Playboat Outfitting

Reposted from the Dagger blog, written by Christie Glissmeyer  

It can be very frustrating when you are out on a wave or in a hole and you are sliding around or falling out of your playboat every time you throw a move. On the other hand, if your outfitting is too tight you won't be able to stay in your boat for more than a few rides. Outfitting a new boat can be a drag sometimes but here are a few ideas to get started:

Moving the seat as far forward as possible is helpful if you are having any problems with bow initiations. The backband should be snug to give you lower back support. Hip pads should be snug but not too tight.

If you are a smaller person it helps to glue 1/2-1 inch of foam on the seat and where the knee caps rest in the knee braces. Not only is the extra padding more comfortable, but by sitting higher your knees can rest better in the knees braces, your elbows clear the cockpit and you will have more leverage.

I cut one square foam block and glue it in the bow for my heels to push off of. I've found that if my toes danging free it helps to keep my feet from cramping up or falling asleep.

Triangle foam blocks glued to the underside of the knee will also ensure that your knees won't fall out of the knee braces while you are doing inverted tricks or rolling

The glue I like to use is 3M spray contact cement (found at hardware stores) because it dries in just about 15 min. Just make sure you get the non-water soluble kind in the green can. Spray both surfaces you want to bond, let sit for about 5 minutes and then stick together.