: Make the seat about the width of your butt. You don't need a seat that is as
: wide as your boat or narrower than your butt! Sit against a wall. Hold a
: piece of thin plywood next to your other cheek. Make a tape mark on the
: floor. This is how wide you should make your seat. 18" or so in
: length is nice for giving you ample material to have under-thigh support.

: Carve the top of the foam to fit your butt. When the boat is done, carve the
: bottom of the foam to fit your boat.

in the romany... a high end fibrglass boat... there is a seat that is less then 12 inches long. I have paddled that boat all day "8 or more hours" and I had no problems... you just need somthing that is the right shape... and doesn't have any pressure points.... I'v read stuff about having a seat push up on the bottom of your thighs or behind your butt... and the fact that they make your legs falla asleep very quikly... you should make a custom formed fibreglass seat if you want it to be VERY comfortable. it's also not that expensive to sit in a box of sand then make a plaster mold out of it. then you can lay up the seat in the perfect shape. you can also sculpt perfectly fitting hip pads and mabe even a back support.

: Make sure the cheekplates are wide enough for your rear-end. You can always
: shim the surface in a bit with thin slabs of minicell, or commercial
: whitewater hip pads.

: Definitely don't go too short--the more under-thigh support you can provide,
: the more time you will be able to bear (and enjoy) being in your boat.

: Shawn

: Check out this link: this article was published in Sea Kayaker mag. about 2
: years ago.