Last summer I bought a new Bell Northstar Blackgold which is the most elegant, perfect tandem canoe I’ve ever paddled.  However, unnoticed by me until I got her on the water,  the outfitter from whom I bought her installed the kneeling thwart at the bow facing the stern instead of the stern facing the bow.  I know what you’re thinking – that’s where it’s supposed to go stupid!  In a traditionally designed canoe that would be true but the Northstar is an asymmetrical design and therefore, when soloed, must be paddled facing the bow.  The guy that set up the canoe was a real jerk, one of those guys who believes he knows everything and when I later  pointed out his error he basically said I didn’t know what I was talking about – that it wasn’t an asymmetrical design and he didn’t intend to change it.  Even when I told him to go onto Bell’s website where there is a clear picture of the Northstar with a kneeling thwart installed (facing the bow), he refused.  Anyway by that time the damage was done.  I called the owner of the place where I purchased it and he apologized profusely and said he’d make it right.  He invited me to bring the canoe back next summer before my next big trip and he’d exchange my canoe for a new one set up properly at the factory.  Very decent!  But you can probably guess the problem.  Bell has ceased production and there are no new canoes available.  So what should I do?  The owner still wants to make things right.  I could just switch the kneeling thwart and the stern thwart around but then I’d have a bunch of holes in the gunwales of the $3000 canoe that I plan to paddle for the rest of my life.  Maybe I’m just being picky (and, as things turned out, I suppose I’m lucky to have a Bell canoe at all) but I’d really like things to be set right.  The owner sincerely wants to know what I’d like him to do but at this point I’m not really sure what to say, short of having him replace the gunwales and re-install the seats and thwarts properly, which seems a bit extreme.  What do you think – do I just have to eat it?

True that, Wally.

A very good question indeed. You know already me thinks, the golden rule.

"I could just switch the kneeling thwart and the stern thwart around"

that depends on where that guy placed the kneeling thwart - the bow is a bit narrower, and if he cut the thwart to fit, it likely is not going to be long enough to work in the correct location  - likely, the stern thwart could be cut down to fit the bow location

it seems to me, right wrong or indifferent, you accepted the canoe the way it was - the best time to have raised the issue wtih the owner was before you picked up the boat and left the shop and came to an agreement regarding repair then - or not accepted it at all

but it is what it is, and I'd just see if the owner would have a new kneeling thwart installed at the correct location for you, and give you a few bolts or otherwise plug any unnecessary holes

Yeah, your boat - your rules.  Especially if you bought it new and it's not assembled to your reasonable expectations.

I'd say it's up to them to re-fit it correctly & replace any trim to factory new.

$3k is too much to spend for shoddy workmanship and bs attitude.

Res ipsa loquitur trumps caveat emptor.


Another option, since a couple holes in the gunwale aren't really any major issue beyond cosmetic and can be filled/plugged.  This is what I would go for.
1 - They install a kneeling thwart at the location you indicate.
2 - They plug the holes, sand & seal.  Not a putty knife & wood filler plug, but an actual plug cut from the same type of wood as your gunwales.  Gued in.  Sanded flush without marring the wood.
3 - Your pick of ~$200 retail of gear.  Perhaps you want a new paddle?  Maybe there's something in the store that you've always been curious about, but never willing to spend cash on.  Now's your chance.