My wife and I both have bad knees, with
several surgeries each (about 10 years ago, my orthopaedist suggested I

find a new hobby). These days we paddle very easy whitewater (II, some
III), but I like a manuverable boat to play in. For solo we each have
old XL-3's with the old Perception saddles. Despite all the drawbacks
of that saddle design, it gives a comfortable (if high) seat for all
the stretches in between the rapids. Only problem is I can't kneel
anywhere near as low as I used to be able to in order to use the thigh
braces, but they meet our needs, as I can just move back a bit and use
a high kneel and ignore the thigh brace section.


For when one of us tandems with my son, I'd like to sell my ancient
Blue Hole 17A and get a nice, short tandem playboat. Problem is, I'd
like to outfit it for both fairly high kneeling position AND for at
least as much sitting as kneeling.


Am I dreaming? Do I see about just trying to outfit with actual seats,

knee pads, and thigh braces (is this even an option for something like
a Esquif Vertige X or an XL or Probe 14)?


Can a relatively high pedestal work for kneeling? for sitting? If so,

how high?


Are any off the shelf pedestals good for long periods of sitting? Can
they be successfully customized?


Any thoughts, ideas, or better yet, successful experience? There must
be a number of us aging boomer open-boaters out there.