My Monarch has Keeper adjustable foot pegs/braces installed. Nicely glassed in. Does anybody know if this is standard factory installed equipment, an option, or aftermarket? So far it seems like it is standard factory installed…
Good Luck, Joe
Aint too many of us around! WW
Does yours have a rudder?
I thought that all of the Monarchs came standard with a foot-controlled rudder. The plastic Keepers footbraces were certainly around in 1991 in Perception kayaks, and I believe before then.
The Keepers tended to pop out of the plastic tracks in whitewater kayaks in which they were subjected to greater stress from rolling and bracing. They were modified by Perception by placing the plastic track within an aluminum sleeve that braced the plastic track, but they still tended to pop out. I think Perception went to Yakima style adjustable footpegs in their WW kayaks by the mid 1990s, although they may have used them in some of their sea kayaks for a while longer.
I rather doubt that Mad River would have used the Keepers braces as part of a foot-controlled rudder system, although they might have modified them to use that way. There probably would have been either studs, or a track glassed into the boat for the sliding track for the rudder system though.
You guys are all making me
excedingly jealous. Any of those boats would quench my desire… I think.
Never had that problem with Keepers
in spite of my big feet and well-known clumsiness. Have to wonder what people did to pop them out.
Keepers
– Last Updated: Jan-16-11 8:29 AM EST –
If a force is applied along the long axis of the track they are pretty strong. If one tended to lever on the foot rest in a direction perpendicular to the long axis of the track, the track would deform to the point that the peg anchor would pop right out. It didn't always happen when they were new, but since a boat used by the same person tended to have the pegs in the same socket of the track most of the time, that socket would become progressively deformed and enlarged so that the foot peg would no longer be secure in it.
It was a common enough problem that aftermarket aluminum braces were made and sold to reinforce them but that made them more unwieldy and as heavy as Yakima footbraces, but still weaker.
I had a Bob Foote rotomolded poly Grand Canyon canoe pedestal that came with Keepers. As I tended to point my toes under the pegs, I would tend to apply an upward force on the peg when rolling or bracing and they were always popping off the tracks.
I think they are fine for use in a cruising canoe.
Monarch rebuild
Mike McCrea picked up a Monarch about 1 year ago and did aa rebuild on it.
Here is bunch of photo’s he took during the rebuild.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/575542509ZdIjzk?start=0
Andy
Write up?
Is there a write up for his restoration project or just pictures?