Kayak Backband

[nobucks]

Since the Black Dog Kayak seats don't have a backrest, last night I took some neoprene and scraps of cordura, along with some poly webbing and two 20" bungee cords and sewed up what you see below. I still want to put a webbing adjuster on it to make it adjustable, but for now, the webbing is screwed to the cockpit rails. The bungees hook onto the frame pieces.

And, yes, I did sew it entirely by myself. Sit down with a sewing machine for a half hour and you should be able to figure out how to sew in a straight line. I'm living proof. My wife still sews anything that we sell though. My "skills" are not for public consumption.

The backband seems to give good lower back support, plus, it is low enough so that it stays out of the way when I lay back on the deck or slide into the cockpit. The bungee hooks are easy to reach, so I can unhook them to access the area behind the cockpit.

Although I like it the way it is, I may add some hard plastic behind the neoprene to make it hold its shape better.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Joel,

I have to meet you someday. I like your inventive mind. I'll email you my contact info back channel.

 

[nobucks]

Thanks for the email! I'm composing a Pulitzer Prize worthy response which you should get tomorrow or Monday.

On the inventiveness, necessity is the mother of invention, as they say. My internet username is NoBucks on most forums that I post on because I usually have no bucks, so I have to make whatever it is I need, going back to the early days with my Jeepster. Plus, it's more fun to build your own stuff.

Mark and I were talking about that while we were on the Mississippi River a couple of weeks ago. We were comparing our gear to that of the two guys going the length of the River and it occurred to us that we had made almost everything that was in or on our kayak, including the kayak, sprayskirts, wetsuits, sea socks, drytops, paddles, flotation bags, etc.

Like I said above, I'm living proof that you can do it yourself. I'm no craftsman (that's Mark's department) but what I make for myself is serviceable and saves cash. I have more time than money, but what I save in money also brings satisfaction in knowing that I did it myself.

 

[nobucks]

A friend came up this past wekend so that I could help him install foot braces and a backband in his Black Dog Kayak, so I thought I would update the post on the backband.

The backband would be Backband 1.1. It's the same design as the first one, but we added eyepads to the cockpit rails to hold the straps in place. Industrial strength velcro provides adjustment. It works well with the foam kayak seat.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Joel,

By the looks, this back band contacts a paddler just above the belt line?

 

[nobucks]

Yes, it's not so much a backrest as it is help to lock in when paddling. It could be mounted a bit higher if a person wanted.

 

[nobucks]

We added the Black Dog Kayaks SOF Backband to our catalog last night. As the name states, it's designed for skin on frame kayaks, but it wouldn't take much to make it work for a hardshell kayak, although, that would be up to you to figure out how.

We've priced it fairly low compared to other offerings, at only $29.99 plus shipping.

I was going to add some hard plastic to it to keep it in a backband shape, but I like how it gets out of my way when I do layback when I'm practicing rolls, so I left it soft.

http://www.blackdogkayaks.com/acc.html#3