River Elf C-1 User manual

C-1 Outfitting Selection Guide
1/14
General Information:
At River Elf, we offer our boats for sale with various options
regarding outfitting. We utilize á la carte pricing on our
website to give you some control of the cost and determine
how much additional work you will have left to do once
your boat arrives. Use this guide to help you decide which
options are right for you.
You can purchase our C-1’s “empty” which include only the
following essential elements already installed: cockpit rim,
grab loops, minicell pillars, carbon pillar guides, carbon bow
shock absorber, and security ring. No outfitting is included.
This is our cheapest option and essentially leaves you, the
buyer, with a “blank canvas” onto which you do all of the
parts sourcing, outfitting, and customization yourself.
Our most expensive option is a “fully outfitted” boat. With
this selection, you choose from our menu of components
and we do all of the outfitting for you. Your boat is almost
ready to go upon arrival. The only thing left for you to do is
to make some minor customizations (adding or subtracting
some foam here or there) to get a tight but comfortable
custom fit.
© 2019 –River Elf LLC. All Rights Reserved

Most of our customers choose something in between an
“empty” boat and a “fully outfitted” boat. This allows you
to choose the parts and installation options that make the
most sense to you (from a cost perspective). It also reflects
the reality that some outfitting is best left done by the end
user to ensure a perfect custom fit to your body. Detailed,
step-by-step, installation instructions are available on our
website for all of our self-install parts.
One of the advantages of composites over plastic boats is
that it is very easy to permanently add outfitting parts,
loops, straps, etc. to the inside of your boat without having
to drill through the hull. With care and patience, you can
quickly become adept at using composite materials and
learn to customize your boat in a very sophisticated manner.
Finally, If you are new to composite boats, you may want to
revisit your current approach to outfitting and what you
consider necessary. Customize your boat to fit your body.
Think about weight minimization. Experiment. Find what
works for you.
Use the following guide to help you decide how you will
approach your outfitting and which River Elf components
are right for you.
2/14
© 2019 –River Elf LLC. All Rights Reserved

Seat Options:
We offer a foam pedestal seat and a composite pedestal
seat as options for our C-1’s. Normally, we recommend
using a foam seat as it allows more “give” in the hull. Our
composite pedestal is better suited for slalom or freestyle
boats with very stiff hulls. Our seats are available as
uninstalled parts (with instructions for self-install available
on our website). We can also do a factory install for you at
an additional cost.
We recommend positioning the back stop of your seat 1”
from the back inside edge of the cockpit rim for both the
S-M and the L-XL versions of the Storm Chaser. This is the
ideal position for most paddlers.
We also recommend fitting your seat into the stern of the
boat, well under the deck, and cutting a notch in it. This will
help hold the pillar in place and provide additional vertical
support to the deck and hull.
With care, you can shape and curve the foam that lies just
under the cockpit rim and stern deck such that the seat and
notch walls form a continuous foam column from the hull
up to the underside of the deck. This is particularly useful
for those who like to sit on their deck when on the shore as
it provides additional support to the boat.
3/14
© 2019 –River Elf LLC. All Rights Reserved

We can also ship the boat without a seat and you can create
one using your own foam.
As an example, one of our customers created their own
custom seat (shown below) which fits into the boat using
friction. Notice how the foam was carefully shaped to
create a notch for the pillar and was elaborately curved at
the top to fit perfectly under the deck of the Storm Chaser.
4/14
our standard 6” foam pedestal installed
Seat height is generally a choice of personal preference.
Higher seats offer better comfort and more reach while
lower seats provide for improved stability. The Storm
Chaser can be outfitted with either. Something in the range
of 5-8 inches is typical. Unless otherwise requested, we
normally ship factory installed seats at 6”. Let us know if
you want something different when ordering.
© 2019 –River Elf LLC. All Rights Reserved

5/14
photo courtesy Rick Bryan
photo courtesy Rick Bryan

6/14
Foam Foot Pads:
Neoprene foam foot pads are available for our boats. These
provide insulation and cushioning for the tops of your feet
and can be cut and installed to fit flush up against the
tapered sides of any of our seats.
© 2019 –River Elf LLC. All Rights Reserved

