17'Jensen solo seat placement?

Hi Everyone,



I’m looking for general suggestions / recommendations for center seat placement on a Wenonah 17’Jensen for solo paddling. I’m 6’1"/175lbs and accustomed to paddling a wider boat. I do plan on experimenting with load placement, seating position, etc, however any input from those with experience would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks, Jason






solo seat placement
My Jensen 17 has a solo seat. the front edge of the bucket is 1" behind the back side of the carry yoke. I thought it was funny looking when I bought it, but it works well for me. The yoke is mounted on spacers that lower it into a nice transition from the seat. It ends up supporting the back of my thighs comfortably above the knee.

Thanks for the info.
Agree that set-up would seem strange at first glance. I like to kneel on occasion and not sure if the additional thickness of the yoke would push me too far forward. Will definitely try experimenting paddling from that location before permanently mounting the seat. Thanks again!

Why not install a
Carriyoke. This is what Mad River used to hold the center seat in several of their canoes. The seat is at an angle & has a removable yoke with a place to store the yoke when not needed.



I recently installed Carriyoke brackets in my Mad River 17’ Explorer. The center seat I installed is a contoured cane seat. It was simple to install plus it has the benefit of the yoke.



My friend has a has a Mad River 17’ Malecite with the Carriyoke center seat (30th anniversary special). I wanted to install one in my Explorer. I contacted Mad River about the center seat bracket & they no longer had them. I asked Ed’s Canoe about it & they said it was called a Carriyoke & they were the company that had made them for Mad River. They said they hadn’t made any in years & they would try to find the tooling they used to make them. They got back to me & said the found the tooling & could make me a pair of Carriyokes for $22.50. I also ordered a yoke & a contoured cane seat from them. Ed’s canoe makes beautiful stuff. They seem to sell to most of the canoe manufacturers. Their website: http://www.edscanoe.com (Talk to Pam}.


Jim

Saddle?
We’ve a Jensen 18… and I’ve solo paddled it (ok, generally with very young daughter occasionally “helping”) far more than I’ve paddled it tandem. After much experimentation, I settled on paddling from an off-centre, rather high saddle with my knees tucked under the yoke - which allows me to lift the off-side rail a little with my knee when wanting to turn.



At 6’ tall, I can just about manage a central position for a short period, but it’s hard work: I prefer to move over to one side and stop worrying about the off-side.



Leaving the saddle loose in the canoe means I can move aft if that helps with the trim, or relocate to the opposite chine to work the muscles differently / for a change of perspective - and allows me to ditch it completely and just move around on the mat if I want to heel further and play about with shortening the waterline length / wetted surface area.