Great job on pictures. Looks like you have enough room to me. Looking at the seat I don’t like hard shell seats. I’ll think low angle and hard seat may possibly be the problem.
I agree that your feet look a little too flexed but maybe you normally paddle with booties or footwear w more sole?
If you feel like you have to keep your thighs “up” with your own leg muscles, I’ll bet you still have room to move the pegs toward you a notch, without being locked in. Even a micro adjustment to the seat should be followed by a reevaluation of the peg position (or custom footrest if you go that route)
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You may not want to hear this, and it might not help you much, but I just don’t think kayaks are very comfortable.
If your rear end isn’t much higher than your feet, unless you are leaning back, it’s going to be hard to get comfortable. There isn’t much room to move around, in a kayak, especially in a narrow seakayak.
I find a canoe, with a traditional seat position (rather than that of a pack canoe) to be far more comfortable. Especially if you have a big dry bag or cooler behind your seat. If I need a break, I just lean back and hang my feet over the side. Or, even, stand up for a minute. A big, loaded canoe is pretty stable.
Would love to see some photos of your foam footrest both in and out of the boat.
Yes, I have a couple canoes (my most recent being a new Northstar Trillium fitted with kneeling drops), and I find the kneeling position to be the most ergonomically stable and comfortable for me to be in for any length of time with no problems…I’ve often thought about what a kayak fitted for kneeling would be like, if at all possible…
I love canoeing but I also live near the Long Island Sound and want to be able to explore that realm with a kayak.
I’ll consider what you mentioned about the rear end being higher than the feet as I make some adjustments. Thanks for your help
From the photos, it looks like you can put your knees together in the middle. In shallow water near shore, do that and let your legs bend with feet on the floor, not splayed to the sides on the pegs. Don’t put the sprayskirt on; let the knees poke up in the middle. If paddling like this feels better than the “normal position,” maybe you need a kayak with foredeck higher than 10”. If that is the max deck height in front, it is pretty low for anyone but a short person.
I am much shorter than you. The kayaks I’ve tried with decks 10” or less felt cramped even to me.
Thanks for all the helpful replies. I spent some time today on the lawn fiddling with foot peg positions and the seat. I definitely feel more upright and locked in where I feel like I’m truly “wearing” the kayak when the pegs are closer in and my feet are flexed against them. My back and thighs actually felt much better and more secure, so thanks for that simple recommendation. That positioning actually feels the best so far. However, where I get a bit nervous is the thought of my getting entrapped in the cockpit if I fall over because of how snug I am in there.
Secondly, I envisioned what it would be like to have a foam block rather than foot pegs and I’m not sure if this would create more of a cramped feeling eventually as well. Right now, I can stretch out my legs between the foot pegs and my feet extend way past them, and I like having that freedom. If I have a foam foot rest covering the width of the cockpit that means I won’t be able to stretch out my legs any further if need be. I also realized that in order for me to get out of the kayak, I need to stretch my legs/feet out in between and beyond the length of the pegs which narrows my frame just enough for me to be able to slide out of the keyhole cockpit…make sense? I wouldn’t be able to do this with a foam block taking up all that middle space. Does anyone ever create two mini foam blocks on each end in lieu of pegs so that one can stretch their legs out in between?
If I figure out the foot peg/rest/block dilemma, I will eventually have to figure out the seat part as well. The seats from my other kayaks won’t work with or fit this one. The hard factory seat is very uncomfortable and the backband does not stay in place well either (it always drops down no matter how tight I make it). Putting a couple thin foam pads on the rear of the seat evened it out a bit so that my rear and front were somewhat even, and that seemed a better, but then I was too high in the seat overall. Perhaps I just need to ditch the seat, get a new backband, and put a simple thin cushion on the floor. Do they make backbands that can attach to old seat hanger holes?
In the end, if all that doesn’t work, I may have to accept that my 10" deck may just be too low, as pikabike alluded to…and unfortunately move on from my dream of paddling this kayak…
Thanks again for all the helpful tips…
Here’s the one in the Prana LV, albeit a bit blurry. Not too much light down there. As the top had to be scooped out to fit around the base of my snack hatch, I made enough room to store my bilge pump.
Second photo is the setup in my Fathom LV. No snack hatch so I installed an underdeck bag. There’s also a foam block in each boat supporting the center of the footrest.
“However, where I get a bit nervous is the thought of my getting entrapped in the cockpit if I fall over because of how snug I am in there.”
You’ll be fine. When you get really snug is when you put an old, compressed foam block or pool noodle under your calves/ankles to raise your heels from the hull. You’ll feel at risk but I promise you are not. To prove it to yourself you can flip over a few times and do some wet exits… with someone who loves you standing nearby.
My entrapment fear, which I’ll generously pass along to you, involves footwear. I think the most risk is a sandal getting snagged on a footpeg so I always paddle barefoot or if it’s cold with strapless boots.
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Yes, some people do set the bulkhead foot rests up as two, on the sides, and a gap in the middle for stretching your legs.
I thought about that when I was setting mine up, but other people said they found that was not needed, so I first set it up as Rookie shows in her photos, just a flat surface across the whole space. I used several layers so that I could adjust as needed. I also slanted the top. so that it was not vertical, so my feet can lean, my toes extending further toward the bow than my heels.
When I first started using it, I wanted it tight, probably from my experience with foot pedals. I liked, as you say, being able to extend my leg(s) between the foot pedals for a rest at times, so I was curious how this would actually feel. But as I used it, I found I kept taking out a layer every few trips, until I had my legs mostly flat on the bottom, with my feet slightly touching the foam pad. When I want to be more secure, I simply shift slightly and my feet are pressed against the foot pad, and my thighs are against the thigh braces, solid and secure.
What I have found is that the foam foot rest does not need to be so close to the seat that it keeps my knees bent. Instead, they are relaxed, and move around as I feel the need. In essence, I have my feet in a position that, if I had foot rests, would sort of be between the foot rests, but they are shifting position, like you would do while sitting in a chair, as comfort suggests, always ready in an instant to lock in and be pressed against the foot pad and thigh braces, as needed.
Since the foot rests are not even there, there is only open space, nothing to get hung up on, or snagged, either entering or exiting. Just lots of room to let my legs shift as needed. In your case, like Rookie did, you can simply bury the foot rests in the foam. they are there if you want to go back, or loan your boat, otherwise, they are out of the way.
I never want to go back. For me, these are a lot better, and more comfortable, than foot rests. Slip into your boat and boom, you are in position immediately. No need to feel for the foot rests and get your feet in position. Move your legs around as you want. Slip out, nothing to snag.
You can give this a try for the cost of a few exercise mat tiles and see if it helps. I think, based on your description of the problem, there is some chance it may help with your issue of comfort. But even if it does not, you may find you like the bulkhead foot rest too much to go back. If not, simply take them out, and you are back to pegs. Easy to prototype, easy to go back, not much to lose in giving it a try.
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I don’t know if this is just one of those kayaking urban legends but a colleague swears it is true! They saw another kayaker go over in the distance so started meandering over to make sure they were okay, got there and realised the occupant had not rolled or come up so quickly did a HOG and found the guy still in the cockpit with his tevas caught around a foot peg! Urgh… nightmare material… anyway, only bare feet or neoprene booties for me!
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