Hello, I bought a new sea kayak and I'm having some problems with my legs falling asleep after just 30 minutes of use. It's a Current Designs Sirroco and I'm 5'11", 200 pounds and 34 years old and in good shape. I could stand to loose a few pounds, but I'm a pretty small guy and shouldn't have any problems fitting in to this boat.

I took the boat for a short test drive when I bought it and thought it was quite comfortable, but after I took it out for a longer trip the problems showed up. My legs fall asleep and my hip gets quite sore and uncomfortable. The thigh braces don't adjust and feel like they are pushing the bottom of my legs into the chair and at an awkward position causing my hips to be sore.

Is there something I can do to fix this problem? I'm trying to streach out more before I get in the boat, but so far it's not helping. I want to put a ton of miles on this boat and really need some advise.

Thanks for the help! Dale P.

Dale, I've not paddled a Sirocco, but I did look up its specs, and also looked at reviews of it on Paddling.net. The cockpit is listed as being 30 inches long; does it allow you to paddle with your knees drawn up?--probably not. All of my kayaks have allowed me to alter my stance, and switch back and forth between knees/thighs to the side, using the thigh braces, and knees together and drawn up; my Epic 16X has a cockpit 34" X 16 1/4". Its seat can also be moved pretty freely front-to-back. Also, even a little padding (like an old mouse pad, or a piece cut from an old wetsuit) between you and a hard seat can make a big difference. Also fuss with the backband position; maybe get a better backband.

But, judging by the very mixed reviews on P-net, maybe the Sirocco is not a long-term keeper for you in any case--seating comfort does not seem to be one of its strong points.

Thanks for the reply. The good news is I got a good deal on the boat so I should be able to sell it for what it cost me. They usually sell for around $1500.00 and I got mine for $999.99 from a dealer that wanted to get rid of it before winter. I have only had it in the water three times now and I really like the boat, but if I can't figure out something to make it more comfortable I'm going to be forced to sell it and look for something else.

The cockpit is on the small side and allows me just enough room to bring my knees up and out of the braces, but it' pretty tight and other parts of my body get a little squished when you have the knees pressed together so it's not very comfortable when they are in that position ether. It's almost like the braces force my legs too far part and then press down at an awkward angle causing my hips to hurt and the front of the seat is lilted up a bit which causes the front edge to cut into my legs and seems to be why my legs fall asleep. The Sirocco is rated for a person of 190 to 275 pounds so there shouldn't be any reason why I can't fit in it well. I do have larger feet (size 12) which is a problem is some boats with low decks but there seems to be enough room in this one for them.

I have two kayaks and my other boat is a 12' kestral from Current Designs which has the same style of seat, but much different thigh braces so the seat works just fine in this boat. I really like my Kestral and hoped to have the same feeling about the Sirocco, but so far I'm not happy. I like the way the boat handles and find it a pleasure to paddle, but the seating is a real problem.

Hopefully the weather will be nice on the weekend and I will take it out again and try to play around with the back band and see if more padding can be placed on the seat. I have a feeling that it's not going to help enough to make it comfortable to ride in for several hours. If CD would have made the seat adjustable like other boats on the market this probably wouldn't have been an issue, but the seat is rigid mounded and has no adjustments.

Thanks again for the suggestions, I will give them a try.

Dale P.

I also have a Sirocco and have had it for a few years. Since you indicate that you were able to be comfortable in your Kestal, I would suspect that you can either get used to the seat in the Sirocco, or make some adjustments that will work.

I kind of doubt that the seat itself is the problem. I find my Sirocco's seat to be quite comfortable, but at times the back band isn't supportive enough. I made it somewhat better by turning it upside down, but sometimes I roll up a towel and stuff it behind the band. That seems to do the trick.

I would suggest that you try placing a large rolled up towel under your thighs to give your legs more support. Also try moving the foot braces a little one way, or the other to find a more comfortable position. Don't try to jam your thighs against the braces, that may be causing some strain that leads to your discomfort. You can always add padding to the thigh braces to bring them down to your thighs. I don't like having my legs held tightly and only get against the braces when edging, or when things get a little wild.

