This is great—so many of you have been helpful as I shop for my first road bike. Now I can return the favor with something I know a bit about!

LPH, it sounds like you’re having fun with your new boat—fabulous. What now feels “tippy” will soon feel “playful” and “responsive,” so be psyched about your purchase.( I think a lot of people buy slow, ultra-stable boats—which is just fine—but soon grow bored of them as they get more comfortable in the sport.) It’s not so different than cycling—performance often equals skittish when you’re starting out.

As for turning, a narrow boat with a fair amount of vee in the hull (the “tippy” part) will turn just fine, you just need to get accustomed to using your hips as well as your paddle. As OakLeaf noted, your boat probably has better secondary stability than primary stability. Don’t be afraid to lean it on edge a bit. The vee in your hull is designed to help the boat track straight, so you need to get it off that vee to turn it well. But I still love the name Plank…

And that gets back to your comments about thigh braces and general fitting. You want to be rather tight in your boat—as paddlers say, you wear a boat, you don’t sit in it. Properly fit, thigh braces will splay your legs out to the side and hold you in place along your inner thigh. And as you mention, good old foam is great for custom-fitting. I use some alongside both hips, as well as under my thighs. That helps my legs from falling asleep when I paddle for extended periods.

Whew, sorry about the long post! Hope that helps and that you’re getting great time on the water.