I have an OT Tripper 17’2, I moved the front webbed seat back towards the middle of the canoe about 1 seat length in order to gain more leg room for the front passenger. I don’t want to move the stern forward due to the need for casting clearance. My fishing buddy is 5’10 185 lbs and I am 6’ 215 lbs, we often change seats to allow the front person more fishing opportunities on the river. Is this setup fine “as is” or should we consider adding some weight depending on who’s up front?..or am I overanalyzing this?
It doesn’t appear that you are …
out for speed so it shouldn’t make too much diffrence.
Normally you want the canoe as trim as possible, so with you up front, after you’ve moved the seat, you probably have actually improved your trim.
On the other hand if it is a windy day and your lighter partner is up there, you might possibly have a control problem since you will be bow light.
I hope this all makes a little sense to you.
For what it is worth, I have moved seat positions on several canoes and it was all for the better.
That is why sliding seats are good.
Cheers,
JackL
I could
…place my TM battery closer towards the front half of the canoe instead of in the middle when the lighter guy is up front. Maybe that would help.
side-to-side balance?
Wouldn’t moving the seat farther back make it a rather wide position and make it difficult to stay centered on the seat while reaching over the side to paddle? Even with the standard seat arrangement in my tripper it is sometimes a bit difficult to maintain side-to-side balance because the bow person tends to sit offset to whichever side they are paddling on.
I only…
…moved the seat back one seat length, would it make that big of a difference in side to side balance?
maybe not
On my tripper it looks like that would mean an extra couple of inches in width. That would feel wide to me, but maybe the difference won’t be significant for you. It shouldn’t be any worse than paddling a somewhat narrower tandem from a solo center seat. Guess it depends on how wide your shoulders are and how long your arms. Might as well try it out and see how it works.