Hi Shaun !Very interesting topic.I think every system has different purpose.For k1 tiler is better,because You don't need to steer too quickly and You need to push very hard with your legs which is better possible on tiler system. Does not matter how long You paddle.On surf ski the paddler needs to steer very quickly in response to catch the waves.The other issue is the hump which prevents the full body rotation.I am novice in surf ski, but by the my logic. if the tiler system was better for surf ski ,Greg Barton and Oscar Chalupski would make their skis with tiler.And the ICF kayaks would use pedals.Manny years ago some sprint kayak companies experimented with pedals and give up the idea.Personally , I would like surf ski without hump, k1 footrest with small pedals on the top and k1 seat in the bucket. The extra water!? The extra water is gonna keep the surf ski low and help me not to swim too often!

the footstrap gets in the way of the setup a bit but I think you can see how it works.

take 2

take 3

Thanks everyone for the quick replies. While I know that the idea of a sprint K-1 is that you shouldn't be stearing all the time, but I think it is the whitewater slalom racer in me that wants to be always correcting, and when I paddle tiller equipt boats, they drive me crazy because they don't let me. Xpat, your set-up sounds like what I would want to install if I ever do get a tiller equipt K-1. I have never seen that on a K-1 in the states.

Nell, thanks a lot for your post, it was very helpfull in many ways. As I posted before, I am also a slalom kayak racer, where I am constantly making corrections. I think that is the reason that I like the pedals because I am always wanting to be making small corrections. Also, I never thought about using the more contact points of a ski to help in what you are loosing from being relatively loose in a K-1. That put a lot of things into perspective for me.

Also, I looked into a Mohican. I might want to see if I can find one close to demo before I make up my mind on a boat. Looks like it could be what I am looking for.

Just another thought. I push with the balls of my feet in my K1 because my feet have to be angled more to fit under the deck. I don't think there is any difference in force applied when compared to heel pushing on the ski.