Hip Blocks:
We highly recommend installing a set of hip blocks in your
Storm Chaser C-1. Hip blocks help lock you into your boat
providing subtle directional control and more powerful
forward propulsion. We offer three different styles of hip
blocks on our website but our low profile hip blocks
generally work best with the Storm Chaser. Instructions are
available on our website for those who want to have final
say so on installed position and don’t mind tackling the job
themselves. However, in most cases, proper hip block
location is generally a function of seat position and thus can
be done as a factory install.
Although rigid, permanently installed, hip blocks impart
superior connection and control, those who choose not to
add them to their order, might want to consider installing
some well crafted foam and/or custom composite supports
to achieve a similar feel.
7/14
© 2019 –River Elf LLC. All Rights Reserved

Securing the Thighs and Knees:
There are a number of ways to secure your thighs and knees
inside a C-1 and differ from user to user based on body size
and personal preference. Our standard offerings are strap
anchors and knee cups.
8/14
Although we can do a factory install of your strap anchors,
we strongly recommend that you do this job yourself and
offer a kit with everything needed. Detailed installation
instructions are available on our website.
© 2019 –River Elf LLC. All Rights Reserved

Our knee cups are generally shipped with squared outside
edges. This means that you will have to custom cut/shape
the outside wall of each knee cup to fit the inside chine
walls of your Storm Chaser. For an additional charge, we
will do this prep work for you (note: we aim not to “over
carve” the outside walls so it may still be necessary for you
to do some final minor customization to seat the knee cups
exactly where you want them). Finally, the knee cups must
be glued into position by the end user to ensure a correct
fit.
We offer detailed installation instructions on our website for
prepping the squared knee cups and for final gluing.
9/14
example of “prepped” knee cups ready to be installed
© 2019 –River Elf LLC. All Rights Reserved

A good rule of thumb to consider when outfitting your
Storm Chaser C-1 is to approach it as if you were outfitting
an open canoe.
The Storm Chaser is a high volume C-1 and as such, the
cockpit rim sits higher on the boat than in a slalom or other
low volume craft. For this reason, most paddlers can’t use
the cockpit rim to help lock themselves into the boat.
Because of this, some of our customers have opted to use
an additional set of straps (or a single three-point strap on
each side) to help hold them in when the boat is upside
down. Often, 1” straps near the knees are all that’s
required. This is particularly useful for boats with high seats
(greater than 6”) or those without hip blocks.
In lieu of knee cups, some of our customers choose to
create and install a foam bulkhead with cut outs for the
knees and a thin layer of foam on the hull for cushioning. A
bulkhead can be used with or without straps depending on
setup and preference. At this time, we do not sell a foam
bulkhead system though plans are in the works to offer a
well designed lightweight alternative in the near future.
Contact us to inquire regarding current availability.
Finally, other means of outfitting include fully integrated,
seat and bulkhead systems. Both composite and foam
versions are often found in modern slalom C-1’s but are not
offered through our website. 10/14
© 2019 –River Elf LLC. All Rights Reserved

Employing double straps in a knee cup outfitting system:
11/14
© 2019 –River Elf LLC. All Rights Reserved

A beautifully designed and executed customer outfitting
system that employs a foam bulkhead. This boat was
shipped empty except for factory installed hip blocks.
12/14
photo courtesy Rick Bryan
photo courtesy Rick Bryan

Stern Shock Absorber:
Included in all of our boats is a carbon bow shock absorber.
The shock absorber serves two purposes. It locks the front
of the bow pillar into place and provides a rigid support
during extreme impact. The shock absorber is affixed to the
underside of the deck and “floats” where it contacts the
hull. This allows the hull to flex during minor impact. In the
case of extreme impact, the shock absorber will engage fully
with the hull surface and transfer the impact energy into
the deck providing a rigid support to the boat beyond that
available with a minicell pillar alone.
13/14
© 2019 –River Elf LLC. All Rights Reserved

We normally do not include a shock absorber in the stern of
our C-1’s. A notched seat that fits back into the stern and is
carefully crafted to provide continuous contact from the hull
surface to the underside of the deck is sufficient to hold the
pillar in place. It also provides additional support to the
stern during extreme impact. If the seat you intend to use
does neither, then you might consider having us add a shock
absorber to the stern of your boat.
Our shock absorbers are not available for self-install.
14/14
© 2019 –River Elf LLC. All Rights Reserved