Mike Brown, owner of a Super Star, and Super Fun compares foam with Happy Feet

October 26, 2005

Hey Eric,

I’m sure this is not too high on the priority list
right now, but it may be worthwhile to do a remedial Happy Feet primer
when you have a chance, I’ve seen some posts about replacing with foam
and even know of 2 people who did that in PPWC. Maybe something along
the lines of a comparison to happy feet and foam. Here are some points
of comparison, I see.

Foam

Pros

1. Can cut to preferred foot position both to brace
against and fit position in boat for fore to aft fit.

2. Stable

Cons

1. Cannot change foot position once cut

2. Cannot adjust fore and aft to tighten or loosen

HF

1. Can adjust beans to preferred foot position, same
as foam. Should emphasize option to use as bulkhead to push against rather
than creating foot pocket.

2. Can change foot position (foot bed) with quick adjustment

3. Can adjust fore and aft with air bladder from the
cockpit

4. Stable platform when properly placed in boat

5. Can fit most any boat, compress to nothing so no
question about not having enough room in the bow for them.

Cons

1. Not intuitive, user must know to set foot position
and evacuate air to lock in place

2. Can cause numbness if you use a pocket and don’t
have enough room in the pocket. Personally I use the bulkhead approach
and set the beans for the angle I want to hold my feet (heels together
toes at about 45 degrees out.

Bottom line, HF can do everything that foam can do
and offers additional benefits of adjustment for foot position and fore
and aft, all cons with HF can be traced to user knowledge and can be overcome.
There is no logical reason for foam over HF. The right education can go
a long ways. I think the bulkhead use vs. the pocket for feet is a key
point to make in your instructions.

Great news about the house, I’m really happy for all
of you, sure you’ll love it.

Cheers,

Mike