I headed out to a nearby lake for a test paddle this morning.
The difference in stability is
phenomenal.
Primary stability has shot up dramatically. When discussing it after the first paddle I mused that primary stability was 1/10 and secondary was about a 4.
That was with a loose seat scooted way forward so I could reach those awful pedals.
Now that the seat is in the vicinity of where the designers intended and the pedals have been brought towards the seat I would say initial stability is about a 5½/10 and secondary is a 6.
I imagine with some connection between knees and deck that this would only improve.
Who could have predicted that having the seat loose would have had such a negative effect?
The only time that it's feeling a bit dodgy as far as stability is concerned is when getting into it. But this should improve with practice.
Whereas when I paddled it last time I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures, this time it was no problem. Even was able to lean out and take some crappy shots from the side.
So next step is probably disassembling everything and taking it into the shop.
The pedals worked a treat, so I'll be replacing the plywood with something a bit more waterproof.
Oh, I also tried a few re-entries. No connection with the knees yet, so I doubt my marginal roll would have been worth attempting. However I did find that with a paddle slipped under the rear deck lines it was pretty simple to hop back in. I didn't bother with a paddle float, just using the blade as a sort of hands free brace. This makes me feel quite a bit more confident about taking it out on more adventurous paddles.