Disabled Adventurers
227 Tennyson St., Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 (805) 427-1128 Mark@DisabledAdventurers.com
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Disabled Adventurers 227 Tennyson St., Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 (805) 427-1128 Mark@DisabledAdventurers.com |
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This simple, yet elegant solution utilizes an easily attainable 24-Inch by 1-Inch wide Velcro Cinch Strap that I bought from McMaster-Carr. Their part number is 3955T354, and you can find it by entering this number on their web page at www.McMaster.com. The price is $9.54 for a package of 5, and you can specify any one of 6 colors! The Cinch Strap can be applied over the paddler's gloves and should be tightened only as tight as is comfortable for the paddler. The paddle is prepared in the same way as discussed below for my GLOVE design, except that it will be the Hook side that gets taped to the paddle. Remember to leave only the amount of the Hook-side patch exposed on the paddle that is necessary to hold the paddler's hand onto the paddle shaft, yet that will allow the paddler to pull free if needed. |
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I cut the fingers clean off and sewed an elastic band all the way around the opening that was left at the base of the fingers. On the back side of this elastic band I added some Velcro tabs such that the opening could be quite wide while the glove was being put on, then snugged up with the Velcro. I sewed the Hook-side of a fairly large Velcro patch to the palm of the glove. In actuality, this patch could be somewhat smaller than shown, however I control the contact area by taping over part of the Mesh-side Velcro patch that I also tape onto the paddle shaft. For the paddle, the Mesh-side Velcro patch should be a large enough piece to allow both ends to be taped down very securely to the paddle. A little eperimentation with the glove on will show you how much of the paddle-side patch to tape over in order to obtain the optimum release strength. You want the paddler's hand to be held nicely in place on the paddle, but you also want the paddler to be able to pull free of the paddle in case of a roll-over.  One innovation shown in the picture above is the simple addition of a padded PVC pipe that is secured just at the leading edge of the seat pad. Note that my newest seat fixture design eliminates the need for this as a separate item. This pipe effectively deepens the seat-pocket and does a great job of ensuring the paddler does not slide forward and off of the seat-pad. It keeps the paddler seated more upright (as much as desired by the paddler), allowing the seat-back and sides to provide a greater level of support. This simple device will almost certainly be a regular addition whenever we outfit any paraplegic or quadriplegic paddler with this original seat design in the future.
paddling braces that appear to be a perfect compliment to my paddling fixtures! Click on the ToteGear logo above-left to see more! I'll be evaluating them at our next event... Stay tuned for the report! |
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