Hip braces for Wood Ducks?

Builder's Forum
1

Hello all,

I was wondering if any WD owners outfit their boats with hip pads/braces. On longer paddles, my hips become uncomfortable with my feet on the foot-braces and my knees splayed out (tried moving the foot-braces in and out). I have experimented with yoga blocks as makeshift braces - I can move them around or remove them altogether since I find paddling with my legs crossed quite comfortable.  Recently I have been playing around with inflatable camping pillows as braces and they seem to work quite well.  I’m a bit hesitant to mount something permanently since I find paddling cross-legged comfortable, and wouldn’t want to give up that position.  Any thoughts/suggestions?

 

2

I put 3/4" closed cell foam under the deck, under the coaming for my knees to rest against. That helps a lot when I have my feet on the footrests. For a change, I do the same as you and cross my legs. I also many times just stretch my legs along bottom of the boat. Finally, when I don't have my spray skirt or deck, I've been known to hang my legs out the coaming onto the deck.

That's the wonderful thing about the WD12 - with such a large cockpit there are a lot of options.

Laszlo

 

3

   Thanks Laszlo - I'll give that a try.  The multiple options with a large cockpit is certainly helpful - I spend a lot of time photographing, and I can sit angled, hang my legs off the side, and even station my camera with a tripod right in front of me.

Thanks again,

Dan