I also have the TT…
and after I got the boat I removed the portage yoke and added a kneeling thwart just behind center for solo paddling. But I ran into a problem. I wanted to sit some and kneel on the twart some, but since I sat with the boat backwards and kneeled on the thwart facing forward it was hard to switch while underway… as the boat whould become loaded wrong after I changed positions and turned the boat around.
Because of these problems, I realized I’d rather sit and hardley ever used the thwart so I recently took it out and put the portage yoke back.
The boat was just as rigid with either the thwart or the yoke so that wasn’t a problem. If I remimber I installed the thwart about 2 foot behind the yoke.
Seat height of the Navarro Seat/Yoke?
Hey WW what do you think of the Navarro system? Having the seat at Gunwale height? Would that cause a stability issue? The MR system drops it down a little but still not to a standard height for that boat.
Wenonah Prospector?
Is that a Wenonah Prospector you speak of. I’ve gotten limited feedback about that boat, I’m strongly considering buying one in the next couple of months. I’m comparing to the Bell Yellowstone Tandem and the OT Appalachian. Any input? I’d be buying Royalex and using it in up to Class III whitewater. Thanks. Dwayne
Stool for soloing
On long solo stretches, because my knees hurt or my legs went to sleep while kneeling, I started sitting on my tackle box, or whatever was at hand.
Then my 5-year-old son suggested that I use the small, wooden step stool he and his Mom made (about 10 inches high). I sit on it kind of like a bike saddle, but with both legs folded behind, so it looks like I’m still kneeling. Sometimes I switch to one leg folded back, the other out front, but always the stool under buns. I’ve never turned back.
In my long 17.5 tandem canoe, if alone, I can sit left or right, front or aft, wherever the best spot is to balance load, wind, waves, and my mood.
The only draw back is that when I’m really digging in, the stool can slide around. Putting the stool on a non-slip kneeling pad or jamming my knee(s) under the thwart/gunwale helps.
Cheers,
Geoff
Lucky I clicked on this thread
I had posted regarding the MR Power Rocker, but I’m getting some better ideas on this thread. I had more or less decided on a contoured ash/cane seat, which would allow the use of shorter hangers, but the argument for a flat seat to allow Canadian style paddling is a valid one.
One question though: Does anyone solo a MR Explorer RX from a dead center solo seat? How much drop in your hangers? Do you use single or double blades? (I have access to both).
Gee, paddling was so much simpler when we had fewer choices!
Jim
stool alternative
I have occasionally used my “lil Buddy” cooler as a paddling stool. It fits my torso almost perfectly for kneeling.
Paddling Mad River Explorer from center
I had a Royalex Explorer that I paddled from center, mostly white water, from 1975-1985. I removed the center thwart and replaced it with two thwarts, about 1.5’ front/back of center. Between them a saddle seat was constructed using 6-8" wide sheets of foam about 4" long, contact cemented together. The bottom of the block was given a slight “v” to conform to the bottom of the canoe (saddle seat also reduced oil canning). The top was notched to fit the thwarts and it was then wedged in. Then the top was shaped to be comfortable and thin foam was glued to bottom forming kneeling pads. I could squeeze saddle with knees to “attach” body to boat for power and could shift foward and back quite a bit for trim. Worked well for white water, would be overkill for crusing or recreational use.
Center Seat in 16’ Explorer
I put a center seat in my Explorer just back of center so that when I knelt with my but on the seat I was centered bow to stern. It’s a standard caned seat hung on drops from the gunnels. I used wing nuts to hold my portage thwart in place and removed it to use the seat. I typicaly paddled that with a single blade but used a double when it was windy.
I would not want a center seat that didn’t allow me to shift side to side. That’s a fairly wide boat to have to reach out from the center.
I’ve since taken it out because I use that boat for poling these days. I’ve got a nice 9" sixpack cooler to sit on if I need to solo paddle it.
ret603…
Wow, you and I are apparently twins separated at birth! I got my MRE RX in 1981, installed a solo thwart stern of the yoke, and then built a pedestal virtually identical to yours. Thigh straps too. But that was in my serious WW days, and now I’m into comfort and only want to kneel when absolutely necessary.
Jim
tommyC1
Sounds like you have about the set-up I want. Dis you use the existing center thwart/yoke mounting holes for the front of the seat, or did you set it back a couple of inches?
Jim
Coolest seat ever
This is one of the coolest seat designs that I have ever seen for a solo boat.
http://www.greenval.com/FAQsolo-yoke.html
A second for that
What a sweet design! The pics gave me some good ideas about what to do with the yoke. My solution will not be as elegant, but I have no woodworking shop at my disposal.
Thanks for the link!
Jim