The Ultimate foot block.

Start with a 3x12x12 square. On the leading front edge (indicated by dotted line "B") place a pail on top of the block and trace it. A 1 gallon paint can is adequate but the bigger the better, even a 5 gallon pail is good for tracing because you want a slow curve that will allow most of the pressure to be on your heels and not your toes. This is very critical to your comfort and needs your attention. Your ultimate goal is to have all your support go through your bone structure and not through your muscles as is the case when you count on your toes for support. For the distance "A" on a 5'11" tall person with typical size 9 feet you will want around 11". For a taller 6'1" paddler you will want 5.5". The most accurate way to get this measurement is to sit in the empty boat and mark the bottom of the boat where your heels come together then get out and measure from the tip of the boat to your mark.

The block as viewed from the front tip of the boat direction. The cut "C"is 33 degrees if you are fortunate enough to have a bandsaw. If you are long legged this is the only bevel you will need at the tip. If you are regular height (5'11") you will make a similar cut to "c" on the top to match the curve of the boat. For all heights you will need to make the cut "B" to match the curve of boat near the tip.

Now to kick it up a notch take a look at the black lines in this picture. Where the solid line is indicated you want to cut all of this out. This will make your toes hang around the edge and actually be dangling free. Where the dotted black line is you want to make a beveled cut on the top edge. This will match the ergomomics of your foot a little better and will especially make more room of you use booties and do not paddle with naked feet.