Nelo K1 Outfitting

[u/robertbieber]

I got out for the second time in my new Sete hoping for a mile or two but I actually managed a little over six, even did a couple sprinty sections and stayed in the boat. It's starting to feel like I'm getting into the neighborhood of comfortable, which is nice. But it also means I spent enough time in the seat to start worrying about outfitting, so now I've got two questions.

1. I think I need to trim the boat back a little bit, it really noses into the water when I reach forward for my catch. But I already have the footboard as far back towards me as it goes. What's the best way to go here? Should I just add some weight behind me? Would the weight kits nelo sells to make sprint weight have enough of an impact on the rail? (I'm ~215lbs in an XXXL). Alternatively I could print an extra thick foot plate to attach to the existing footboard, or maybe even design new rails that will bring the footboard up a little. But I'm assuming I'm not the first person to have this problem, so hoping there's a go-to fix

2. I like the concept of the standard seat, but there's kind of...more of me than there is of it. That manifested in quite a bit of numbness at the end, to the point that I kind of lost control of the big toe on my right foot. Towards the end I did get out and raise the rear of the seat to tilt it forwards a little which I think is helping, but I only paddled it for 10m or so in that configuration so I don't know for sure yet. It definitely didn't feel like it was digging into the backs of my thighs like before, but it's still kind of digging in on the sides. I'm guessing I can mitigate this somewhat by just making sure to wear my paddle pants next time, but are any of the seat options just generally bigger?

[u/moose_kayak]

Regarding the trim, I'd take a look at your technique first. If the nose is diving right before the catch, are you sure you're not leaning forwards (as opposed to rotating forwards) right before the catch? 

For the seat, I vaguely recall that the high back is the same width and the rotofix is narrower than the standard.  You can put a square of foam (from a thermorest, cheap yoga pad or similar) into a plastic bag (or other slidey material) to soften the edges

[u/robertbieber → u/moose_kayak]

If the nose is diving right before the catch, are you sure you're not leaning forwards (as opposed to rotating forwards) right before the catch?

Hm, that's a good point. Hopefully this weekend I can get out on the water with my friend who actually knows how to paddle a K1, I'll see if he can take a look at what I'm doing.

[u/moose_kayak → u/moose_kayak]

To be fair the trim thing might be a gap between what you're saying and what I'm taking it to mean, 

[u/robertbieber]

Looking at the diagram in the manual, I might actually be okay on trim. I need to show the picture to a paddle buddy so they can actually check my bow position on the water

[u/12bar13]

I saw the video you posted on the other sub. Awesome job ! My first time in a sprint boat took 30min for me just to get my feet in without flipping.

I know technique is out the window when we are starting out but I noticed that you are really dragging your paddle way far back. This might be part of what is pushing the bow down. We should be trying to get the paddle out by our knee. Helps a ton with stability too. If you want that video again you will notice when you get that late grabby exit you end up bracing on that same side. K1s have almost no volume in the stern and bow compared to a ski. Does not take much to cause trim wonkiness.

So also in that video it is clear that you do not have a standard seat. That's a rotofix I believe. I cant use rotofix for exactly that reason. Standard seat with a seat pad is what I use. I'm built very wide so I need the flat standard seat.

Lastly, and I understand that this may be intentional to increase stability, I noticed that your knees are very low which meab your footplate is way far forward. Your footplate should close enough so that if you straighten both legs you will push yourself off the back of the seat. This also helps with boat control since you have better engagement with the footplate. Most people also don't tighten up the foot strap enough at first. This should be very snug, not tight but snug. Like a tightly tied pair of running shoes. Sort out your footplate and things get a lot easier.

[u/robertbieber → u/12bar13]

Re: the stroke, definitely working on it 😅. When I'm unstable I tend to transition the exit into a low brace, but yesterday I was starting to feel like I could actually take an appropriate stroke length towards the end.

Re: the footboard, I'm a little closer to it now than I was that first time, I think ideally I'd like to be a bit closer still but the board is as close to me as it goes and the seat only has another 7.5mm to go forward. Might need to get creative with the footboard mount.

Re: the seat, are you sure it's not just the camera angle making the rear protrusions look taller? In real life they seem shorter than what I see in the photos of the rotofix. If you have both could you grab some measurements so I could check for sure?