Hey there Chip,

Forget cowboy style landings in the SOF in my opinion. The position of the Masik is crutial to the control and comfort of the kayak. You really need to be able to lock your legs into position against the Masik both to transfer paddling power to the boat and to keep you sitting upright since you don't necessarly have much back support.

Cockpit length is determined by the Masik position (don't mess with the masik position!), the distance from the small of your back to your thigh just above your kneecaps while seated in position is how far from the back of the cockpit to the front (bow side) of the masik (some add ~4" to this and use a backband). Next measurment to figure out is how high you need the bottom of the masik to be in order for you to get into the cockpit without having to dislocate your knees.

Just my humble opinion but I think a large cockpit on a low volume greenland boat is a big mistake.

Anyway, we need to be able to laugh at you when you ride that shorebreak in and capsize the boat in a foot of water trying to get out before the next wave breaks over your stern and floods the cockpit.

Ben Staley

: I can get out of a kayak by sliding my butt onto the rear deck and stepping
: out. For rough landings I usually flop one leg out while my butt is still
: in place (aka Cowboy style?). I can't always do a cowboy landing with a
: small cockpit opening. What do other people do? How far forward can I move
: the maslik without compromising rollability? Is maslik position the main
: driver behind a small cockpit?

: BTW, thanks for the input so far. I'm going into full SOF/SOB mode