lowering seat in Kevlar GulfStream

I am 5’8" tall and about 200 lbs. Last year I purchased a Kevlar GulfStream and I love everything about it other then the fact that I find it has poor initial stability. I heard from a friend that lowering the seat may help me with this issue. Has anyone tried this in a gulfstream or any other kayak?? What are all your thoughts on doing this?? Do you think it would help and do you think its a difficult thing to do??

IIRC, the seat won’t go much lower…
…in a Gulfstream. While lowering the seat does help, if you can’t lower it more than say 1/4", you won’t notice much of a difference.



The Gulfstream is generally considered to be a very stable boat. It strikes me that what you probably need is more seat time in it, rather than modifications, especially if you owned a wider, more stable boat before buying it. Given time and experience, you will adjust to the differences in handling. Ultimately, you may end up going to a much less stable boat if you really get into paddling. Many people do.

don’t think you’ll get what you want
IIRC the seat bottom is within 1/2" of the hull with minicell/foam cushion. More likely you need a better thigh/hip bracing or some exercises to improve your blade/hip control.



Just for kicks imagine sitting in the kayak with the bow at 12:00 and the stern at 6:00. Can you comfortably make sculling braces at 2, 4, 8, and 10 leaning a bit onto the blade? Can you comfortably do draw strokes(any kind) at those positions?



If you can’t then you need to loosen up your hands/torso with a cleaner seperation between catch/power/release in your stroke.



I’m wondering if your legs are comfortable or the thigh braces are too far apart.

Yes I do find my legs seem in
an awkward postion. I recently paddled a FG Capella and found my legs seemed to be in a much better postion in that kayak. I am still considering lowering the seat I just would love to hear from someone that has had a similiar issue and tried the lowering of the seat to fix it.

Hi guys surely there must be someone
on this site that has lowered a seat in a FG or Kevlar kayak??

had a nordkapp
that the previous owner had cut out the seat and glued a foam seat to the hull. May be an option for you.




Sure, I’ve done several…
…but the attachment method varies between brands and models. Some bolt to the hull near the coaming, while others are all-of-a-piece with it and require cutting the seat free, lowering it, then glassing the gap in the cheek plates.



Most seats are also glued to the hull in some manner. I’ve seen them with fiberglass struts, wood block and foam pads.



FWIW, I’ve got a Webshots album that shows seat removal and replacement with a built-up foam seat in a Valley boat at:



http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom-reg

The Nordkapp really benefits…
…from having the seat lowered, as the stock height is over 1" off the hull. I lowered mine 1" and the difference in stability was dramatic. It went from feeling twitchy and unpredictable to feeling as stable as a couch. The downside to lowering it is that the aft deck becomes harder to lay back on.

the gap in the cheek plates?!
that’s an unfortunate combination of words I hope to never encounter again!