Racing Kayak Set Up

Seat and Footrest Positioning

The distance between your seat and footrest should be such that your legs are bent at roughly a 120 to 130 degree angle.  Your knees need to be in the right position so that you can push through your legs on each stroke. A good rule of thumb is that when you push through your foot you should be able to just about straighten one leg at a time, but not both legs together, without feeling as though you are pushing yourself off the back of the seat. You should not actually straighten your leg when paddling but this rough set up should be a good starting point.  Once you know how far you need between seat and footrest it’s a good idea to measure the distance. If you know the spacing it will make setting up unfamiliar K1’s or K2’s and K4’s much quicker and easier.

At our club we have about 8 or 10 pieces of old white plastic curtain rail. Each piece has measurements on it like a giant ruler and a loop of cord. They hang up in the club and we encourage paddlers to remember their leg measurement. We the use these sticks to adjust seats and footrests to the right size before getting on the water. It helps sessions get going much more quickly!

Typical measurements from footrest to front of seat are:  31” for 6’ paddler, 26” for 5‘ 4” paddler, however, individuals leg length to height ratio varies a lot so you need to check for yourself.

Trim

To enable a racing kayak to be set up to run at its fastest you need to get your weight distributed along the length of the boat correctly. Boats run the fastest when they run level. If you are the right size for your boat both ends should be in the water by about the same amount. You will see a little lift of the bow under power but it should remain in the water, or maybe just lift out a tiny amount under full power.

Foot Pumps

Those who plan on marathon racing will eventually realise that a footpump is pretty essential for longer races. The pump is fitted into or onto the footrest so that it can be activated by the feet. Before attaching you need to think hard about where you want it to go. If it goes directly under the place where your feet naturally sit you will be pumping on every leg drive. You boat will be dry but you will wear the pumps rubber out quite quickly and you may not like the resistance of the pump on each leg drive.

Alternatively you can fit the pump in a position that you need to move your feet to. The question is can you then pump and paddle effectively when needed? There is no right or wrong answer just alternatives.

Make sure the pick up for the pump is situated where the water lies! If you paddle a K2 and you have a heavy paddler in the back and the water runs that way however well you trim the boat there is no point in putting the pick up for the pump near the front of the boat! Likewise if there are any fittings that stop water from running from front to back make sure the water can get to the pump pick up.

Poor foot pump set up in marathon racing kayaks is an eternal frustration of coaches who end up trying to sort out problems with broken pumps on race day for their athletes. Getting the boat well dried out and doing a good job of fitting the pick up and pump mechanisms well in advance and then testing them can reduce a lot of stress on race day.

Rudder and Rudder Wires

There are two main types of rudder, understern and overstern. Overstern rudders are mounted in the stern of the boat and the wires run along the top of the deck then go through under the deck and inside the kayak to the foot operated rudder mechanism. The rudder is on a hinge and if it hits rock, the bottom of the river or any other obstacle it lifts up on the hinge and is therefore not damaged. Understern rudders are mounted under the kayak about 18 inches from the stern. There is no mechanism to protect the rudder from damage in the event of hitting an obstacle so they are not suitable for shallow rivers or shooting weirs. The rudder is mounted on a piece of stainless steel rod which come up through a specially designed rudder mounting to a rudder wheel to which the wires are attached. All of this is accessed through a small rudder hatch on the deck of the boat.

The understern rudders are used on sprint boats and on many marathon boats that are used primarily on deep water courses. They are generally thought to provide better control although the South Africans who use oversterns extensively for descent racing can also be seen racing them sucessfully on deep water marathons.

There are two shapes of understern rudder, swept back and deeper more vertical. The deeper more vertical rudders are often considered to be sprint rudders. They are more vulnerable to damage. They also have a habit of picking up weed. In both cases watch out for the effect of a hard knock to the rudder. This can lead to the rudder bending up towards the boat. It may then start catching on the hull of the boat when in the middle straight line position. When this happens the boat can be very difficult to steer and a replacement may be necessary if it cannot be bent back without breaking or weakening it.    

Rudder wires do not last forever. If you never check them one day a wire will break or come loose just when you least want it to. Check the most likely points where the wires might weaken, this would be anywhere where they rub or bend around a corner. In addition the rudder wheels sometimes need attention. Depending on the make they may wear where the rudder stem comes up through the hull of the boats and the rudder wheel is attached. Take the rudder hatch off occasionally and check that it all looks OK.

To adjust the wires if the steering is out loosen the wires off then set the rudder in the middle of the bottom of the boat on the outside and then set the rudder stick to the centre. Now tighten up the wires. This is much easier done with two people.