Thigh Braces

Aleutian kayaks are high-volume cruising boats.  This means that you've got more leg room and can move around a bit.  However, as a Greenland kayaker, I expect to be able to press my thighs against the underside of the deck and have positive contact (be "locked in") for good control when rolling.

I don't know how easy it will be to roll this baidarka, but I am certain that if I am flopping around loosely inside, it's going to be near impossible.  Which I don't like.

The solution is simple - thigh braces.  On a fiberglass sea kayak these would be molded in as the forward part of the "keyhole" cockpit.  In my case, since I had to replace the deck beam in front of the cockpit when I moved it, I designed the new beam to have supports to take the braces.



This is what they look like all finished.  Now let's see how I get here.

I already have convenient mortises in the gunwales, left over from the deck beam I removed.

The braces should be thin and strong.  I just happen to have some scraps of oak kicking around...

  

The bit of oak just needs some work.

  

And there we go, two lovely boards of just the right size.



Then some creative sketching and cutting on the band saw.

I need to create a socket on the underside of the deck beam to take the forward end of the thigh brace. This is why I've haven't pinned the beam in place yet.

 

I want the brace to lock into the deck beam so this calls for some careful carving of the underside of the deck beam.

 

Then the deck beam has to be cut at just the right angles in just the right place.  Catch-22 - I can't accurately mark it until it's finished and in place...  So cut a bit large, test fit, trim, test, shave with the chisel, test...



And it fits perfectly!  Well, the deck-beam mortise is horizontal and the brace is slanted, so that's not as pretty as it could be.  If I do another one someday...

Next up - bending the cockpit coaming!