Last week I learned to roll, and have been practicing ever since. Now, however, my left hip and right thigh are all bruised up. Is this an indication that I’m too loose in the cockpit, or is it just my unrefined technique?
I just got the boat a couple weeks ago, and haven’t installed any kind of padding yet - it’s a Romany with stock composite seat. I’m 5’10" / 150 lbs, pretty slim, so there is a lot of side-to-side wiggle room. I was planning to install hip pads with “1-finger” spacing; does this sound unreasonable to anyone?
Thanks in advance!
Pad a bit and relax more!
Yes to pads
– Last Updated: Aug-06-07 4:28 PM EST –
Two places - one is something soft on the side of the seat, the other is to make sure that there is a think cushioning uner the thigh braces. I am not sure how the NDK's are arriving on that score these days. Also, wear long pants or neoprene shorts or such to protect your thighs.
The bruising is inevitable at first if you are really pushing starting with your lower body - that's a good thing. Congrats and enjoy the nice purple colors..
technique
Let me guess, C2C?
Seconding Salty - pad and relax
– Last Updated: Aug-06-07 3:21 PM EST –
I'm 6' 175-180 and in my Romany have about 3/4 of an inch of foam on each cheek plate and about the same under the deck where my thighs and knees contact. I'm still pretty loose in the boat but like a loose fit for rotation and weight shift fo edging etc...
You don't need an explosive roll to bring up a Romany. You might try slowing down your roll and bruising yourself less.
I've got an Elite layup with the NDK carbon seat and have the thinnest minicell foam on the seat and replaced the NDK 'deluxe' back band with A Bomber Gear band.
Enjoy your Romany. It is a ball of fun!
Thigh Braces
It arrived without any padding on the thigh braces. That was another place I had considered adding a thin layer, however do I wear a wetsuit with some padding.
I don’t mind the purple, it’s the wincing that gets me 
Sweep, but…
– Last Updated: Aug-06-07 4:16 PM EST –
I practiced a *lot* of hip snaps off docks & friends bows. I think I need to take salty & wilsoj's advice and relax / slow it down a little too.
Thanks for the Replies
On my way to the shop now
Also for me
I got my worst bruises when I was just practicing the hip snap, which I spent a lot of time at because adding the paddle sent things south for a long time. I got this really explosive hip snap, but with a real roll-friendly boat like the Romany you can also slow it down a bit.
A little cush helps
I’m late here but will add another “pad it” voice.
I used a Romany LV for 5 days and remember thinking, “If this were my boat, I’d pad it a little.” NOT for contact but for my body’s comfort. The bare, hard shell of the kayak was not as nice as the pads I’m used to in my own kayak. Contact was plenty good enough for rolling etc, so just enough padding to prevent bone-to-shell pressure would have made it comfortable as well. (I didn’t get bruised, though, so maybe you are using more force than necessary.)
I thought the Romany LV was incredibly fun to paddle; turning tightly was almost cheating. Enjoy your new kayak!