Today I found a used '93 Anas Acuta in great shape, and when I sat in it, it felt like a perfect fit (I am 5’10", 150lbs). However, I was surprised there were no foot pegs, no foam, no adjusted bulkhead to rest my feet on anywhere…they were just hanging out without anywhere to make contact. The cockpit is comfortably snug enough for me to feel ok for a little while without them, but I don’t know how long I could go for…
This boat was recently inherited by someone who is selling it and knows absolutely nothing about it or its history…Is it possible the former owner of the boat chose to paddle this way?
I’m very intrigued by this boat because of its allure and capability (and I’d love to develop more skills on it); however, what to make of these missing foot pegs and how to remedy this situation if at all? Many thanks!
Sea-lect adjustable foot pegs you can through bolt or glass them in. Probably about 55 bucks.
videos on YouTube
driiling is easier and faster for most.
yiu can get an adjustment plate to change heights so I’d tend to mount tad higher if anything.
The Anas Acuta is a fun, maneuverable, and very seaworthy kayak. Edges and rolls well, too. I don’t use foot pedals/braces in any of my kayaks, including my '94 AA from which they were removed. I use foam foot rest cut from minicell foam. Much better pressure distribution for your feets. Inexpensive, not hard to shape. Piece of rope through it so can pull out easily (undid the knot).
Odds are the otiginal owner had shaped minicell in there to use in lieu of footpegs and the seller was clueless.
You can install footpegs or foam.
That kayak has a lot of rocker and is designed to be VERY playful and maneuverable. It’s slim, so an experienced kayaker would be at home in it but a newbee would need to learn how to keep it upright.
I’d guess the intent was to have a rudder. I know it comes with a skeg, but I am unsure if a skeg is standard or an option. If it has a skeg and no foot pegs I’d be confused because that doesn’t seem as if it should have been made that way (special order maybe??)
If made with (or made fo)r a rudder the foot pegs would have been the rudder control. Does it look as if it had a rudder mounted at one time?
probably had neither rudder or skeg. Few videos of them on YouTube if you search.
Anas Acuta was never a ruddered boat. Skeg if anything. And yes they are playful.
I am sure, given the era of the Anas, that the boat originally had minicell foam block in there. Possible the person who inherited it took the foam block out not realizing it had a function.
It is not a boat that capsizes all that easily if the paddler stays relaxed. Great stability. Keeping it going straight in conditions is likely to be a chalienge for a newbie…
It’s a good daytrip/play boat and a good find (especially if the price is right for you). Invest in some minicell foam and DAP cement to shape a bulkhead foot rest and some slight paddling around your hips.
After paddling some in different wind conditions, you’ll figure its windcocking tendency, particularly in higher winds. With this knowledge, you can offset by just putting more load in the front or back.
FYI, BNystrom who frequents PCom and is pretty handy with kayak outfitting has paddled an Anas Acuta from way back when.
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Here’s pick of the cockpit of my current Anas Acuta, showing the bulkhead pad with two angled footpads, plus foam pump holders mounted under the deck. It had foot pegs, but I removed them, as this is a much more comfortable and versatile setup.
In the foreground at the bottom is the foam seat and at the top is a foam pad (a.k.a., “foam masik”) that allows me to paddle it like a Greenland skin-on-frame boat. Your boat may have pad installed with a leg separator in the middle. With an ocean cockpit, you need some form of pad, as there are no thigh braces.
I’ve never actually seen an Anas that didn’t have a skeg, but I seem to recall that some were made that way. The boat really needs one, IMO.
EDIT: The bulkhead pad takes up the majority of the slack space. I used white Minicel foam, but in boats I’ve outfitted for others that needed a lot of padding, I’ve used blue or pink insulation board to take up most of the space, as it’s a lot cheaper and lighter weight. The final layer was Minicell foam.
The gray pads are angled forward at the top at 15 degrees, and splayed to more closely match the way my feet sit.
Unless you plan on sharing the boat with people who are taller or shorter than you, I don’t see any point in installing foot pegs. I don’t know anyone who has tried bulkhead padding , then gone back to foot pegs. IMO, padding is the way to go.
