Added my center seat and sit backer rest but now I need someplace comfy to park my feet. I would like to add a set of adjustable foot rests to the canoe but don’t know how to make them or where to buy them. Kneeling is out of the question due to a very arthritic left knee. Any thoughts and ideas greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Try the kayak fishing sites. A lot of kayaks have adjustable foot rests. You may come up with something that will adapt or at least put some ideas in your head.
Here’s a link. I have one of these in my canoe.
The Wenonah product looks nice but I am reluctant to bore holes in the hull of my canoe. The hull of my canoe is poly-link III and I am worried that, through use and age, this product would provide opportunities for cracks/leaks around the rivets. I do like the adjustability of that rest, just worried about leaks. I have a Rogue River 14 TK. The hull is class II rated but there is a bit of flex to it. On the other hand, this should also serve to stiffen the hull. Tough to bore holes in the hull so close to the water line though. Have you had any trouble with cracks and leaking?
I did see these at Rutabaga:
http://www.rutabaga.com/product.asp?pid=1018640
I assume that they are bonded to the hull thus making them non-adjustable. I don’t really like that.
Nighthawk,
Probably it’s something to do with your knee condition, but I’m having trouble understanding why you need foot rests at all.
If you have installed a sitbacker rest that lets you lean back and relax your back muscles, doesn’t that device let you stretch your legs out in front of you in any position you like?
For stability reasons, I would advise against buying or constructing anything that lifts your legs up off the canoe floor (if that’s what you meant by “foot rest”). You don’t want anything that resembles a foot stool, in other words.
Legs are heavy. What would happen is, once your legs are up off the canoe floor your entire body is elevated. That elevated body mass creates a high center of gravity and balance, increasing the tippiness of your canoe and greatly increasing the risk of a sudden capsize.
Personally, I’m not a big fan of the sitbacker devices anyway. They’re comfortable, true, but they tend to confine your torso in an upright position. This can make you overconfident; you tend to become careless about making those little automatic balance corrections that keep your boat stable. Moreover, it is much more difficult to make balancing moves in a canoe when your torso angle is inclined to the rear. Mix in the torso twists that are necessary when casting from a canoe, and when fighting a fish from a canoe, and you have a recipe for accident.
Joe
“Better small than not at all.”
Nighthawk,
No problems whatsoever. When you install them you use a bit of 3M Marine sealant. Other folks have used rubber gaskets. The kayak I have has big stainless steel bolts holding it’s footrests in place. No leaks ever.
Thanks for the great advice folks. I really appreciate it.
I should have mentioned that in addition to a bad knee I have bone spurs in both feet and ankles plus degenerative bone disease in the lumbar back. Add to that poor circulation due to varicose veins.
I grew up fishing and paddling in my father’s flat bottom Grumman canoe. Learned real fast how easy it is to capsize a flat bottom once they are rolled too far. One of the first things a crew chief is taught is the importance of aircraft weights and balances. We used a slide rule and a weights and balances sheet to compute the exact CG (center of gravity) of the helicopter for a given load weight and type. later on we used a Texas Instruments calculator to do the math, but you had to be able to compute it mentally because calculator batteries have a habit of quiting at a very inopportune time.
The center seat I installed is lowered about 10 inches below the gunwales. Any foot rests installed would put me in the same seating position that we sit in behind the wheel of a sports/muscle car. Knees slightly bent, heels on the floor. That reduces pressure on the legs, helps circulation and maintains a low center of gravity. I should also add that I will never adjust the sit-backer past 90 degrees perpendicular to the keel. My ability to twist around is limited due to the bone disease ( degenerative osteoarthritis ) in my back. I am basically limited to casting at no more than a 45 degree angle off of either side of the bow. Just one of those things I have learned to deal with like learning new ways to load and unload the canoe from the roof of the car.
Johnson Outdoors and Water Quest manufactures the Rogue River 14TK. Here is a picture of the Water Quest:
http://www.jowatercraft.com/Canoe14.html#
The difference is that my canoe did not come with the center seat. Also my canoe has a raised keel with steel tube reinforcement running the length of the keel on the inside of the floor. All dimensions and weights are the same for both models. Good initial stability and very good secondary stability.
I think I will stop at Blue Mountain Outfitters and talk to them about installing something like the Wenonah rest for me. I could do it myself but a professional installation would give me a little more peace of mind. Here is BMO’s web site:
http://www.bluemountainoutfitters.net/
Eventually my infirmities will force me to get a small pontoon with deck, jon boat or deep v with floor boards. That means some lucky soul will get a great deal on well outfitted canoe. Until then I intend to get the most out of my paddling days.
I’ve got a left foor that gives me some problems after setting for an extended period. What I use is a 20# sand bag to rest my foot on or push down on slightly. The sand bag is pliable, can be moved anywhere and also stored in the very bow to help keep it down when the wind picks up. AND … the cost is very reasonable!
Dale
I’ve got the Wenonah foot brace in my Wenonah Vagabond Solo (Royalex). Its a good product…FWIW, the only two times that I’ve seen a polylink boat crack is when a friends flew of the top of a car going 70mph and it landed on the Highway, and the other one that “cracked” got pinned and bent around a rock in Class IV whitewater. Polylink is tough stuff. Cheers.
Eric,
Your care in ensuring a low center of gravity/balance then makes the Wenonah crossbar footrest the answer to your problem.
What you may not know yet is that this footrest bar is adjustable in the fore/aft axis. The crossbar is mounted on two L-shaped racks, one each gets riveted to the inboard surface of your hull forward of your paddling station. Once the racks are riveted in place, then you custom locate the crossbar for your own paddling comfort.
One of my downriver canoe tripping friends has taken this crossbar invention to another level. He installed on his footbar two separate loops of stiff nylon webbing that are held in place by common hose clamps. The result is two “stirrups” into which he slips his feet. While paddling, the stirrups hold his feet firmly on the crossbar. Anchored there, his legs are not lifted up off the crossbar by the transfer of energy during his paddle strokes.
I would install this system on my canoes, but don’t because I favor paddling from the kneeling position only.
Nice boat you bought. I’d stick with that as your fishing platform until you just can’t physically use it anymore.
Also, I recommend installing the 2-anchor system (or something similar) on your boat. Without it, your canoe is little more than an aquatic kite.
Joe
“Better small than not at all.”
Joe,
That is a neat idea about the stirrups! You a right about the two anchor system as well. I currently anchor from the bow only. That is going to be remedied right away as the slightest wind on the still waters I fish will put me sideways to the chop. A potentially dangerous situation!
She ain’t the most expensive lady of the lake but for the slow rivers and still waters that I fish she is hard to beat. I did a lot of research before buying this make of canoe. What I found out was that the general opinion was this canoe is great for my type of fishing/paddling. I got it on sale at Harrisburg, Pa. Bass Pro Shop for $299.99. I figured for about three hundred bucks a person can’t go too wrong. I am very pleased with it. When I do go to sell my canoe I intend to give all of our FAOL friends a chance to buy it. Hopefully that won’t be for another year or two but you never know what tomorrow will bring. 
Many thanks to all of you for advice and tips. There are some great ideas here that can be of use to all who enjoy paddling a canoe. 