on Altered I have one footstrap at front of back beam, which I use for 8-12 kt. with spin. Then another one right at back of boat for 12 kts plus. I sometimes use the front strap for front foot when I am using back strap if balance feels right. After all I am a sailboarder also, so am used to the TOES of both feet in straps .
The front strap is sailboard, the back strap is stiff rope with flexible PVC tube, with single bolt through rope it allows it to swivel, bend out of way of tiller. As transom is very narrow on Altered this is essential.
On windsurf boards, straps that are loose enough to let more than the toes through are the best way to avoid breaking feet/ankles. Also, many people make them tight enough that you have to "wiggle" your foot in since if the foot goes in too easily at first then all it takes is a few wave slaps for the foot to work it's way in too far. Footstraps also loosen up a fair bit when wet so a good fit when dry may be too big when wet. If only your toes are captive, then even falling off the back (between the hulls) as GA did shouldn't cause you to break a foot or ankle. However, on a windsurf board the feet are planted on the top of the board (with the heel draped slightly over the rail). I (and most people I know) usually trap with the foot bottom/heel over the side of the boat (although I don't yet sail with a spi so I don't trap that far back). So my question is - when you are that far back it looks like you are angled back as much as out and in this position is your foot bottom generally on the deck more than on the side of the hull? The reason I'm asking is that in placing footstraps the question is not just how far back to place them but also how far in on the deck from the side of the hull - if you want to keep your heels on the side of the hull I don't see how you could place the straps very far from the outer side of the deck. Finally, although "toe only" foostrap adjustment may work for windsurfers, I'm still not sure that can be done on catamarans since it might depend on how the hull and deck are shaped on the sterns (unless your feet are always placed flat on the deck back there).
Regarding chicken line setup, just a couple of quick question - what kind of hook do most people use - a mini carabiner (with a gate to keep the trap line captive) or an open hook (I haven't seen these in marine stores, so if so, what kind)? Also, do you hook the dogbone or other equivalent hardware (no miss etc) or something else?
One more footstrap question: After reading all these posts it seems that some people use a single footstrap for their front foot and others use a single footstrap for their rear foot - so which is best?
Jerry
Re: Footstraps
[Re: rbj]
#68483 03/22/0605:39 AM03/22/0605:39 AM
my footstraps are on the deck as close to the side as possible. I would always use the strap for my back foot if there is only one, I only put front foot in strap if there are two. I am old sailboarder so toes only is my setup, some how this still works with feet over the side. As you say when you stand back you trap higher, so I think most of the weight is on the ball of the foot, none on the heel over the edge.
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