I've had my Northstar Phoenix about 3 weeks and after paddling it six times I decided to try kneeling. It currently has the sitting drops that are 4 1/2 inches, making it too tight to get my feet under while keeping my head over the water. Northstar has kneeling drops that are 2 inches in front and 1 inch in the back. I didn't want to spend money on drops I may not use so I mocked up a set up out of poplar I had on hand.
I removed the sitting drops and used them to make a template:
Looking at the Northstar kneeling drops online, I sketched a similar profile:
I cut the poplar piece in half, transferred the template to one and stacked the pieces, using 3/4" brads to secure the pieces for cutting:
Measuring the hole locations in the gunwales and seat, I found they were different spacing (8" vs 8 1/4"). I marked the gunwale locations on top of the drop (before drilling):
Then marked the seat hole locations on the bottom of the drop (before drilling):
I connected the top and bottom hole locations to get the drilling angle:
I clamped the drop to a piece of wood for securing to the drill press, used a square to ensure the drill line was vertical:
The holes lined up fairly well but during assembly I found the seat rear crossbraces were too wide and hit the hull before drawing tight to the drop. I cut about 1/4" off each side and I went together after that:
Completed drops installed. Test sitting, I seem to be able to get my feet in and out fairly well. There is just under 10" of space under the seat. The seat height and angle are comfortable. The next test will be on the water to see if I like the kneeling position for paddling, how long I can sustain it (uncooperative lower legs), and if the new height for sitting feels too unstable to me. If I decide to keep them I'll disassemble them and varnish the drops and seat crossbrace cuts. If I go back to the sitting drops I'll still varnish and add them to the boating stuff collection. If the poplar doesn't hold up over time I'll pick up some walnut and redo them:
I removed the sitting drops and used them to make a template:
Looking at the Northstar kneeling drops online, I sketched a similar profile:
I cut the poplar piece in half, transferred the template to one and stacked the pieces, using 3/4" brads to secure the pieces for cutting:
Measuring the hole locations in the gunwales and seat, I found they were different spacing (8" vs 8 1/4"). I marked the gunwale locations on top of the drop (before drilling):
Then marked the seat hole locations on the bottom of the drop (before drilling):
I connected the top and bottom hole locations to get the drilling angle:
I clamped the drop to a piece of wood for securing to the drill press, used a square to ensure the drill line was vertical:
The holes lined up fairly well but during assembly I found the seat rear crossbraces were too wide and hit the hull before drawing tight to the drop. I cut about 1/4" off each side and I went together after that:
Completed drops installed. Test sitting, I seem to be able to get my feet in and out fairly well. There is just under 10" of space under the seat. The seat height and angle are comfortable. The next test will be on the water to see if I like the kneeling position for paddling, how long I can sustain it (uncooperative lower legs), and if the new height for sitting feels too unstable to me. If I decide to keep them I'll disassemble them and varnish the drops and seat crossbrace cuts. If I go back to the sitting drops I'll still varnish and add them to the boating stuff collection. If the poplar doesn't hold up over time I'll pick up some walnut and redo them:
