I love my tahe reveal mini in Many ways but my roll is flakey in it. It was much more consistent in nordkapp valley RM which I put down to its thigh braces.
I don’t think my DIY skills are up to adding thigh braces to my fibre glass tahe. I also find the tahe jittery so,would probably add permanent ballast if I keep it.
Any advice on sea kayaks with pronounced thigh braces
Adding thigh braces to fibre glass boats or adding ballast would be much appreciated thanks
Noooooo
I don’t think you want to add ballast. That’s just going to ruin a perfectly good kayak. I have never heard of someone doing this. Besides, stability comes from the hull shape. So adding ballast isn’t going to do much.
While the Reval doesn’t really have thigh hooks, it does have ample room for your knees under the combing. My friend has the full sized Reval, and he was at first worried by the lack of thigh hooks. However he isn’t having any trouble rolling it.
I would say experiment with padding out that knee area under the combing, and maybe use a foam masiq if you really need to. But I don’t think the boat is 100% of the problem.
Your weight compared to the intended wt?
If you are heavy for the boat’s designed weight now, the last thing you want to do is add more weight.
If you are well under that target weight, ballast may get it to a better waterline for you.
If there is a good bit of you sticking above the cockpit, you will have to get a bit better at your balance than a shorter person.
Can’t comment on the thigh brace issue. For people I know who have them, the Tahe’s are pretty easy rolling boats. Might be worth having someone put an educated eye on what is going on with your roll, make sure it is the problem you think before you put in time to fix it.
It is actually pretty nice.
I think it’s pretty nice to have really positive contact with thigh braces when I bring my legs up into them. The ones that wrap around to the inside of my leg are what I like best. I’m really always rotating my kayak in a circular sort of motion more than lifting one side straight up. So the contact on the inner thigh or inside the knee is most helpful. So I get what you’re saying.
I have a couple of ocean cockpit kayaks. What worked best for me in those is just a couple pieces of foam glued to the top - not to catch the top of my knee, but to catch the inside of my knee.
The kayaks that I own that have the best thigh braces for me are a couple of Current Designs kayaks. They curve downward to provide very nice, positive contact. Whenever a thigh brace is designed to wrap around to provide this much better contact, you’re going to read and hear 2 different reactions. People who actually fit the design will have this wonderful contact in the thigh braces. People who don’t fit the kayak, who’s thighs are too thick for the thigh brace layout, will curse them, because they will wrap down into their leg, instead of around it. They rarely say their thighs are too big for the design. They mostly say the thigh braces suck because they jam into their thighs. So what’s truly wonderful for one may be disliked by another. So now we start to understand the dilemma of manufacturing a kayak with thigh braces that curve down to provide positive contact with the inside of the leg.
The thing to always remember is that it is you that is twitchy, not the boat. Stability will help you stop twitching every time the kayak heels one way or the other. Ballast can help a lot. But you’re much better off getting something you’re comfortable in. If you’re the type to actually actively skill up and get better, a little time learning to relax with the way your kayak moves in the water is often all a person needs. The ability to relax your lower half and maintain smooth, shifty hips and side bends has a lot to do with your skill level. If you’re confident in that and your blade angle control, you’ll be able to stop focusing on subtle rotations of the hull on the water.
To be clear, better thigh braces may not be necessary. I’m just saying that I appreciate them. But I happily paddle with many different styles. If I were designing my own, my thigh bracing would definitely curve downward to catch the inside of my leg to some extent. And yes, some kayaks do this better than others.
whitewater braces
install thigh braces in a composite kayak and find out what ww boaters enjoy afa contact.
Use gel contact cement to set in desired position first, then tape w. blue painter’s tape while it’s setting up and curing (two days at low humidity and temps 65-75 should do it). Then make pilot holes. then drill and install stainless steel screws, washers and nuts. Anyone even half handy can do this.
I installed Prijon ww kayak braces in my Brit boat which came without them. They fit me perfectly and provide great contact (yeah they do wrap some around thigh, that’s a positive)
Thanks
Thanks to everyone who responded. I am going to pad out under the combing and see how I get on.
But I think that part of the problem is a lack of time to grow into the boat and get comfortable with it. I have a much bigger family now than when I bought it and may need something that is easy for me just to step into and go when tide and time permit.
Anyway I appreciate your advice.
It’s not the boat, it’s you