Outfitting your Dagger kayak

With spring right around the corner here in the southeast and rain in the forecast I thought I’d share a bit about outfitting your Dagger kayak. The great thing about Dagger’s outfitting is that it strikes a nice balance of being functional but still very easy to adjust and set up. To outfit my new boat in its entirety usually takes me between 10-20 minutes and then I have a boat that’s fully customized to me. We’ll take this in stages starting with:

Seat

Dagger makes two types of seats. The first is the play seat which comes in the Agent, Axiom, and Mamba (unless you special order the creek seat in the Mamba). This seat is very easy to adjust, simply unscrew the yellow wingnuts at the front and back of the seat, lift up, and the seat will slide forward and back (remember to screw the wingnuts back on).

If you are unsure of where to put your seat start in the middle and then adjust from there as you paddle your kayak. Don’t be afraid to change your seat position around, sometimes it takes a bit to find the best one for you. Also in your outfitting kit you’ll notice a plastic wedge with a bolt coming out the top. This is a seat raiser, used to help hold your legs into the thighbraces. To use it just lift the front of the seat up and slide it under the bottom, remembering to screw the yellow wingnut back onto the bolt.

I highly recommend trying this, it provides better control and comfort.

The creek seat, due to its sturdiness, takes just a bit more time to move. For this reason I usually paddle my Nomad or Mamba a bit before moving the seat (in other words make sure you need to before you do it). First you want to completely unscrew the bolt that connects the front of the seat to the center pillar (take care not to lose it the center wall cavity).

Second loosen but do not completely unscrew the bolts on the sides of the cockpit (these connect the seat to the boat).

Before moving the seat knock the bolts back down flush with the boat by hitting the top of your screwdriver with your palm.

Move the seat to the desired location, keeping in mind to line the front of the seat up with the pre-existing recessed nuts. Retighten and bolt everything.

Backband

Start by unbuckling the straps that attach the back of the backband to the cockpit in order to allow the full range of movement while adjusting.

Next position the rachet system so that it’s near but not at the front of the teeth. Now reach behind the backband and pull on the plastic tabs on either side.

This will move the backband forward, stop when the backband is centered over the back of the seat.

At this point you can re-buckle the straps that attach the backband to the back of the cockpit. You don’t need to make these super tight, allow a little slack. Now sit in your boat and use the ratchets to move the backband forward into a comfortable position. You want the ratchet to be about half way down the teeth when you have the backband where you want it.

If its too far forward or back adjust on the back of the backband accordingly. All set, to get out just release the ratchets.

At this point you no longer have to use the adjustment behind the seat, you can get all the movement you need from the ratchets.

Hippads

Loosen the straps that hold the hippad to the side of the seat. Tip: Don’t take them all the way out:)

Now pull the hippad off of the Velcro and add foam shims to the pocket on the back until you reach the desired thickness.

Re-velcro and pull the attachment strap tight. One note, as you re-velcro make sure that you locate the hippads high enough so that the bump on the front is on top of your thigh and in front of your hip. This will help keep your legs from falling asleep.

Bulkhead

Check this link out for the up to date set-up for your bulkhead:

http://www.dagger.com/pages/index/customer_service/instructions/bul...

Now you’re all set for some paddling adventures! Have fun, stay safe and see you on the rivers. Don’t forget if you’re having issues with any of your outfitting you can ask questions in the discussion area of the website.

Tags: Dagger, Outfitting, backband, bulkhead, foam, hippads, kayak, moving, seats

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Comment by Andrew Holcombe on August 19, 2010 at 6:52pm: I haven't spoken with Eric this year yet. I know he's had a great time the past couple of years. I imagine it'll come down to time and money for him:)

Comment by Greg Loftus on August 18, 2010 at 8:49pm: Donyou yhink the \french Paddler with the pink helmet will race again this year. He seemed to be enjoying the race

Comment by Andrew Holcombe on August 18, 2010 at 6:01pm: Good to hear! It's a fun race to watch for sure, start hiking early so you don't get stuck in the human traffic jam:) See you there

be safe
andrew

Comment by Greg Loftus on August 17, 2010 at 4:38pm: Thats great I will see if I can come and watch this year don't paddle well enough to enter yet but amorking on that.

Comment by Andrew Holcombe on August 17, 2010 at 9:09am: Hey Greg, I can't remember if the freefall ever came from the factory with a backband but I know that plenty of people have installed them in there. What you want to do is pay attention to the way the backband attaches to the kayak. I'm not sure you'll be able to use any of the ratchet type systems but I think that IR makes one that simply attaches to the back of the seat which should work for you. You can also check the Harmony products and see if there's one there along similar lines.

You bet I'm defending the Green Race:) Wouldn't miss it!

be safe
andrew

Comment by Greg Loftus on August 17, 2010 at 3:36am: I was wondering if the \freefall ever cme with a back band of some type . I would like one and may have to rig my own. Cheers greg
Are you defending the Green this year?

Comment by Andrew Holcombe on July 24, 2010 at 8:48am: Hey Derrick,
If the straps are slipping behind you (at the buckles on the back of the back band) you can either tie the excess strap off which keeps it from moving through the buckle. Also what has worked for me is contact cement (or spray glue) or duct tape on the loose end. Both of these provide a bit more resistance which did help with the slipping issue. Thanks and let me know if this answers your question

be safe
andrew

Comment by Derrick on July 23, 2010 at 9:43pm: Hey Andrew,

Is there anyway to shorten up the slack in the backband straps? When I paddle they tend to slip during the day on the river and I find myself tightening them up frequently.

Thanks,

derrick

Comment by Andrew Holcombe on April 23, 2010 at 10:13am: Hey Sam,
Yes it is possible to replace the flip-switch system to the ratchet. I think the easiest way to do that is to contact customer service either through the website or by phone. They should be able to set you up. It takes a bit of work but I know several folks have done it.

be safe
andrew

Comment by sam handwich on April 22, 2010 at 3:11pm: Thanks Andrew. The part I really wish I had from the creeker version is the ratcheting backband. Is it possible to replace the flip-switch system?