Foot peg placement

[bowgarguide]

Where should the foot pegs contact the bottom of your feet?
Ron

[gerald]

Where ever it is comfortable to you. I usually use the ball of my feet, sometimes the toes, rarely the arch--can't remember ever using the heel but I'm sure I have. This is a matter of preference, comfort, and utility. Your legs should generally be slightly bent--though you should also be able to move them around and straighten them if necessary.

[Firefly49]

Can I jump in here guy's and take it further?? I, too, normally use the ball of my foot even with hard bracing (until I have to start repositioning after a few hours!!!). What I'm hearing is that there is no right answer.... the style you normally gravitate towards for comfortability and which works for you will have no overall effect with control of the boat??

Both of you favor the faster woodies, yet I don't believe either use a rudder system on these long boats....why do you choose not to do so? Is it the "purist" aspect of paddling/racing of mastering the art. Or merely personal preference? I was impressed after paddling TD's sea kayak with the fixed peddles for bracing and toe control of the rudder (something like the Smart Track rudder system) and wondered your thoughts on why having the versatility of using/not using a rudder would not be advantageous?

[bowgarguide]

Gerald is more qualified to answer this than I am.
K I S S I pretty well live by this on my boats,at the present I dont even have foot pegs in my boat the seat is adjusted to the front bulk head for the right positioning.
You have cables,foot are toe peddles,pulleys lift all on the rudder,a lot to go wrong. The second thing is hanging on limbs when you are going thru logs and brush.
When to use them ,at the Neches and the Castille runs you would be continuly raising and lowering the rudder,saw one that was broken off a k1 at Castille.
When I am running obstacles fast water I want 100% concentration and not worring about anything but how to run it the best I can
In flat water you can heel the boat to correct your glide and also a heavily heeled boat will turn on a dime..
Just my two cents .
Ron

[gerald]

First...the footpegs. I move around a lot, and move my feet and legs around a lot--but when I come to rapids, rough water, obstructions, or any other thing that needs me to have good control I'll have my feet firmly planted on the footpegs on the balls of my feet. So, yes, the position of your feet on the footpegs does have an effect on the overall performance of the boat. You just don't need to be loaded for bear all the time--sometimes you can relax!

As for rudders. I have nothing against rudders at all. Rudders serve useful purposes and I will not hesitate to put one on any boat where I can see a positive result from it. I have several boat designs that will require a rudder--notably the Stilleto. I could go into a long spiel about what I think rudders are for--and that's not primarily for turning the boat--but I won't....right now. I am far from a purist when it comes to designing, building, or paddling boats. However--I believe it is best for one to develop paddling skills before moving to rudders. Too often poor paddlers lean on a rudder when what they need to do is develop better skills. In my opinion rudders do not add versatility--in fact limiting your options at times. Once again, though, I will stress that I am not against using a rudder.

The simple fact of why I don't normally use a rudder is the absolute versatility that a double blade paddle in a properly designed boat gives me. I like it!...it's fun.

Now let's talk about your srchr marathon boat. It's a long boat designed for long distance paddling, fast cruising, exploring rivers, etc.. It is not designed for tight maneuvering such as the Neches River race--but it will work even there. A rudder would be a pretty good addition to your boat in most situations. I just never did it because I never got around to it. I could have gone faster in some longer races--like the CR100 if I had.