: I agree that you can't get nearly as much as you can when not
: restricted by deck. I also agree that there will be some kayak
: such as those with a masik or low decks where there will be
: minimal pumping (thus different techniques, i.e. Greenland
: forward stroke), but I think that in a typical touring boat,
: there is room despite the splayed leg position.

Personally, I have always found the legs-splayed position used in a kayak with footpegs and a higher deck uncomfortable.
I think partly because it inhibits hip rotation compared to the legs-together, straight-in-front positioning; and partly because
it shortens the abdominals even more than in a normal seated position. Legs-splayed, knees-up will eventually give me cramps
in my psoas, but that's probably peculiar to my body alignment. One thing I notice from the video of Zsolt, is in the shots from
behind, how much the ski is essing as he rotates. This what I feel paddling low-volume, tight-fitting boats with no footpegs and
legs positioned straight out in front. As I pull on the left side, rotating waist and upper body towards the left, the boat esses to the
right slightly, which increases the amount of rotation. Not because my hips are rotating relative to the boat, but because the boat is
rotating relative to my upper body. So I feel the rotation more as the sense of essing the boat through the water, counter-rotating
the legs (and boat) against the waist, shoulders and paddle.

eric
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Ogata