: Do any of you know a paraplegic paddler ? I have a friend who was very
: much into adventure sports (caving, climbing, mountaineering, ski touring
: and so on) before becoming paralysed from the waist down. Since his
: accident, he has not given up cave diving, and he learned to fly light
: aircraft. He has now met some disabled paddlers who paddled Vancouver
: to Juneau this summer and is interested in taking up sea kayaking. He
: lives in Edinburgh, so his local area is the west coast of Scotland,
: with all that implies in terms of tides, weather and exposure to Atlantic
: swell.

: What sort of boat is likely to be best for this sort of paddler ? And
: what sort of outfitting is going to work for someone with no ability to
: do knee bracing and hip flicks ? Obviously the cop-out solution is to
: put him in a double with another paddler, but somehow I can't see Mike
: wanting to be in that position for very long - he is both determined and
: independant in everything to takes up.

: Ideas ?

: Andy

I'm betting he can paddle just about any kayak he wants. He simply needs some kind of inserts to put into place to brace his hips securely and keep his feet properly set against the foot pegs.

Hope this helps in some small collective way.

Robert N Pruden