Sometimes when you change from one boat to the other, the subtle differences in seating position can cause discomfort. In my own case I had to resort to some of the above suggestions for a while and then after a time the need would go away. I regularly switch between three of my boats and I've gotten to where none of them requires any additions to assure my comfort. I no longer even use a seat pad in my NC, which has a very stiff fiberglass seat.

One of my boats has a very supportive seat and backrest that by the look of it, it should be the most comfortable seat possible, but a while back, I could only stand to paddle that boat for a limited time before my back would begin to bother me. That is no longer the case. I think that conditioning is part of the cure and to some extent proper paddling posture.

I would suggest that you try the cheaper fixes before going to the expense of a new backband, or new kayak. You might spend the money and find out that what at first seems to help, really doesn't and you might still have the same problems anyway.

I recently sat in a new P&H Cetus. I was very impressed with the feel of its seat and back support, but the only real test is lots of time in the boat and not just sitting there, but paddling.

What ever you do, I would not buy a different boat just because it seems to be comfortable to sit in. I would pick the boat because of a lot of different factors; the seating can be adjusted, or modified--the boat, not so much. And as I said, I believe your body can adjust to the seating situation in time.

When I first bought my new pickup, I had some discomfort on longer trips. After adapting through continuous use, the seats now are the most supportive and comfortable of any I've ever sat in. My point is that it isn't just kayak seats that you have to get used to.

By the way, if you give that Sirocco a chance, you will find that it is an extremely capable boat that can do just about anything. It is a true all-arounder; not the very best at any one thing, but it can do it all. Here's a tip: Don't be afraid to use the skeg. It's there for a reason--use it.

Thanks for the positive words about the Sirocco! As you can see I'm pretty frustrated with it and really want the boat to work out for me. So far I'm very happy with the way it handles and find it easy to turn and very responsive. It also tracks very well as long as you use some of the skeg. Even a small amount of skeg deployment works wonders on keeping the boat straight and doesn't seem to scrub off any of the speed. I'm really glad that I didn't buy a boat with a rudder. My dad has one and I find that it really slows the boat down when using it and it's a little awkward to use.

The only problem I have with the boat is the way it fits. The seat and thigh braces have NO adjustments making it a one size fits all boat which doesn't seem to be working for me. The thigh braces seem to press my legs too far apart and push them down at an awkward angle causing my hips to hurt and put pressure on the back of my legs against the seat bottom. I loosened the back band and set the foot braces one notch further ahead to create less pressure on my thighs in the braces but it only helped a little bit. My legs still fell asleep soon into the trip. I understand that part of the problem may be me and I'm trying to stretch out more before paddling too.

What really sucks is I plan to take several trips this summer with a group of kayakers and I really need to get this problem solved so I can get some good practice time in before the trips. I also don't want to find my self uncomfortable in the middle of a 15 mile trip! So hopefully I can figure something out.

Thanks for all of the tips! I have Friday off this week so hopefully I can get the boat out and try some of them out.

Dale P.

Hey Dale, I spent most of the day, yesterday, in my Sirocco. I paid attention to some of the points that you brought up about the thigh braces, etc. The only thing that I noticed was that the thigh braces are sort of toward the center of the boat and the foot braces are naturally to the outside. This might cause a little strain if you are trying to keep your thighs pressed into the braces.

I really think that it is a matter of getting used to things, but it would be quite easy to glue some larger, wider closed cell pads to the brace bracket.

I also did some measuring and comparing with reference to the seat. It looks to me like the seat is fine for anyone with buns no wider than about 14 inches, or so. I've never thought of my posterior as being oversized, but I can see where a much wider one might feel a bit tight in there. However, I measured the seats on my other boats too and they are all pretty close to the same dimensions.

I've sat in a lot of sea kayaks and I can't recall any that were that much more spacious than the Sirocco. They are not known to be a tight fit.

I still think that it's going to be a matter of putting in some time in the cockpit, but maybe with some frequent shore-breaks to stretch your legs. I'm almost double your age, so imagine how it would be to adapt yourself to a new cockpit in three more decades.