Thanks for the tip! If I end up getting the kayak I may do just that…
I appreciate the advice… I had an Impex Force 3 a couple years ago in which I fashioned some foam into a foot rest, built up from the bulkhead, and I immediately felt cramped in there. I felt like I wanted more room to stretch out my legs. I went back to the pegs. Though I loved the slim fit of that boat, I ended up selling it because it was too tight for me and wreaked havoc on my hip-flexors with the ultra low deck.
I’m curious how deep your foam is placed…Are your legs fully stretched out with the foam felt immediately under your feet? Or are you knees bent with the foam under the feet?
When I recently sat in the AA (on the grass, mind you), it felt like a perfect fit and though I would consider myself a novice kayaker, I feel like I could gain some serious skills in this boat… I’m excited, but just uncertain how to proceed with the lack of support for my feet…I may experiment with foam first and pegs later if that didn’t feel right…
And it does have a working skeg by the way…
Many thanks for all the great tips and advice…
Wow, this setup is so clean and ergonomical! I don’t know what I was doing a couple years ago when I tried to build up the foot pegs with foam coming up from the bulkhead…I didn’t like how cramped it was and I ended up reverting back to footpegs. But seeing this setup makes a lot of sense! The AA I sat in was padded nicely and felt well supported on my thighs and hips. I have wondered about creating some kind of foam masik that I’ve seen videos of people using…though I really don’t know what I’m doing in that regard…I would love to learn more though! Many thanks for the tips and insights…
I like to stretch my legs once in a while between foot braces / pegs.
First I need to give credit to BNystrom, who responded to emails and inspired the outfitting of my AA 3 or 4 years ago. My AA had foot pedals and no seat when I brought it. There was definitely some trial and error during fashioning of a foam backrest and seat, footrest, and masik. The footrest is tapered at the top, and is cut so when paddling hard my legs are nearly straight and the balls of my feet press against the rest. If i want to practice layback rolls, i can bend my knees a bit more, slide my butt forward a little and feet flex back. Pic of my footrest.
I’m curious how deep your foam is placed…Are your legs fully stretched out with the foam felt immediately under your feet? Or are you knees bent with the foam under the feet?
When I bought my current kayak (a P&H Cetus) I ordered it without footpegs, so I could make a foam bulkhead footrest. I had previously used footpegs, and had found that stretching my feet out between the footpegs helped with comfort. So I wondered about that too. Reading on line, I found many did make the foam foot rests with space in the middle to allow that. However, others did not seem to need that, and thought it unnecessary.
Since it is easier to make them without a space in the middle for stretching legs, I decided to do that and see how it went. Now, 5 years later, I see no need to have space to extend my legs. I sit with my legs straight, feet against the foam footrest. If I need to put more pressure on the bulkhead, a slight raise of my knees and extension of my feet presses the balls of my feet hard against the rest. If done a bit more, my knees lock into the thigh braces as well. Otherwise, my legs are relaxed and my feet are against the rest, with an easy ability to shift my legs and feet around as needed into various positions.
I will say that it took a bit of trials to find the right thickness. That is very easy with a foam footrest, just make several foam spacers. You can make them from various thicknesses of material, and stack them in different ways until you find the ideal thickness for you. Only one needs to be angled, the rest can be even thickness as they are just spacers. The angle I used, and that seems most often recommended, is about 15 degrees. I have not felt any need to change that.
Foam footrests are easy to make, easy to experiment with, and easy to modify. I like them a lot better than footpegs.
I agree and have done this with most of my SINKs - seakayak, whitewater and surf. A point that BNystrom made is something to keep in mind, which is to use cheaper foam upfront and to use the denser (and longer wearing) minicell where foot contact is made. While minicell is relatively inexpensive, it is not exactly cheap when you begin to build up the bulkhead feet rest (especially if one is short like me). So, anytime I get large pieces of white foam from packaging of large box items, I save these for kayak outfitting. I have also used 2’x2’ interlocking foam pads/mats for that purpose as well. You can sometime find in packages of four, for pretty cheap in dollar stores or discount stores.
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I appreciate seeing the pic…thanks!
Very well articulated…thanks for the detail…I may try this out for this kayak…
Great advice, thank you!