Removing Foot Pegs

I am a tall paddler with a Wilderness Tsunami and my feet are going numb after awhile on the foot pegs. My questions is that since the Tsunami allows me to have my thighs and knees make contact with the boat, do the foot pegs really do anything for me.

Yes
All points of contact in a boat are important. There are lots of reasons for numbness and it may not be the foot pegs. In fact I would guess that foot peg caused numbness is a minor reason. But more important there are lots of ways to deal with the situation without removing the pegs.

Use foam bulkhead blocks instead

– Last Updated: Jun-29-08 11:22 PM EST –

IMO, footpegs are an unnecessary bother. Shape out minicell to match the shape of your boat, fairly tightly, and build up enough that you can use that to brace against rather than the footpegs.

I wouldn’t want to be without them.
I don’t have your boat, but if you want to go fast, (which there are times when you might) then you should be pumping off them.

Also you should have a slight bend in your knees, and without them to brace your feet, your legs are going to get awfully tired.



Why not just every so often take your feet off the pegs and put your legs out straight which will give your feet a break.



Cheers,

JackL

Feet slanted forward
Try moving your foot peg setting one notch forward. Your feet should be at a forward bend not straight up. Often this adjustment will give you relief. Also try stretching your calves and hamstrings for a few minutes before paddling.

You can still brace
I must have been unclear - I brace against my foam bulkhead blocks fine, if anything I am thinking of going to the half inch thinner one to buy some wiggle room since my seat portion seems to have thickened up a bit. As long as you have a solid glassed in bulkhead, it’ll take all the pressure I can put on it.



I found that foot pegs gave me issues with numbness and my sciatic nerve that I have never had with the bulkhead blocks. If someone wants to emulate the feel of the limited square of foot peg on the balls of their feet fully, you can add sections of foam to do that and still leave room in the middle to extend you feet.

Check my recent post on Tempest 170

– Last Updated: Jun-30-08 9:43 AM EST –

I describe there how I moved the rails about 1-2 inches forward as well as the seat about 2 inches back. In my Tsunami 145 I had before, I moved the seat back a couple of inches in the same manner and that helped with leg room. There are not many boats that fit us tall folks and since the foot raols were maxed out forward for me, the only option was to move the seat back. On the Tempest I did both - moved the seat back and moved the rails forward so now I have enough room.

The bulk-head build-up is also a good way to customize your boat but if you are not the only paddle (for instance my wife who is at least 6" shorter than me) also paddles my boat, so I need adjustable foot psgs to be there.

Without the foot pegs or something else to push against, your legs will tire more easily and you will not have enough levererage for hard paddling and maneuvering. For short and light paddling sessions in calm water and no leans/advanced strokes foot pegsy are not essential, but they are for anything else.

what he said
move the seat aft an inch and you should be fine. do NOT remove the pegs, they are cruital for support.



steve

The foot pegs are important for boat
control. You may never realize it in clam conditions but if you are caught in a current or wind gust, you’re going to need them.



Also, propulsion energy is transfered from your paddle blade, through your body, to the foot pegs attached to your boat.

Support?

– Last Updated: Jun-30-08 11:54 AM EST –

Do you mean for the paddler or the boat? On a quick read it sounds like you are saying that foot pegs have something to do with structural support, since bulkhead blocks have been mentioned as alternatives for the foot part. (And my boats do turn further from with pressure on the foot as part of a turning stroke.)

Ditto that energy transmission…
whether your feet are against the pegs or a bulkhead surface, you need that push to finish the torso rotation energy getting transmitted to the boat.



Also, ditto the adjustment of moving rail forward or seat backwards to provide room.



Even when all is dialed in as best as you can make it there still might be an issue.



So also ditto on stretching legs forward in between the pegs.



I usually have an issue after several hours in the cockpit. To help, I stretch my legs forward and gently bounce each leg up and down (towards deck and then floor). I alternate each leg bouncing gently a few times each (about ten times per leg) to encourage blood flow into the extremities. This usually provides some needed relief.



Hope this helps,

Rob

Have enjoyed bulkhead foaming instead of peg, immensely.