NRS Pennel Orca Footcups

A:

Very personal.  Most foot cups around are installed in too much of a "sit on
your butt" position for my taste.  I prefer a more agressive stance with only
one foot cup, other foot behind me, weight more on feet than butt.  Take it out
for a season, then decide.

A:

I have a 1999 Otter 130 and when I installed foot cups there were a couple of key variables I considered; Whether you have two or three thwarts and are you combining the thwart and foot cup for a two foot hold? I have three thwarts and the first row uses a cup for their outer foot and the thwart for their inner foot. The second row uses a cup for their inner foot while using the thwart in front of them for their outer foot. Third row the same as the second row. (when I say inner foot that means that if you are sitting on the right side then that would be your left foot and vise versa) That accounts for six, then in the back I have two cups for the guide angled towards the back. If someone joins me in the back, then we sit off to the sides and rely solely on the thwart in front of us (but I suppose one could add two more cups in the back angled the same as rows two and three). I don't usually run 8 unless we are on class II/III water. The above will
make more sense once you have two of your paddlers sit in the boat (with their river footwear on) to find the right spot. My front paddlers are very aggressive and will sit different than the other paddlers. You also need to make sure that their foot can be retracted easily so that you don't have any trapped paddlers.
 
The Otter 130 was a good choice. Very agile and cuts through the waves (not over) and drains very fast. Your paddlers get a lot of full body wave action, great for those warmer months. I have had my boat since 2000, still going strong and love it!
 
I hope this helps.

A:

I wish I had one. What I did was have my paddler sit in the boat and place their feet where they were most comfortable and stable, then marked it with a sharpy.