BTW
While we’re on the foot peg issue. I remember I rented a kayak in Australia. The “foot support” wasn’t a pair of tinny tiny pegs but more of a panel on a cross bar that run across the entire width of the boat. You move the cross bar along the rail just like you slide the individual foot pegs to adjust for reach. Also, you only need to do one adjustment (move the entire panel) instead of two adjustments (one for each peg). I found that much more comfortable than the itsy-bitsy foot pegs we have here. But just wondering why it’s never found in north America…
Pgymy Artic Turn 14-ft
Build her this boat and she will adore you forever. Very lightwieght, very responsive and rough water proven. The deck is high enough you can outfit the padding to allow for her legs to be more upright.
Bob
Here are a couple of photos in conditions:
http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~walpole/pics/kayak/lookout2/24.html
http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~walpole/pics/kayak/lookout2/04.html
Nice boat!
But if I built her that boat, she’d wonder who performed the “body snatch” on her husband! I’d give myself an “A+” on fixing our computers, a “B+” for wrenching our bicycles, but I failed shop, metal working, woodworking, sculpture, etc! It will be hard enough to just make the foam thing work!
we have that here too!
Whitewater kayaks use the movable bulkhead system. I believe Riot’s new kayaks have the single adjustment point as well. I’m not sure if Riot or Dagger has incorporated these things into their touring kayaks but they have begun include some other whitewater components into their sea kayak outfitting. Heck it’s about time. It would be awesome if sea kayaks came with quality whitewater outfitting (adjustable backband, hip pads, thigh pads, knee braces, bulkheads, etc.) Why do I need to drop thousands of dollars on a boat only to rip everything out and spend time with minicell creating new outfitting when I can sit in any whitewater boat (which I fit in) and within minutes get a snug and comfortable fit. Sea kayak companies need to get with the times especially NDK, Valley, and Current Designs. WS, Dagger, Riot, and Impex all have better outfitting which is awesome to see.
Too wide
Sounds like she is comfortable in the sub-22" beam kayaks; the Tern is, what, 23?
I am comfortable in my Tempest 165, 21.5" beam, and have found any kayak wider than that to be just too wide (narrower kayaks in this overall length would be nice but are rare). All the 23" beam kayaks I’ve tried have felt like fricking barges, even the ones with small cockpits, such as the Seaward Cosma, or with low decks such as the CD Squamish. And I don’t have the unusual fit situation that she has.
The Tempest comes with many “shims” for the hip pad pockets. So what would be needed for her to get a straight-leg position would be footbraces that are near the middle of the kayak instead of near the hull sides. Maybe install a cross-member there and pull out the footpegs. OR better yet: attach something spanning the footpegs. That way you’d get a hull design she likes, custom-outfitted. Much less time and effort than building a wood kayak.
Custom S&G or stripper could be made to fit her perfectly but you are talking about a fair commitment of time and effort. I built one with 21" beam and enjoy paddling it; the building part was purely a labor of love–I wouldn’t recommend building one unless you think you’d like the process.
Foam masik pics
There are some in my Kayak Outfitting album on Webshots at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom
The pics are of a Pintail and an Anas Acuta, but they’re applicable to other boats with small cockpits. Take a look at the outfitting on the Rumour too, as it works similarly to the foam masik, but on larger cockpits.