Me and my buddy set out on a twelve mile trip down the Lehigh river this past Saturday. We dumped once going through some some rapids. We hit a rock that gave no notice as far as reading the water goes. Anyway, my knee got pretty beat up from smacking the gunwale. I seem to remember a post where I read about someone installing padding on the sides of the canoe to protect their bones from getting too banged up. Was I dreaming this? It would be nice to have some padding to rest my leg on long trips.
padding There are a number of different approaches, but the one I prefer is to stick a chunk of minicell foam to the side of the boat just below the gunwale. It will need to be thick enough that it sticks out past the gunwale a little ways. You don’t have to be overly scientific about getting it in exactly the right spot if you cut it extra long. I like to round it over a bit before I attach it to the boat so that it is comfortable to rest my legs against it.
Padding… simply go to a hardware store and purchase the tubular pipe insulation which is made of the close celled foam… I think the one inch would be sufficient, cut off the appropriate amount and place it on your gunwales while you are paddling, secure it with duct tape or what ever your choice might be and then remove it when you are not paddling… good efficient cheap padding!
Fasten them with stick-on velcro tabs. I found that if I didn’t fasten them, they worked loose at the most inconvenient moments. If you want something thicker, pool noodles work.
padding I used close cell pipe insulation as well. Duct tape will hold it on but looks ugly. My uncle cut some pvc strips 3/4 inch thick I think. He cut the bottom and bent them into a sort of omega shape by heating them. They clip on and pop off when the day is over. They work great.
foam A while back I posted about advice for padding for my wife, she had been bracing her knees against the side of the canoe just under the gunwhales & wanted padding. After all the advice I got, we stuck some minicell foam against the side of the canoe with some crazy glue. Here’s a link to a pic you can see the foam: