Are there any good replacement adjustable footbraces or perhaps even a foot bar that is adjustable while you are sitting in the kayak? I have a WS Zephyr. No rudder controls needed.
Various style footbraces
Scroll thru this article to see the pictures
- various materials, styles and pricing
http://www.examiner.com/kayaking-in-detroit/kayaking-foot-pegs-and-foot-braces
I swapped out the cheap plastic rails and braces
in my Dagger Crossover for the aluminum Yakima style.
Hope the info helps
Most folks use one of these two
The plastic Perception/Harmony style “Keepers” footpegs on plastic tracks: http://www.campmor.com/keepers-footbrace-kit.shtml?source=CI&ci_sku=99743WC&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw={keyword}
or the somewhat more robust (and heavier) Yakima metal and plastic footpegs on aluminum rails: http://www.mohawkcanoes.com/accessories.html
(look under footbrace set)
Adjustable from seated position?
– Last Updated: Nov-23-11 12:15 PM EST –
Looks to me like the only foot pegs adjustable from the boat are the harmony slide locks - this is the system in my boat now. Are there any other braces - or foot bar systems (ONNO?) that can be adjusted easily while seated?
You could add the telescoping bar
from a Wenonah sliding foot brace to your current pegs that are adjustable from a seated position and you would have a foot bar that is adjustable from a seated position.
If you’ve got the dough, ONNO is a great way to go.
platform brace
There are alternatives to individual foot pegs. I’ve got a number of kayaks without rudders. Most have the standard adjustable individual foot pegs of one kind or another, but my favorite is what came on my Feathercraft folding kayak (2005 Wisper model). Imagine one of those white plastic kitchen cutting boards, with slots cut on two sides with adjustable buckled nylon webbing straps run through the slots and then attached to the inside of the kayak up near the seat. I can easily adjust how far down this platform for my feet is, and it is easier on my feet over a long period of time to have them braced against a solid wide surface than propped against narrow footpegs. Since my feet turn out, kinda like a duck (or a ballet dancer), it works better for me too. With some footpegs my toes end up jammed against the deck unless I rotate my knees in. This bracing platform allows me to sit with my legs out straight, Greenland style, if I want to, or move them closer to the hull to bend my knees and flex my thighs up under the braces beneath the coaming.
I also rigged an “emergency” footbrace in another kayak by sliding a piece of 1/2" aluminum pipe inside an 18" section of hard foam pool noodle, running rope through it and tying the ends under the seat. You can sort of imagine it as a cushioned horizontal trapeze. It worked well enough that I left it in place in that boat – been 3 years now.
what are trying to solve
with regards to the stock footpegs? like Yanoer’s suggestion I plan to install a bar using the existing pegs/rails in my Z and then make a foot platform with Minicel, kinda like the movable bulkhead in ww kayaks.
Won’t stay put
the stock foot pegs in my Zephyr will not stay where I put them. Can’t figure out why. They stay put when I am paddling, but next time out they will be in a different position. Drives me crazy.
P&H and QCC
has footpegs that can be adjusted while sitting in the kayak. You could look on there sites to see which model footbraces they use.
P&H footbraces also have a full-foot brace, which I prefer to the small yakima bar.
Yakima-type pegs
For example, keep your left foot on the left peg. Use your right toe to release the locking lever. Use both feet to slide the peg to the desired position, release locking lever. As long as you keep the track and mechanism from clogging with crud or corroding, works fine. Yakima pegs stay put. Doesn’t seem all that tough to me or requiring a complicated solution, but YMMV.
I’m sure there are ways to solve that,
though I can’t say whether it would be easy. It sounds like jostling and/or gravity is causing your pedals to jump out of position.
Someone mentioned Yakima footpegs, which I have installed and used. While they CAN be adjusted while one is seated in the kayak, they are quite UN-ergonomic from the point of view of sea kayaking. For whitewater, OK, but not great.
Won’t stay put
A common problem with the slidelock footbraces, with two extremely easy fixes.
- Use a tie wrap on each side to hold them in place. If you wish to change the position, cut off the old, install the new.
- Use a screw to hold them in place. See the WS youtube video on this here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqY_y8hwUeQ
I found the link to this video on the Wilderness System site.
Sea Dog Braces
I’ae used them in three boats, and am quite pleased, I like the larger-than-normal footrest, the lower-than-usual cost, and find I can adjust them from the cockpit (once I figured out how to do it) All in all, great bang for ther buck…IMHO…YMMV
Sea-lect designs
They make replacement footbraces that are adjustable from cockpit.
Tkamd
The flat, straight up-and-down footies
don’t suit even this ww paddler. And when replacing other footpegs and rails, I found that the Yakima system wouldn’t allow the pedal as far down the rail as the Necky pedals it was replacing. SO, I had to remove the Yakimas and go with another system, from Wilderness I think. Well thought out.
We had some solid stuff back in the 70s and 80s, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be properly redesigned.
plastic tubing
someone posted recently (which I can’t find at the moment) a link to a page showing how to jam some pieces of plastic or rubber tubing into the space above the footpeg adjuster rods, thus locking them into place. ez cheap fix that doesn’t require replacing the whole assembly.
I see -
Yes this seams like a nice simple approach. If you can adjust using your feet alone that would avoid having to pop your spray skirt - my current system required that I use my hand so I have to pop my spray skirt.