Stationary or whilst paddling?
As I understand it, neutral trim should exist at your normal cruising pace… so the ball / puddle should be forward of the mid-point of the canoe when the hull is at rest… and then approach the mid-point as paddling lifts the bow.
My assumption is that paddling 1.5-2 mph ABOVE your normal cruising pace would lead to rather less than optimal trim in any well set-up canoe… but whether that makes much difference is another matter entirely!
On a related note…,
… I remember someone here saying that racers commonly trim their boat so that it sits quite low in the front. That way, when paddling full-tilt, the squatting of the stern deeper into the water results in a level boat, not a boat that “looks” like it’s squatting.
Actually…
The terminology of hull design can get confusing fast if one is not used to using it.
But just for the record. In hull design, the view of a hull from the side is the Sheer Plan. Regularly spaced horizontal lines on a Sheer Plan are known as “waterlines”. The hull as seen from above (bird’s eye view) is the Half Breadth Plan. Each of the “waterlines” (referenced in previous sentence) as seen in this view is known as a “Waterline Shape”. It’s the same lines seen in different views. These are just design lines for drawing purposes and have nothing to do with actual water lines. The Designed Waterline” is an actual line on the hull where the water will be, given a predetermined load. It can be drawn in both Sheer Plan and Half-Breadth Plan. Confused ?
Pagayeur
Amen
Correct trim is what feels like correct trim. It will change with any given load at any given pace. If your bow is grabbing your bow is too deep. If you are slower than normal your stern may be too deep.
Some boats, like the Osprey, are more sensitive to trim than others. I prefer sliding seats in those.
Can’t resist
Trimming a race boat that way works just like the drag racers who jack the back up and leave the front low. In both cases they do it so they’re always going downhill.