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

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

No problem here. You proved my point. It is better to have the weight distributed along the length of the canoe... 8-)