I used to try to make modifications to stock seats for the sake of comfort. Add on cushioning, rolled up towels, pool noodles, partially inflated paddle float, heel padding. Eventually I started carving mini cell seats and all my comfort issues went away. For whatever reason once I started using my own mini cell seats my perceived need for a back band went away. Better posture? I don’t know but in my boats that have any sort of back doo-dah installed it is adjusted so that it doesn’t touch my back at all until I am about to touch the back of the cockpit rim.
No back, thigh, foot, knee discomfort. After 5 to 10 hours in the cockpit I’m ready for a rest but I’m not feeling pain. I’m 70 years old, not in great shape and have arthritis in my knees and shoulders. I paddle Euro with a Werner Ikelos. I love my mincell seats.
In spite of doing hamstring stretches as part of my regular workout routine and stretching before I got into my boat, I still would have some leg issues on 15+ mile paddles. Switching to a minicell footbrace instead of using the foot pegs solved it.
I’ve heard good things about mincell seats, but never had the chance to try one.
@raisins said:
nice, I’ll save it.
another one, much the same:
You can save a bunch of time and agonizing by ordering a seat blank from Red Fish Kayaks. Not sure if Joe is still doing it but for some common boats you could get the bottom of the blanks pre-shaped to fit the hull. Fine tuning and shaping is all that is required. http://www.redfishkayak.com/foam.htm
The bottom line on minicell foam seats is that you can’t screw it up. If it doesn’t feel quite right just change it. If you take off too much in some place you can just glue some pieces back on to it and reshape. An early experiment of mine was “Frankenseat” which I cobbled together with 6 or 8 pieces of scrap foam. It is a great seat! Ugly as sin but very comfortable and performs really well. It’s still out in the garage someplace waiting for the right boat to come into my life.
Easy seat comfort is to buy soft seat from Costco about 15-20 dollars. It is covered in durable neoprene like fabric over super spongy gel. You can easily hose this off and dry in one day. It easily fits every kayak and person. Get comfortable, buy this and smile
As a big fat man I have had to cut a lot of ill fitting seats out of boats. I’ve found the surf to summit hot seat works great and it is even better if you put a wedge under the back half. It’s a lot faster and may be cheaper than building a custom foam seat.
@FrankNC said:
As a big fat man I have had to cut a lot of ill fitting seats out of boats. I’ve found the surf to summit hot seat works great and it is even better if you put a wedge under the back half. It’s a lot faster and may be cheaper than building a custom foam seat.
Do you have a picture of one you have done? Did it make the structure of the cockpit any weaker? Thanks!
LIke others, I have taken the stock seats out of several kayaks and replaced with a homemade minicell seat. Very easy to make (I use a Sureform Shaver). I like my seats long, with the legs slightly higher than my butt. No more pins and needles for me.
But there is one more thing you can do to increase leg comfort in your skegged Impex. Take out your footpegs and carve a minicell plate to put against the front bulkhead. Your paddling comfort will improve dramatically, as you will be able to shift your feet up, down, left, right, together, apart – anything you want. That is the only reason I paddle skegged boats: they allow for a bulkead foot plate. Once you try it, you won’t go back to footpegs.
Can the molded seat be removed and the screwholes sealed?
Some people paddle with just a piece of thin minicell on the floor or a Thermarest pad. Not what I like, but obviously people vary in what works for them.
As previously suggested, I am thinking about trying a piece of mimicell foam against the bulkhead instead of using the foot pegs. My concern is will this foot pressure against the bulkhead over time lead to bulkhead leaking? I have an Eddyline Skylark. Will this be detrimental to my bulk head?
@Sandyb16 said:
As previously suggested, I am thinking about trying a piece of mimicell foam against the bulkhead instead of using the foot pegs. My concern is will this foot pressure against the bulkhead over time lead to bulkhead leaking? I have an Eddyline Skylark. Will this be detrimental to my bulk head?
I’ve installed 3" thick minicell foam footrests in each of my three kayaks: Eddyline Samba, Fathom LV, and CD Prana LV. I’ve left the OEM footpegs in place and use them to support the L/R sides of the foam footrest. The center is supported by a foam block which does rest against the bulkhead, but most support comes from the footpegs.
I use http://kayakoutfitting.com/ for my outfitting needs. Excellent company to work with and wide variety of product.
If you’re padding a bulkhead and find that you need a lot of foam (a common issue for shorter paddlers), you can use the blue polystyrene insulation from a home center or building supplier. It’s inexpensive, very light and one sheet can provide several layers of bulkhead pads. Use Minicel foam for the final layer in order to provide some cushion. I also attach Minicel wedges for my feet, angled at forward at the top 15 degrees. I find this to be much more comfortable than pressing on a flat bulkhead pad.
In boats where I’ve added a lot of padding, I make a hole in the center of each layer and run a cord through them all, attached to a stick or disk on the forward side of the most forward pad. This allows the entire stack to be pulled out easily, if necessary. I also make a groove in the pads along the keel line to allow any water that gets in to drain back out. This has worked great in my petite girlfriend’s boats.
I decided not to install a full-height (hull to deck) footplate, as the half-footplate allows me to push my heels under the plate for a good stretch, which is a godsend for long hours in the cockpit. If you install a foam footrest, you might want to leave a hole in the center for the same purpose.
Most skis and “go-fast” kayaks use a 60 degree angle for the footrest. 90 is not ergonomic and is uncomfortable and lower angles (like 45 degrees) have the irritating tendency to cause your feet to slide up the ramp during leg drive.
ONNO used to sell a carbon plate that connected to small plastic footpegs (but wasn’t angled). It would be pretty easy to make something similar from plywood or glass.
Warning – any footbrace modification that you make, test it to ensure it doesn’t pose an entrapment hazard (shoes lace entanglement, feet “stuck” should you ender and slam the bow into the bottom, etc).
For seat comfort on long multi-day races, I use a pad cut from a Thermarest Z-lite foam mattress, and top with a thin teflon pad. This gives comfort for bony butts plus allows you to rotate.
Honestly, stretching and just getting used to it helps a lot. You can add a cushion/ padding, but it will hinder your technique some. If your not worried about that then pad that baby up!
in my ww kayaks I pretty routinely add a seat pad for height and add a few shims to the rear of the seat. This seems to help my 5’10" frame and short torso fit better in boats that are designed for more athletic individuals.
A few closed minicell shims/wedges do wonders under the very back of the seat pad and help with the pelvic tilt. So my posture improves when I add these. Such a simple fix that makes a big difference.
I’m more comfortable in narrow ww kayaks since my legs are less splayed out (hip replacements). When I was younger I rarely thought about outfitting and comfort. Now it is a top priority. I jump in a boat to see how comfortable I am in it. Next, I see if I can roll it. How it paddles and behaves on the water is a distant third on my list- I can adjust my technique to compensate for that…but if a boat ain’t comfortable I ain’t gonna wanna to paddle it.
