Last time I had the newest kayak out, I noticed that I was "falling" between the chines and pushing the skin well out into the water. Concerned that this likely isn't the best hull shape to have (not to mention the keelson wedgie!) I began to explore various ideas for implementing a seat.

The goal was to keep the paddler's butt off the skin by as small a distance as possible, while also providing better thigh support than the plain foam pad I had been using. I originally wanted to make a one-piece composite tractor-style seat that hung from the gunwales, but such a large item would be impossible to install with the coaming in place. I tried a flexible piece of plastic tacked to the gunwales, but the plastic allowed one to move around too much, eliminating a lot of boat control. I'm not sure how I came up with the rib idea exactly, but its essentially "slicing up" the one-piece seat so that it can be installed with the coaming in place, and eliminating every other piece.

This turned out to be an easy endeavor, as the rib shape required is so close between the front and back of the cockpit that only one laminating form was required. In keeping with the theme of the kayak, I decided to use materials on hand to laminate the ribs instead of sourcing bending stock and building a steamer, at least for a proof of concept. If one steam bent the ribs such a seat could be created and installed in very short order. Of course if you were steaming ribs, you would probably build the frame differently, eliminating the need for such a seat....

None the less, it works remarkably well. It doesn't feel like you are sitting on ribs due to the close spacing. Thigh support is much improved, and it takes most of the pressure of the forward cross section off the back of the thighs, which should help eliminate one's legs from falling asleep while paddling.