I out weigh my son by 45 pounds.  (Something I'm not proud about).  When he was younger I sat in the stern.  As he got older he wanted to be in the stern.  When the canoe is loaded with gear, it is just a matter of how the canoe is loaded to get a proper trim.  Even when the canoe is empty and we are fishing, the weight difference isn't a big deal.  We have a Winona Minn II and the sliding front seat does help.

I out weigh my son by 45 pounds.  (Something I'm not proud about).  When he was younger I sat in the stern.  As he got older he wanted to be in the stern.  When the canoe is loaded with gear, it is just a matter of how the canoe is loaded to get a proper trim.  Even when the canoe is empty and we are fishing, the weight difference isn't a big deal.  We have a Winona Minn II and the sliding front seat does help.

Thanks for the feedback, folks!

Actually, a canoe with the weight in the middle will handle better than a canoe with the weight more evenly distributed along the length.  That's why whitewater tandems put the paddlers as close as possible together.  The lighter the ends are, the easier it will turn.  Someone who remembers high school physics could explain this better than I can ... something about moment of inertia ....

My purpose stems from a trip some years ago in this boat.  My partner outweighed me by 70 lbs and the only way we could trim the boat was if he was in the stern. 

When I was in the stern, we couldn't get enough weight back far enough to trim the boat, so it was bow-heavy.  I'm planning a trip this spring with my brother, who's 30-50 lbs heavier than I am.  Same problem, and I want to be able to switch places.

But the more I think about this arrangement, the more it seems like the boat will be harder to handle because both paddlers' control strokes will be close to the center instead of the ends.  It definitely calls for testing before committing it to a trip.

Referring to one of ST's comments, I have a Bell NorthStar (16'6") that I use solo.  I don't paddle it backwards; rather, I remove the bow and stern seats and install a seat about 18 inches behind the center thwart.  There's plenty of room for moving packs around, and if I paddle it empty, a day pack placed all the way forward trims it pretty well.

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That's what Gavia said when he talked about putting the packs on each end instead of in the middle.

His plan just changes the way the weight is distributed along the keel line, not eliminates it.

I get why he thinks putting the paddlers closer to center MIGHT improve handling. Most true solo canoes seats are dead center to improve handling.

I would encourage him IF he decides to do it to take a before/after pic and maybe do a gear report on how it worked out?

solotripper wrote on Mar 20^th, 2016 at 3:31am:


No problem here. You proved my point. It is better to have the weight distributed along the length of the canoe...

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IF I had that type of canoe and wanted to try to achieve what Gavia is talking about, I wouldn't hesitate to experiment at all.

The tandem I paddle solo backwards from the front seat, has the rear set ( bow seat now) removed so I can put my heaviest pack forward and balance out the load plus take a few lbs in portage weight off the canoe.
I routinely move my packs around as my food pack gets lighter and I want to trim out for the conditions.

IF putting that weight more in the middle hurts the steering/handling, he could try adjusting the packs or go back to the way it was.

IF Gavia is willing to spend a few bucks and the time doing it, I fail to see what the problem is?

In a wind, the pivot point of any canoe is where the weight is. There is a reason the weight should be spread along the length of the canoe. It makes it easier to steer and handle.

I noticed ST was not suggesting that he would do this experiment with his canoe...

I say go for it Gavia.

If you did it like Atwater did his re-work the worst that would happen IF you went back to factory specs is you have some rivet holes to fill/hide.

I wouldn't take it out for a long trip without a short test run under load to see how it handled first and go from there.

You don't know till you try. People modify all kinds of things to suit their preferences, I don't see why this should be any different UNLESS a test run proves your ideas ALL wrong.

It would seem to me, that if this was a good idea, they would manufacture them this way, at least as an option.

I have never heard of  any thing being done like that.  Our Wenonah Spirit II seemed to have the bow seat too far forward so I moved it back a few inches( should have ordered the sliding seat).  Very satisfied with the finished work.  Ordered a longer aluminum seat bracket from the factory and installed it so that rivets were still placed in the old rivet holes plus in the new holes I drilled.  Also ordered new seat from the factory.