"Foot rests

[Frikkie van die Vrystaat]

When sitting on the Pope's kayak and going for a row i find that my legs start to cramp and it is not very comfortable, on buying it I saw that there is two "spacer foot rests" where the rudder foot paddles screws on. Can these spacers be taken out? From what I can see they are just hold in position by the two bolts that is holding the foot paddles in place. Now If I take these bolts out how do you get the nuts on again after you loosen them, I can't see how you gonne reach inside to get the nuts on the bolts again.

How do you mesure the correct lenght for your feet, I am 1.86 m tall so it looks like i am folded in two sitting on it hehehehe, anybody have these spacers and took them out?

Thanks

 

[kobrob]

Sit with your legs flat on the floor. Then raise your knee and put your fist under your knee. Maintain this angle and measure from the centre of your foot to the back of your backside. Apply that measurement to your ski and mark is where the peddle should go. If your knee is too high when you sit, you will induce instability. The flatter your legs are the better, but you need that fist space beneath your knee. The angle induced by the slightly raised knee will give you enough foot control over your peddles, comfort and hopefully no back ache. A lot of kayaks have an angle built into their cockpit design that when you sit on the seat and put your feet onto the peddles, your legs if lying flat, are automatically at an angle. This angle needs to be controlled for stability hence the fist under the knee/angle/measurement. You can also sit in your kayak with your legs as flat as possible in a comfortable position and get someone to mark where your feet are. When you compare the 2 measurements, they should be very close. Good luck.:blah:kaykak:kaykak

 

[kobrob]

Another thing that I thought I should mention Frikkie and that is if you are prone to cramping, try doing stretches for about 10 to 15 minutes before going for a paddle. I learnt from painful experience. Before I go fishing on my ski, I make sure that I do stretches beforhand. Try some arm as well as leg stretches paying particular attention to the hamstrings on the back of your legs. Leg cramps can mess up a good well planned fishing trip. A lot of the pain associated with leg cramps comes from muscles going into spasm around the sciatic nerve which runs from our backsides to our feet and can be almost crippling resulting in terrible lower back and leg pain. I sometimes fish for 4 to 5 hours on my ski without cramping. I could never achieve this if I was not physically prepared as well. Stretching is very important in one's fitness regime!:kaykak

 

[Seapike]

hi Frikkie

I am 1.85m tall and had the same problem.Take the spacer out and mount the foot pedal into the same holes .The nuts are epoxied onto the inner of the ski,just make sure to use silicon to seal it off and your problem is solved



cheers seapike

 

[Frikkie van die Vrystaat]

thanks a lot guys, man i've been battleing with this one, it was not lekke to go and row 8-10 km twice a week with this thing, my small fluid buddy angler is much better for I did not cramp up on it. Going to do the mod and take it out again. Will post pics next week of the yak for the fish finder brackets was made for both yaks and working like a charm, thanks again guys.