Spring outfitting and refitting thread

Did some of your winter projects slip until it's not "winter" anymore? Did you pull out the canoe, and realize that there's something that has been bugging your for seasons, and you really need to fix it before putting in for the first time this year? Feel free to share. I'll start off.


Some of you may know that I find my tandem to be a bit of a handful, especially without a tripping load. I decided to take a little time to fix two pain points:

1. Lack of lumbar support on my stern seat
2. Lack of brace point.

First, I need to get some measurements. When fitting to my body, I prefer story-sticks and in-place fitting to taking measurements.


A 2x4 in the back isn't going to be comfortable, so some shaping:


This still needs some padding. I'm currently debating between two types of closed-cell foam that I have available.

I was going to add a footbrace bar, but I want to be able to adjust it front and back, and I don't want to deal with a telescoping bar. I realized that I never hit & switch - the paddle station is too wide for that - and I only brace my paddle side foot, usually with the other leg folded up under me. Thus:


The screws are supposed to be temporary glue fixtures, but we'll see.
(I do have both left and right brace points, as I do swap sides from time to time.)

Yeah, pretty much all my projects slipped til now. Have 3 weeks to do some paddle and canoe refreshing before my first BWCA trip this year.

My builds always slip until warm weather. The tie-dyed Merlin slipped from last winter until now and I have 4 weeks to finish both before WPASCR on June 5th.

I like the lumbar support. Seems it would aid in support without the unsightly nature of a backrest.