My Tsunami 145 has the Phase 3 seat. When I bought the boat, I received absolutely no instruction on how to do the various adjustments. I figured that it would be intuitive anyway. Well, I get the thigh adjustment and the back lean adjustment . . . they were obvious and intuitive. But raising the seat back?
Actually, I don't want to raise the seat back. I like it at its lowest position. But I'm not sure the adjustment works anyway and that bothers me. Either that or I'm just plain dumb. My wife votes for dumb. But what is the pull cord thingy for and what is the little lever button doohicky for (with the little logo)? I've tried to raise the seat back any number of different ways but it won't stay raised . . . pull it up . . . goes right back down.
It just bothers me that I can't figure it out. Can anybody help?
it should be pretty simple,
pull on the T-handle to raise the seat to the desired height, push the metal tab to lower it back down. if it isn’t working that way on yours maybe something’s loose
dont worry, it’s not just you…
I picked up my kayak last night and when I asked if there was any sort of manual or something, they just laughed at me like I was an idiot and said it was all self explanatory.
check out this link?
http://www.wildernesssystems.com/pages/index/resources/customer_service/care_and_repair/phase_3_instructions
Seat back took me a little bit of
getting used to in my Tsumani125. Now I pretty much keep the seatback as low as possible for better range of motion or in the unlikely event of a roll. The link provided in the previous post is helpful. Too bad WS doesn’t provide a picture or two showing the seatback adjustment.
Now that’s funny…
I have this image of you buying a pair of pants next!
Stubborn seat backs
The seat back lifting thing can be annoying at times. It’s basically a pulley setup that when the rip cord with t-handle is pulled toward your feet, the seat back raises. Try to lift the seat back with your hand at the same time you’re pulling the handle forward. It gets a bit hung up at times and pulling the rope alone doesn’t always work.
It could be that the line has come off the pulley thing. Take the seat cover off the back and make sure the lines are inside the tracks and that the cords aren’t hung up.
Hope this helps.
More…
Sorry, left out an answer. The silver doohickey with the logo holds the seat up by holding the pull cord. You may have to mess with it a bit to make sure it grabs the cord after you pull it through. It’s just a cord lock that gives tension to the seat back cord when it’s raised. Without it, there’s no way to hold seat back up.
My t thingy broke last time out paddling
I pulled it to raise the seat back and it came off.
just rip out that back rest and put in
back band/strap and the boat will be much better!!! you can fit a standard neoprene skirt on the boat…and it will get you into better paddling form as well…
flatpick on here is one of the designers of the Tsunami series and has been advocating that since they first came out a few years back…
Gets in the way
Ditch it.
it gets in the way -
when you paddle, if you paddle correctly w. your torso rotating.
if you are doing self rescues climbing into the cockpit from the back (e.g. paddle float or cowboy scramble, or being the rescuee in an assisted rescue like the T rescue and other forms.)
if you want to learn to roll, or do re-enter and roll.
Lastly, you want your abs engaged when you paddle with a slight forward lean. Tall seatbacks often mean people are slumping the other way and not using the abs as much. In a counterintuitive way, this often promotes the achy back they are trying to avoid…
Pull hard
Well, after reading all the advice, I went out today and tried to raise the seat back. Discovered that the thing actually does work but you’ve got to really pull hard on the thing. Then it goes up.
And friendlyfire, you are right because I felt somewhat restricted in my torso turn, so to speak. Also made me want to cheat and lean back onto the seat back instead of maintaining proper posture. So down it went.
I’m new at this and I’m trying hard to develop good stroke habits. Seat back up, I think, would lead to all sorts of bad habits.
Bravo!
glad to help. Thoughtful change is good… and don’t be surprised if you eventually ditch it for either an
aftermarket backband well below the coaming, a foam pillar, or even nothing at all!
Here’s to beautiful abs and a stronger back 
Beautiful abs?
Sorry, but that boat has sailed . . . and sank quicker than the Titanic. I’m 60 and quit smoking not too long ago and gained 25 pounds. Beneath the blubber I’m sure I have abs of steel, but . . .
. . . I must say, as a newbie, I’ve got about 17 hours in this boat and I’m finding it to be serious work. Good work, mind you. But paddling is more work than I expected. I’ve been out for about 4 hours each time and I am really tired when everything is home and clean and put up. I’m hoping that, with experience and time in the boat, my stroke will improve and it won’t so exhausting.
I like it, mind you. Until recently, I’ve always been active. So the whole idea of getting the boat was to challenge me physically. And, wow, has it. More than I expected.
Beautiful abs? Hmmmm. Give me time.
they’re in there somewhere
forget the Titanic. Let the new ship sail 
good for you to quit smoking. Things will balance
out soon.
them are
my legs!
I just wrote those instructions a couple weeks ago!
steve
more instructions
the wildy site should have some P/3 to Tempest backstrap conversion instructions soon…a REAL good way to convert ANY p/3 boat into better sitted performance.
steve
I totally agree with
friendly fire…had a more difficult time doing rescues this past weekend with my seat and have very nice bruises to show for it! a shorter back seat would have been nice, but I’m not about to tear out anything of my brand new boat, yet. I just hope to stay in it (haven’t capsized yet) so I dont have to worry about it!