# wavesport XXX outfitting question



## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

Good luck. I would say gut it and customize. The XXX was my first boat, it was terribly uncomfortable and a very poor choice to learn in...hope you got that thing cheap. When I sold mine I think CKS gave me $75.


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## bgoogins (Nov 10, 2005)

OhNoItsKamryn said:


> Just bought a badass 2001 wavesport xxx. The plastic area where it hits your shins is extremely uncomfortable. The knee pads all the way to the center pillar is one big piece...but it hits my shins and basically entraps my feet into there, making a swim i would think nearly impossible. Any ideas? Is the best option to just remove it entirely and make my own thigh braces out of foam?


Bought? Most of them I see are used as flower planters. That is an unforgiving boat to learn in. Boat technology is similar to ski technology: both have evolved a long way in the last 15 years. 

Dont mess with the bulkhead, but the rest you can tinker with. Foam can definitely be used to customize it.


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## OhNoItsKamryn (Apr 28, 2015)

*Ya I bought it*

Ya I bought it cheap. From a poor unsuspecting girl who bought it to learn in. The boat has only been paddled 5-6x by her friend on a lake since its birthdate. Literally barely has a scratch on it and outfitting is perfect. It's a unicorn. My concern is just the knee pads part and building them out of foam. I have multiple other buts but this thing is a gem!


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## jennifer (Oct 14, 2003)

I love my xxx! Fast, slicy, super fun boat. But I don't understand this knee pad issue. I don't have knee pads in mine I'd just move the seat back a bit so your shins aren't as crammed and glue some thin foam against the shell. I get that sheet of blue foam used as sleeping pads at walmart for $15 and that will be enough to last a lifetime.


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## OhNoItsKamryn (Apr 28, 2015)

*See if this link works*

Here's a link to a picture of the setup I took out. As you can see, when my feet are inside the bow and with the center pillar, that black piece hitting my shins creates sort of a foot entrapment. I can't get into the boat without sitting on the back deck, locking my legs and sliding in. It's damn near impossible to get out of because your feet get stuck. Im not worried about swimming really, as I paddle pretty conservative rivers with this thing (everything else I have a nomad) but in the event, I don't want to drown haha. Somebody has mentioned just to take this whole section out and create it out of foam. Just thinking of option to make entry/exit easier and keep it to where the black plastic touching my shins doesn't entrap my feet. 


https://picasaweb.google.com/111471964772043233517/August242015


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## mrekid (May 13, 2004)

First, wavesport made the XXX during the time the company was sold to confluence. The first round were made out of cross link plastic in Steamboat and were generally bigger than the second group made from superlinear HDPE. Second wavesport made two sets of thighbraces, small/medium and medium/large. These two things could be effecting your fit.


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## OhNoItsKamryn (Apr 28, 2015)

*Mrekid - exactly what*

This was exactly the comment i was looking for. That makes so much sense why its so tight for that section. I really don't want to buy a shit ton of foam and do all that with the outfitting. Is there any place i could find the large set? Mine is definitely linear because its 2001


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## jennifer (Oct 14, 2003)

I don't have anything like that in my xxx! I'd get rid of that thing and figure out something with foam or get thigh braces from any other WS boat and see if that would work.


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## Juan De Confluence (Apr 22, 2005)

*Maybe something else*

Hey,

I think I can see your problem from the pics.

the front of the thighbrace assembly looks like it is bent at a 90 deg angle.
It looks like it was re-installed incorrectly after removal of the thighbrace.

The part that is impacting your shins should be tucked up above the center pillar, not sticking down into the cockpit. The long plastic tabs fit on either side of the pillar wall and point down

Remove the front pillar, and install the thighbrace first, then reinstall the pillar. pushing that part against the underside of the deck.

hope that helps

juan


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## mrekid (May 13, 2004)

Yeah you can actually see that is the linear version in the picture. The ends give it away. Anyway large thighbraces or just remove them all together and custom build something out of foam. I suspect they changed the thighbrace a little with the linear version, to give the boat more structural rigidity. Old wavesport plastic was the bomb, not as rigid as blow molded boats like prijon and eskimo, but not far off.


