Hello all!
I demo’d, and will likely buy, a dagger stratos. We liked how it performed for what we will use it for. HOWEVER it has bulkhead style foot plates instead of foot pegs. I’ve never used these before. What concerns me is that in a long calm paddle, i often like to stretch my legs out past foot pegs for a little time… however when demo’ing the boat i want able to do this due to the foot plate style. Is there a way to either modify this or replace it with pegs? Maybe there was some customization to be done that wasn’t completed due to it being a demo?
Thanks for help. I do plan on calling Dagger asking about it too but i have to wait a few days and want to have as much info as i can early in the week.
I have a Stratos 12.5 S. Great little kayak! I like the foot plate, I totally understand what you’re saying about stretching your legs though. I have found that I can still straighten my legs by pushing back into the seat pan a bit - it could be that where I have the plate set is just far enough forward to allow this. But I haven’t been uncomfortable even on longer (3.5 hour) paddles with no ability to get out of the kayak.
That said it should be possible to replace the plate with standard foot pegs, but I’d suggest using the kayak a bit first before making the switch.
Thanks! We will be doing much longer tours than 3.5hrs, which is why i worry, but you i think helped me be at ease a bit.
Does yours also have the screw + holes in a metal plate for adjustment? I was also surprised at how difficult that was to adjust, and wasn’t something that can be done on the fly… tho i get its more secure.
Yes that is how mine is set up. Definitely not easy to adjust. I haven’t moved the plate since I bought the kayak 1.5 years ago - in a month I will have to as I have some friends visiting and it will be perfect for their 13 year old son to paddle. I’m a bit worried about getting those screws undone!
I like mine. It is just far enough ahead that I can apply pressure with the balls of my feet. When not applying pressure my legs can relax in a comfortable position.
Hey there! I purchased a 12.5L last summer too. I’ve sadly only had it out a couple of times. I was a little disappointed that they’d moved to a footplate as well. On a 3 hour float I would have loved to have been able to adjust my positioning like I often do with adjustable pegs. I wonder if you’ve grown to love the plate or are thinking about swapping it out. I’m going to give the plate most of this season but I bet I swap.
Might try setting the plate forward and then putting pieces of one inch closed cell foam on it. where your feet ride. Leave a gap between in order to stretch into. {best of both worlds}
My Feathercraft folding kayaks all came with a “floating” foot plate (like a reduced size bulkhead wall) made of HDPE, the white plastic cutting boards are made of. The plate’s four corners attach with adjustable 3/4" buckle straps to the frame rib just ahead of the cockpit and the cross bar under my thighs. The advantage of this is I can reach down and adjust the position of the plate while I am out on the water (by tugging on the buckles) and if I need to stretch one or both legs to wake them up or ease a cramp I can just loosen the lower buckles and push the plate to flip it out of the way and extend my feet past it. To stuff gear or the flotation bags into the bow I can unclip one of the upper buckles, which have quick release Delrin pinch style connectors.
Having the 4 point attachment also means I can adjust the position and angle of the plate exactly. It’s really a clever design. I suspect it would be easy to replicate by DIY in most kayaks as long as you had a way to created connection points like 4 d-rings attached inside the bow for the straps to connect.
Since my feet naturally turn out like a duck (my knees don’t align with my feet) this type of platform tends to work better for me than the conventional foot pegs in my other kayaks. And if I am paddling wearing soft-soled water shoes it’s more comfortable on my feet.
You can see the design on page 14 of this Feathercraft assembly manual.