So excited and so annoyed (How I'm almost a kayak owner)

[OakLeaf]

That's funny - I'm 5'3" and my Tsunami 145 is huge on me. To the point where I wish I'd gotten a different boat, even though I really like the ride. There are a lot of holes for the thigh braces, but they can only actually be set a little over halfway back, which is where I have them. I have a choice between holding my elbows really high, or constantly bashing my knuckles on the gunwales when I paddle. I tried sitting on an old life vest to boost me up, which made my upper body a WHOLE lot more comfortable, but it was really weird on my legs.

Anyway - bummer about having to wait, but hope you love the boat!

[Cataboo]

Oakleaf - It's possibly a difference in torso length, but the tsuami 145 is made for larger paddlers, while the tsunami 135 that NoNo bought isn't. Maybe try a narrower boat- it does sound like yours is big on you. I don't go beyond a 21.5 inch wide boat partly for that reason. The tsunami 135 is 23" inches wide, while the tsunami 145 is 24.5" wide.

But you can get some minicell padding and pad out your boat to make it a bit more comfortable - some padding under your knees to hold your legs into position will help with the thigh braces being in the wrong place. You basically just rubber cement the stuff into the kayak. You can either get padding and cut it/shape it to fit, or they sell knee padding.

How long is your paddle? In that wide of a boat & your size, you pretty much need to do a relaxed low angle technique and need a longer paddle to do it. Playing with your paddle & technique might stop you from banging your fingers. Do you keep anything on your deck? I basically keep a minimum of stuff on my front deck for that reason, I have a high angle technique that brings my hands really close to the front of the deck and I hit anything that I keep up there. If I really want to take pictures, I put my pelican case with my dslr up there but realize that I'm gonna be swearing at it every few minutes when I hit it.

As for bringing your elbows up high - Do not bring your elbows or your wrists above the height of your shoulders. That's a good recipe for dislocating your shoulder. So do keep your wrists & elbows underneath shoulder height (you probably already know that, but a lot of people dislocate their shoulders paddling if the boat pitches against them or whatever when they're in a bad position)

Does the tsunami have the same barcalounger type seat as the tempest does? Where there are straps that you can pull on in the front to bring the front of the seat upwards? You can do that to help support your thighs - the other nice thing to do there is to go ahead and stash a hydration bladder under the front part of the seat, it pitches your legs upwards and supports them. I do that when I'm going on multiday paddling trips and need to put several bladders of water in my boat. But padding underneath to pitch the front of the seat upwards would help.

A PFD might be too thick, but if you get 1-1.5 inch minicell padding or something like that, you could put a thin layer on the seat to boost you upwards - just remember if you lift your seat, you are lifting your center of gravity somewhat higher and it does affect how the boat feels.

Minicell doesn't absorb water and I'm sure there's some other reason everyone uses it for padding out kayaks.

[NoNo]

Catriona - Thanks for all the great ideas! I'll have to think about a spray skirt over the next week and decide if I want to add it to the list. How useful would one of those wheel things be to get the kayak from the car to the water? There are two bulkheads, so that's not an issue. I already have a mid-sized sil-sac, so that will do for now. I have a small multitool, but it's not ocean-specific (didn't know that existed - very cool!).

Oak - Like I said, I sat in the Necky Looksha and immediately felt the difference in the same areas you're describing. The 145 is probably even worse, as it's meant for larger people. Sounds like I'll be able to avoid the issues you're having, and I'm thankful he pointed this boat out to me. They both have the Phase 3 seats, which does have the seat height adjustment string.

Good news! Dad got the Hullavator installed

[Cataboo]

kayak cart - mine's more of a pain in the neck than it's worth to use - I used it when I had a 70 lb tandem that I couldn't carry on my shoulder. If you can't carry your boat on your shoulder, then get a kayak cart

I have one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/InStep-17-CC40.../dp/B001HCITHG

If the wheels get stuck on something, the kayak tends to topple off of it - then I have to go back and put it back on it, etc. etc.

I do tend to park as close to the water as I can - but I can carry up to a 60 lb kayak or so on my shoulder for a reasonable distance.

[Zen]

So what are you supposed to do with the cart when you get to the water? Hope no one steals it?

[kmehrzad]

Hide it in the bushes.

[Cataboo]

I usually walk it back & put it into the car.

They do fold up & the wheels come off them - so you can put them in your kayak or strap them to your kayak if you want to take the cart with you to do portages or something.