I test paddled a Looksha IV yesterday, and really liked the boat, but can’t help but wonder if the lack of initial stability is heavily affected by the seat height. I did not measure it, but it sure seems to be 2" to 2.5" off of the bottom of the boat. Has anyone replaced this with foam to see how it changed the stability?
Necky folks
told me there was foam under the seat on mine, but I didn’t check. Said to remove that and put spacers at the mounting points. However, I have gotten quite used to the height. Seems necessary for me to paddle effectively. The paddle only clears the deck by the front of the cockpit by 1/2" when I’m cruising along, and I wouldn’t mind more room there. A compromise.
The boat wobbles a little on flat water but is rock steady in any chop or waves, so I don’t mind the compromise.
What lack of initial stability?
Feels like a lot of initial to me.
I heard that the seat on the kevlar boats (like mine) is 1/2" higher than the fiberglass because of the cylindrical natural composite stiffening material glassed in along the keel line on the kevlar boats (aka a wood dowel).
But I still find it comfy stable. If you don’t like it rip out the seat and carve your own.
It’s been a while since I’ve paddled…
…a Looksha IV (during my first couple weeks of paddling eight years ago), but as I remember, it took a very short time to get used to the stability (then it felt very stable indeed). I remember the boat as having a fairly high deck (both fore and aft), so I’m wondering if lowering the seat could present a new problem; perhaps more of a problem than just getting used to the boat’s stability as it is. I actually found both its initial and secondary stablity to be quite comfortable.
Melissa