I posted a week or so ago about a kneeling set-up for my Rob Roy. I wanted a seat that would allow for great boat control in rough waters and surf.
After reading a few ideas, I went with the small wenonah sliding seat with a lot of paddling on top. I sit almost even with the gunwale.
But, man, do I have control, now. I can heel the boat over in surf to the point that water starts to come over the gunwale. Throw a post and it pops back flat.
It’s really amazing. I went a couple miles offshore and was able to catch some smaller bumps and surf. I’ve raced solo outriggers, paddling sea kayaks on open water, whitewater canoe, etc., but this was the most amazing experience I’ve had in a paddling craft.
The view and boat control was amazing. I’m thinking of going to a blade with more surface area so I can get the boat to top speed to catch waves.
Thanks for all the help.
Can We Get a Visual?
I’d be interested to see the rig.
Thanks
I haven’t changed much, yet
I’ll send you some photos, but right now I’m just padding the floor and putting a pad on the sliding bucket. i shove my knees/thighs under the gunwale and go. I’m planning to put some real knee pads and foot pads, thigh pads, straps and maybe a more permanent seat.
I’m also thinking of adding two 6-foot float bags, one at each end. Maybe even an electric bilge pump. We’ll see.
My eventual goal is to paddle big water, as big as it gets here anyway. I’ve also got a downwind sailing rig that could give a lot of power on big water for getting the boat up and surfing. We’ll see.
I don’t kneel much, but am still
interested in your set up. I’d also like to see pics when you get it all set up.
I’ve had oppourtunity to buy a couple different fiberlar Rob Roys recently but passed on them because I’m not familiar with their handling characteristics and wasn’t sure if they’d be a better option than my Sawyer Loon for any particular paddling situations. Those two Rob Roys were about a 600 mile round trip for me to check out and I didn’t make the trip. The fact that the Rob Roy is two foot shorter than the Loon makes it attractive to me, but I don’t know how it’s handling compares to the Loon, which I like.
Have fun with that set up. It’d probably work well for paddling upstream as well.