We are new to kayaking and just bought the 65N tandem. Where should the 260 lb person sit relative to the 140 person— front or rear? Does it make a difference?
It is better for the kayak to be light
in the bow rather than bow heavy. But that weight discrepancy is serious. Do the seats adjust? Can you carry enough day gear in the bow to get the boat trimmed near level?
Bring some extra weight!
I paddle a 14’ tandem with my 4 year old son. I’m 2-something-something and his weight is hardly worth mentioning. I want to sit in the stern position to be able to keep an eye on him, which means the bow should stick way out of the water. I can overcome that, however, with some extra weight strategically placed. I put a 50lb bag of sand in the bow and push it as far forward as I can, then slide the footpegs forward which keeps the sand bag from sliding back. This weight difference is enough to make the kayak pretty easy to handle.
Obviously you’ve got different weight to balance, but a bag of sand may be exactly the trick you need to balance the two of you, regardless of where you sit.