Tall sailors: what do you do with your feet in a blokart?

[GeoffS]

I'm 6' 4" (1.9m) tall, and last fall I finally got the footbar extension and it completely changed how I sail. Before, I was basically wedged into the kart with my knees forced out against the diagonal tubes that run from the mast-tube back to the seat hinge. I couldn't move at all, but what I didn't realize was that my center-of-gravity was also quite high. With the footbar, I'm down and forward in the kart. Now I can move around to get my body low and outboard on tight, fast turns (ex. a leeward mark rounding). I can sail a lot more aggressively in those situations now.

I pretty quickly discovered that just keeping my feet out on the footbar didn't give me the leverage I needed; I was just sliding around on the seat. What I do now is always keep my leeward foot on the normal footrest, and only put my windward leg out to the front. This gives me the ability to push back/out with my leeward leg whenever I want to.
Tacking isn't much of a problem; I've gotten used to automatically shifting my feet as I turn head-to-wind. High-wind gybes require me to shift my feet just before I starting turning down so I can push myself out on the inside of the turn, but even that becomes pretty automatic.

I'm curious if there are other ways to use the footbar that don't require all the shifting around.

Cheers,

Geoff S.

[Dave T]

They have an extended foot rest.

Try sailing one with legs that don't work. No bracing or leverage.

[GeoffS]

They have an extended foot rest.

Is that different from what blokart calls the "foot bar extension"?

Try sailing one with legs that don't work. No bracing or leverage.

I can imagine. After experiencing both the "top-heavy, can't move at all" and the "sliding around all over the place in the seat" modes it definitely makes the blokart harder to sail.

Have you developed any specific techniques for sailing?
I would think that gybing and especially a downwind-to-upwind turn would be the most challenging (?)

Cheers,

Geoff S.

[Dave T]

Is that different from what blokart calls the "foot bar extension"?



I can imagine. After experiencing both the "top-heavy, can't move at all" and the "sliding around all over the place in the seat" modes it definitely makes the blokart harder to sail.

Have you developed any specific techniques for sailing?
I would think that gybing and especially a downwind-to-upwind turn would be the most challenging (?)

Cheers,

Geoff S.

The foot bar extension is what you have to work with when racing. If you want to just have fun, you can do whatever you want.

I have only worked to keep a slight bend in my knees. when my legs go straight, I get off balance. I need to have a slight bend in my knees. That gives my hips some flexibility when I rotate my upper body. Most people would not notice this because thy have mobility.

The Blokart (like the 2.4mR) is a true cross-over event that allows a disabled sailor to compete in a 99.9999999999% level playing field...................If you are up to the task.

See you at Ivanpah