Borealis XL seat mods and toggle handle advice

[JohnAbercrombie]

Thanks, Dave - that explanation made things a lot clearer.

The Mariner Coasters have a similar seat & back construction - a hard seat back is connected by stiff UHMW plastic 'hinges' to the glass seat, with an adjusting line across the back connected to a jam cleat on one of the seat risers. In the Coaster, the seat back is below the top of the coaming. Even in the Coaster with its slightly smaller cockpit than other Mariners, I can do a 'butt first' entry, so I've never had any problems with the seat back trying to flip forward.

The 'feet in front of the pegs' situation is awkward; I've started changing my boats (when it's possible) to a footboard or bulkhead footrest. It makes entry and exit a lot easier, and being able to move my feet around when paddling is a plus.

 

[Whidbey]

I own and paddle a Borealis XL with the standard Pygmy back band or back rest (I'm not certain which is the correct term). If you install a Pygmy back rest, upgrade the plastic tie downs (again, unsure of the correct term...) to bronze or stainless. One of mine broke during a rough landing. The bronze one I replaced it with hasn't failed despite even rougher treatment during rescue practices.

 

[JOENDOODLE]

First post here, looking forward to sharing and learning!

I recently purchased a used Pygmy Borealis XL. Love the way it tracks and its light weight. Not too crazy about the seat, which is a Harmony-branded seat pad glued to the hull, and the standard Pygmy plastic backrest with foam. Because I didn't build it, I'm not sure what the manual recommends for how/where to install the seat back band. It seems too far forward to me (about a 2 1/4" gap between back of seat band and front of the aft cockpit coaming) and he put two screws on each side so that the seat band can't be easily raised to stow gear in the hull behind the seat. Assuming that I decide to keep the stock plastic backband with padding, are there any guidelines for how far fore or aft it is installed? I'm a big guy at 6'3" 270lbs, so I need all the room I can get..... I'm seriously considering a CLC Creature Comfort Seat or a Redfish seat, anyone else have any other aftermarket seat recommendations for wood kayaks? I've seen several videos on how to make your own out of minicell foam, but the convex carbide carving discs they use are $70 ea.........

Does anyone have a copy of a Pygmy build manual where it spells out how/where to mount the back band?

As for the toggle handles, the guy I bought the Borealis from didn't install any. My Borealis is quite light and easily carried, but we have a lot of reservoirs here in Oregon that close their gates in the Fall, and I'm a year round kayaker who uses a kayak cart to get access to the water in the off season and I really need at least a fore toggle handle to pull the yak on a cart. I've seen several different types of handles on wooden kayaks, and wondered what the best way to add the toggle handles would be. The builder of my boat suggested drilling the hull for 1/2" dowel rod (he recommended oak), epoxying that in place, cut the dowel off flush with the hull, then drill out the center of the dowel and feed the line attaching the toggle handle. Any other suggestions on how best to do this?

Many thanks!

NP

Link to the manual (PDF):

staff.ammfl.org/WBS/Pygmy_Class_Manual.pdf

 

[JOENDOODLE]

I own and paddle a Borealis XL with the standard Pygmy back band or back rest (I'm not certain which is the correct term). If you install a Pygmy back rest, upgrade the plastic tie downs (again, unsure of the correct term...) to bronze or stainless. One of mine broke during a rough landing. The bronze one I replaced it with hasn't failed despite even rougher treatment during rescue practices.

Good TIP! I think I'll incorporate it for next season:

I modified the seat "adjuster" knowing how old I am and knowing how often I adjust my seat on a long trip (driving).. to be honest the l0cation of the adjuster line is tough to reach, I'll experiment with a better location in the future.

 

[JOENDOODLE]

Unanticipated feature of the seat rigging (above), I unclip the seat back, pivot it forward, and it no longer sits above the coaming for transport (and installation of cockpit cover the wife made for me.)