Good outfitting will allow you to be “one with your boat”. This should lead to better control, comfort and you won’t need to use as much energy to move the boat around. I’m guilty of spending too much time on outfitting my boats, so I thought I may as well share some of my techniques.

Every boat manufacturer has different instructions and ways of moving stuff about. I recommend checking out their website and having a search on YouTube for some official instructions before moving things about.

Usually I do things in this order……

1. Seat Positioning 

Go for a paddle on flat water in the boat and play about with a few different seat positions. A good starting point is having the boat balanced so each end is an even amount of distance out the water. Most people have their seat in the middle setting but personally I like my seat as far forward as possible. See what works for you.

***TOP TIP! – If you can spare the time and effort you can make your boat last longer by filling the gaps between the kayak’s hull and the seat with foam. This reduces the hull flexing and creating weak spots. To do this effectively, usually you will have to remove the seat from the kayak to let you glue all the extra foam in place. ***

2. Seat Height 

By putting extra foam down under the seat you can give yourself more leverage and a more powerful seating position at the expense of a bit of stability. But if you are charging you don’t need to worry about stability. Again, whatever works for you is best.  A starting point for this is having your hips in line with the level of the cockpit rim.

If your seat pad is held down by plastic rivets you may need to go buy some new ones that are longer. These rivets are sold in car shops as rivets for holding on pieces of the car body.

Some brands of boat have flat seats in my opinion so my seat is contoured at the edges using some extra scraps of foam. Best seat I’ve ever had!

The raised areas are shaded

3. Thigh braces and knee padding

As a general rule, the closer the thigh braces are to your body, the better fit they will be. So try sliding them away from your knees and further down your thighs. Obviously don’t sacrifice comfort for this cause you will be aching after 30 mins. I also put a few layers of thin foam between my knees and the boat hull for a bit of comfort and impact protection.

4. Footrest

Move the plastic plate down as far as you can and build up the gap to your feet with foam for more impact protection and extra buoyancy should you take a swim. A flat footrest is bad; an angled one that your feet can sit on in a natural position nicely is good. A layer of foam with gaps is a good idea as it will compress more easily than the rest of the foam; acting like the crumple zone of a car.

My footrest as well as a carry handle made from webbing stitched into a loop.

5. Thigh blocks

To explain them as simply as possible, shaped pieces of foam that holds the underside of your leg. These allow you to edge the boat by lifting one leg AND pushing down with the other leg. This should allow for easier, quicker and less tiring edging. It can be tricky to stick these to the plastic hull, so I’d advise laying down a thin layer of foam that will conform to the round hull first and then stick the main block of foam to that.

I used a piece of sandpaper wrapped round a can to help me get a round shape when I was carving the foam blocks.

6. Hip Pads

Not too tight that they cut off the circulation, but snug, work the best. I’ve heard some hip pads work better for womanly shapes if they are backwards but don’t quote me on that. Remember that your hip pads don’t need to sit flat, I have mine angled for comfort. Having them thicker to the back of the hip pad will allow them to sit better on most leg shapes and seating positions.

7. Backband

You DON’T need to ratchet yourself in stupidly tight to get a good fit. The backband is designed for support only. I find that an overly tight backband restricts my movement and I can’t boof as well because I can’t transfer weight backwards.

8. Airbags

 If you don’t have them you are daft. If you have tonnes of space past your footrest I’d advise an airbag for there too. Tie them in with cord.

An extra attachment point I use for keeping my Peli-Case in the boat.

A bread knife is good for cutting foam. A surform is good for shaping foam. Solvent Contact adhesive is the only way to stick foam (ask behind the counter at D.I.Y. stores).

Patience is needed! Don’t expect to get a perfect fit first time.

I like these links. Plenty of good stuff but none of them will be an exact guide for everyone…

http://nomadickayaking.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html

http://wavesport.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-outfit-your-new-creek

http://www.dagger.com/education_portal/index/learn/outfitting_your_dagger_kayak

http://www.dagger.com/pages/index/customer_service/instructions/bulkhead_adjustment_how_to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqyJDXkUoSI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyU85lXhgR4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFBOKzlHhLw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV8k9czGCTY