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## paddally (Jun 6, 2014)

*XXX Outfitting - Hip Pain*

I just bought a XXX too!! And I love it!!

And yes, the last comment about the thigh brace install is correct. If you need a photo of how it should be installed I can send you a photo of mine.

I bought the boat from a similar sized paddler so the outfitting was pretty spot on. I sat in it, made a little more room for my feet, and put it on the river. Maybe 30 minutes in I was really starting to feel it in my hips. 45 min to an hour and I had to get out.

The hip pads are snug but not too tight. Do you think i need to put foam under my thighs to help hold them up when I am relaxed? Im thinking its not the position i am in but the fact that my thighs can slide down and I need to hold them up that is the problem? Its the only thing I can think to change without making myself totally loose in the boat, which I hate.

Oh and I have the same problem getting into the boat, its quite a sight to see.


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## Pucon Kayak Retreat (Aug 23, 2015)

*Outfitting evolution to walk out of store ready boats*

OhNoItsKamryn - you look like you have a big foot for the XXX and may be too tall or big in general. During the early 90s it was common to see kayakers driving trucks onto the bow of a kayak to squash it and make it more slicy. Others used ovens and heat guns to make feet cups bigger/comfortable. Especially on designs like the XXX. I am not recommending you make your feet cups bigger as I have seen first hand people collapse their plastic. Rather, I am stating this because this was a common challenge for the XXX error. 

That generation of boats was a more do-it-yourself generation. Lazy folks would duck tape their outfitting in. Others took great pride in customizing their outfitting. Today the designs are made to be water ready out of the store which still gives you the option to customize your kayak. 

Boats were designed to be as slicy as possible for more cartwheels. Which was the ticket to winning rodeos. And with that low profile bow came jammed body parts. Heck I watched Dan Gavere at the 99 worlds in NZ kickass in the squirt division in a XXX. There are folks whom still know how to add space to bows. But don't do it without an experienced expert. The workable zone of kayak plastic is a small window and a little too much and your plastic can fall or create a hole. 

Get some foam and go to town. Best way to find old foam is to salvage on old beater kayak for it's support walls. 

For those that don't know how to glue foam to plastic here's a quick how to description. 
1. Take a sharpie and trace off the area you will be gluing on each surface (foam and kayak). 
2. Sand each surface. Clean the surface. Rubbing alcohol if you have it. 
3. Apply a thin layer of contact cement. Let set til tacky to your finger 7 minutes-ish, about a beer. If you want it better do this step twice. 
4. Press the foam onto the plastic. 

If you shaped foam blocks from a center wall and used the steps above you could create more space and customize a nice knee cup setup. Maybe use some of the center wall nearest the bow and foot foam to create more foot space and be efficient with your usable foam. 

Still I think you are facing what many kayakers in the 90s experienced. Big feet in little bow hurts.



paddally said:


> The hip pads are snug but not too tight. Do you think i need to put foam under my thighs to help hold them up when I am relaxed? Im thinking its not the position i am in but the fact that my thighs can slide down and I need to hold them up that is the problem? Its the only thing I can think to change without making myself totally loose in the boat, which I hate.


Here are a few old school playboat outfitting tricks I recall:
A. Foam blocks glued to seat under thighs to keep your legs elevated and your but back. 
B. Anyone remember the old pleasure pods? Or the wedge shaped block glued below your crotch to keep the butt from sliding forward. 
C. Seat belts with quick release. I haven not seen anyone other C1'ers use a seat belt in a long time. I think Corran Addison had even designed a seat ratchet system for some of the Riot playboats.
D. Want to reduce weight? All the pros new to take out the plastic center piece that goes under a kayak seat. Replace that with a broken paddle shaft. Or drill holes 2" holes in that same plastic piece and your seat to shave off a pound or two of plastic.
To best answer your question about loose hips it sounds like you need bigger hip pads or to add shims. Man it's been years since I've had a custom carved him pad glued in to a perfect fit. Great topic guys.


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