padding the legs down will get you more than padding the tush up in most circumstances. You can even shape minicell to create the same kind of aggresive thigh brace curve that you are geting in the Avocet. Padding the tush up doesn’t directly affect your control and can contribute to feeling less stable by elevating your center of gravity in the boat, padding the thigh braces down as needed accomplishes the goal without risking primary stability.
That said… a quarter inch of padding under your seat bones won’t hurt, at your weight you’re unlikely to feel unstable in any of these boats, and you do need to make sure that you are not so deep in the boat that it’s hard to get a good stroke. This may be all be a more delicate balance between these bits for you than for an average height guy.
As to the Vela, I think you’ll love the narrowness and her spriteliness. It is a niche boat in many ways due to its size and fit, but a tough little customer that’ll go a anywhere you can handle in terms of conditions. There are two things you should keep in mind.
First, the foredeck is on the high side. You should definately think about paddling the thighs down. I have done that in mine as have a number of other Vela owners I’ve encountered. The other thing is that it may feel like a lot of boat on flat water. Don’t worry about that part - if you take the boat over you’ll find she has rock solid secondary and you’ll get used to the primary pretty quickly. This boat does take more use of the skeg than my other, but P&H puts together a solid product. I’ve never had a problem with mine.
Finally, a note on that club foot. Especially for you, you should think about losing the darned footpegs as quickly as possible and bracing off of shaped blocks of foam set against the forward bulkhead. Most of the boats that you have mentioned have a plenty solid bulkhead to handle that, with the CD boats being the ones that IO know less about. Not only is this a lot more comfortable on your feet, it’ll allow you to use the rest of your legs in a more relaxed fashion. I never even bothered taking the footpegs out of the Vela to do this, just cut the foam blocks to go in behind them.
I suspect that part of the Avocet’s comfort for you was that you could get good enough purchase with the aggressive thigh braces that it took the pressure off of trying to stay on the footpeg. You can create the same effect with minicell.
Force Cat 3
I did quite a bit of kayak testing before purchasing my Cat 3. I found it to resist turning when level more than a lot of other kayaks, but turn better than most when put on edge. I also found it started a turn with just a small amount of edging which I find desirable for making small course changes without changing my paddling ryhthm. This was all with the skeg up. When using the skeg there is a point, about 3/4 lowered where I found the kayak much more difficult to turn even with strong edging. If you were not trying edged turns or were testing the turning with the skeg fully deployed you might want to try retesting since the Cat 3 fit you so well. Best of luck.
Mark
Impex Cat 3
I’ve got an Impex Cat 3 and I find it turns quite nicely, if you put it on edge.
…add on the foam for hip/thigh fit
– Last Updated: Feb-27-07 5:52 PM EST –
Lisa,
The closed cell foam is great for snugging up the fit virtually anywhere, but KayakOutfitting.com's "neoprene foam" makes the hip-fit snug but comfortable. Adding on the "neoprene-foam" as a last layer hugging your hips or thighs..is what this favorite of us whitewater addicts is all about. It's great stuff, ...has that soft & sticky continuity yet holds one tight!(link is below).
http://kayakoutfitting.com/details.php?pageID=2.20
$.01...
Foam
Well that certainly looks like it relieve some of my headaches . . . .
Now I just need the kayak to put it in!!