Hi,
When paddleing my Osprey it seems that it is faster when the seat is slid foreward moving weight toward thr bow,but harder to keep straight.When the seat is slid back,it seems to track better,but be slower.I have no way to measure the speed scientifically,so I thought someone here might have? How do you Osprey paddlers trim your boats?
Thanks,Turtle
Bow heavy into the wind
and neutral the rest of the time. With the bow down the Osprey will track a little better on flat water which enables you to use more power strokes without correction which will move the boat a little faster. When you are bow light more correction is required which slows down your rate of power strokes. The best speed is maintained under most conditions by having the boat trimmed level. Pushing against a bow that is trimmed down, or making continuous correction strokes for bow light, will wear you out faster than paddling a level boat. To test for level you can drift sideways in the wind and see if you drift straight sideways or if one end or the other is pushed around by the wind. Or you can fasten a little bubble level to your hull and keep an eye on it from time to time.
Trim
On flatwater, no wind, I try for level. About 3/4 back on the slider.
On flatwater, into the wind, I slide about halfway forward to get the bow into the water just a bit.
Going upstream, running rapids or in a tailwind I’m all the way back.
Tommy