Hi, recently bought my first white water kayak(Pyranha Burn III xl, yeah maybe not the best beginner choice but here I am) and have been working on getting it fit correctly. I’m 230lb, 6’1", and have a reasonably fat ass and largeish legs. Anyways, there’s a large piece of foam under the seat which seems to make the entire setup uncomfortable(the stupid thigh grip things dig into the middle of my thigh), but if I remove it everything is much more comfortable. I still feel like I have plenty of contact with the sides of the kayak with the seat lowered. Anyways, I guess the question is, am I doing something stupid or can I just take out that foam block and move on with my life? thanks
Is it a piece of foam or is it a pvc track for sliding the seat to adjust it. Is the kayak new or used? Could it be a spacer someone else put in to raise the seat? You might check pictures of the factory outfitting to see what you are dealing with. It’s likely that you can just remove the foam. Until the last 7 or 10 years most whitewater kayaks came with seats that the user custom fit by cutting up closed cell foam, so if you really hate the seat you can take out the seat that’s there and shape yourself a new seat.
There’s a pvc track installed. I bought the kayak used from a rental place, but the foam looks factory cut, it’s not custom. Mostly I just don’t know if this is normal or if I can just take it out have have plastic against plastic under the seat.
My guess it is padding and you can remove it. Worse case the seat moves around a bit or your butt hurts. You can try contacting the manufacturer and see what they say or post on Boater Talk (it’s almost dead) but has more whitewater paddlers, one might be more familiar with their outfitting in this boat.