# Happy Feet Out.. Bulkhead In



## BooF4FooD (Aug 13, 2008)

Ive came to the conclusion that the jackson happy feet suck.... I have a 4fun... and i am going crazy with all the movement i get when im in the boat... i like to be totally tight, and i feel like the only way im going to achieve this is with a bulkhead.....

If anyone can give me some ideas on how to make a foam bulkhead, that would be awesome.... PLEASE HELP


----------



## danger (Oct 13, 2003)

i just went the other way. i couldn't get the frank-n-foam to work and went to the happy feet. are you hips tight? i find most of my control comes from good hip pads. ever try knee blocks?

dan


----------



## BooF4FooD (Aug 13, 2008)

yeah my hips are super tight... seeing im about 10 lbs over the max rec weight for the boat.... but the problem i have, is that i have super short legs... therefore, when i roll and such my offside leg can actually straighten out because there isnt enough resistance on my feet... the when my leg straightens.. it comes oout from under the thigh pad and screws everything up... .


----------



## BooF4FooD (Aug 13, 2008)

if i want to be super tight in my boat, i have to air the bean bag part up completely.. .get in the boat and let just enough air out of the bag to allow me to sit down.... then my feet are cramped up in akward positions, and the bag swishes air from side to side when ever i apply pressure


----------



## Dave Frank (Oct 14, 2003)

Stuff some minicell up there. The curved pieces that i think are from a pyranha fit pretty well. If thats not enough just keep adding. Tape it in til you get it right. Once you like it lock it in with barge cement or 3m's 77 spray.


----------



## stumpster (Jul 23, 2006)

I keep a beach ball in there, It snugs up my thighs and it keeps my knees right where I want them... Then I dont have to crush my feet and stop every 30 min to get some blood flow back..


----------



## BooF4FooD (Aug 13, 2008)

keep a beach ball where exactly??


----------



## mjpowhound (May 5, 2006)

Yup, I suffered through the crappy feet for a couple months before wising up and using foam. I got a piece of pre-cut stuff from a shop that came from another boat and trimmed to fit. Then I cut the beanbag part of the happy feet out and put it in front of the foam to make it comfortable and shaped more like my feet. It is very nice now.


----------



## BooF4FooD (Aug 13, 2008)

do you know what kind of boat it came out of"??


----------



## rboater7 (Aug 31, 2005)

I didn't like the Happy Feet either. Liquid Logic makes preformed minicell foam that fits in the bow with extra shims for getting the right length for your feet. I use it in my 2Fun, and it works great. I saw some at CKS a couple of weeks ago, but they are not in their catalog or on their website. Try calling them.


----------



## stumpster (Jul 23, 2006)

I put the beach ball under and around my knees, between my seat and my bulkhead... I am in a superstar and a 22" does well but a 24" ball would be better... 

I know a few of my friends and I felt the same way when we got our first Jacksons, but after we figured it out I would never go back to a solid foam bulkhead in a play boat..


----------



## BooF4FooD (Aug 13, 2008)

thanks guys.... rboaters... you think they have something for a 4fun


----------



## acetomato (May 6, 2006)

I'm adding just a little bit of foam on front of my happyfeet so I don't need to completely inflate the air bladder in my superfun. My superstar is perfect. No problem with length there. You might try that before completely ditching the happyfeet. You'll never get foam to conform as well as the bean bag. Good luck. Let us know what you go with and how it works out.


----------



## stumpster (Jul 23, 2006)

a great idea! I did it until I found the beach ball, But if you are short that solves all.


----------



## rboater7 (Aug 31, 2005)

The Liquid Logic foam is one size fits all with extra shims. I did put mine in a friend's Fun, and it worked fine. I think it would work in the 4Fun as well. Ask them at CKS.


----------



## jeffsssmith (Mar 31, 2007)

Use the foam blocks to take up extra space in front of the boat. The happy feet should only conform to your foot shape. Read the directions and make sure all of the air is out of the beanbag and don't inflate the air bag section much or at all. The bean bag will be easier to custom fit and remember to keep building up the foam or removing some to take up the space only in front of the bag.


----------



## lmaciag (Oct 10, 2003)

I took the foam bulkhead out of an ZG. Ended up adding a couple layers of 1" minicell to get it right (made it wider as I went to follow the lines of the boat, so it's a snug fit). Works great.

Laurie


----------



## Ture (Apr 12, 2004)

Maybe playboating is different to creeking when it comes to pressure on the feet but I concentrated this season on not pushing hard with my feet in my creekboat and I think it helped me.

Relax the feet a bit and use your grip that you have on your thigh braces. Don't push hard on your feet against the bulkhead. That is one of the things I learned from Ben Stooksberry when he led one of those creeking clinics on SSV this summer. The goal is to stay loose in the hips and more relaxed overall.

I'm not a playboater at all so maybe it doesn't translate to the verticalness of playboating but it sure seemed to help my creeking.


----------



## thecraw (Oct 12, 2003)

B4F,

I too am a bit short of the 4fun. I have done exactly what other mention here. Add a bit of foam in front of the happy feet. This essentially moves the whole happy feet system towards your feet. It works flawless for me in both my Super Star and 4Fun.

The key with happy feet is two fold:
Be sure not to pump much more then 15 pumps into to air only bag. I actually recommend no more then 10(ish). Point being is that if much more then that, you loose the main goal of this highly comfortable solution for your feet.
Also, be sure that you vac seal the bean bag portion of it. Many people think you are supposed to leave a little air in the bean bag area, and that only makes it sloppy and less control for your feet. Once you vac seal it... it's simply molded to you feet shape and can be very firm for great foot support.

Not everyone is going to love them, but they are a huge seller for us. Most people buying them for other manufacturers boats. Once they are set up correctly from the get go they really are awesome. I honestly can't imagine paddling with out them now.

Hope this helps.


----------



## acetomato (May 6, 2006)

Hey Craw-
Tell EJ to make the bean bag tube about 2.5-3" longer!

Does anyone know a way to extend tubes like this? I also have some NRS float bag tubes that are cracking and I need to cut and re-extend them too.


----------



## BooF4FooD (Aug 13, 2008)

thanks for the ideas guys


----------



## basil (Nov 20, 2005)

Yea, I agree. Make the air tubes for the Happy Feet bags longer. EJ uses a small boat but us in the bigger boats need a longer tube.


----------

