Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view
I first saw the Instafit system on Boaterinformation.com when the new LL boats were displayed at the Salt Lake City Outdoor retailer show. I was intrigued! A simple idea – but would it work.
Well Liquid Logic and the UK importers SystemX were kind enough to send one of the 1st Instafits into the UK my way. So this morning I ripped the foam bulkhead out of my Prijon Release and headed down to the water for a few hours boating. Continue reading
In some respects the birth of uber flexible outfitting in kayaks has killed off the need for the many hours spent shaping and glueing foam together to get that perfect fit. However if you are not using a bean bag footrest or want some outfitting that is a little bit more bespoke then you do need to rely upon cutting/shaping and glueing foam.
The plastic seat most manufacturers install in their kayaks is molded to generic size even if the kayak is available in several different sizes. To get the most of any kayak design it is important that it fits you well. This means that all contact points – seat base, seat sides, back rest, foot rest and thigh braces should be adjusted/customised to fit your body. In this post I’m going to concentrate on the seat and what you can do to improve fit.
This time a Liquid Logic Jefe (Chico) was under the heat gun for an hour or two. The spilt was approximately 20-25cm long and was located under the seat.
Removing the seat took a fair bit of effort (much more effort was required to get it back in).
Over the past few months I have repaired splits in the following boats:
Liquid Logic Stomper 90
Bliss Stick Huka x 2
Pyranha Karnali
Pyranha Burn L
Dagger Nomad 8.5
Bliss Stick Huka
Zet Raptor
Liquid Logic Jefe
It has been really interesting to see how the plastic responds to heat and the repair process I use. Out of all of them the Dagger and Liquid Logic have been the nicest plastic to work with. In addition the outfitting is easy to remove so access was super easy. Continue reading
Sometimes you find yourself in the position of having to remove outfitting. If the outfitting has been put in well you need a few tricks of the trade to make the job that little bit easier.
Last week I picked up an Eskimo Topo Duo that had a seat pad and hip pads fitted. The foam used had its own layer of re-enforced sticky tape so was stuck on pretty hard.
Step one was to remove the foam by ripping it off the seat. There was no way that the foam was going to come off cleanly so it was simply ripped away leaving the layer of glue.
From the guys at Rapid Media
The Flex Capacitor from Immersion Research has to be (to date) my favourite backband. This was the standard backband used on Liquid Logic kayaks prior to the release of the BADASS outfitting system. It was also available as separate item for around $50.
I am currently on the hunt for two Flex Capacitor to fit into an Eskimo Topo Duo.
Flying boats! I have seen it happen and it has happened to my kayak on one occasion. The sinking feeling you get as you see your boat fly off the top of the car isn’t very nice.
In the case of my kayak there was a flapping sound, followed by the clunk of the buckle hitting the car roof followed by a whoosh as two kayaks flew off down the road! Fortunately on both occasions no one was hurt and the damage to the boats minor. If it had been later in the day it could have been a different story.
Tying your boat onto the roof rack correctly is critical. It could save both your kayak and car from serious damage and keep other unsuspecting motorists that little bit safer. Using good quality straps or rope is a must and if the strap/rope is worn then they must be retired.
We all know that feeling – The deep pain/numbness associated with being packed tightly into a plastic container and thrown around for an hour or two. Continue reading
The shots below show the process of removing a seat from a Liquid Logic Stomper. The way in which this seat is fastened into the shell will be very similar to all other recent LL kayaks. Before removing the seat I used a pencil to mark the inside of the hull so I knew its position ready for when it was fastened back in.
The seat is held in place by two bolts. Each one is located to the side of the cockpit. A Phillips headed screwdriver is all that is required to remove them. The bolt fastens into a threaded plastic slug that is located within a channel on the seat. You can safely remove the bolts without fear of parts dropping into the kayak. The aluminium guides that help keep the backrest straps in position are also held in with the same bolts and can be pulled out by hand once the bolts have been removed.
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