Why canoe seats are not (always) for sitting on.

BY PAUL MASON

On a perfect day, with the minimum of canoeing knowledge and a well-balanced (trimmed) canoe, the canoe seats work well for sitting. However, on a windy day with a canoe that is not correctly trimmed, sitting on the canoe seats is an invitation to swim.

A scenario. Let’s say dad –– who is the big guy who naturally knows how to canoe because he is Canadian –– arrives at the dock with his young child. Dad unloads the lightweight prospector canoe, the child gets in the front (bow), and sits on the aforementioned “seat”. Dad tosses the snacks and fishing gear in the back (stern) where he’ll be sitting for their paddle. He climbs in, sits on the seat with his knees up, feet firmly planted on the bottom of the canoe, and let’s go of the dock. Splash! Hopefully they have a change of clothes and maybe some hot chocolate, because right now they’re all wet, and dry clothes and a hot drink would be much appreciated.

How could this have been avoided? Explanation. The stern seat is closer to the end of the canoe than the bow seat, so even if paddlers are the same weight, the stern will sink lower into the water. Compound this with an adult being heavier than a child, the canoe being very light and the prospector shape having very narrow ends, and you get the perfect storm.

The result is the bow is now in the air (Fig.1), and the wide centre area of the canoe is now out of the water. Dad is now trying to balance on a very small narrow part of the canoe (Fig.2). The slightest gust of wind (possible), or sudden movement of the child (inevitable) and we roll the dice to see if they stay upright.

How can we avoid using up all our hot chocolate while still near the dock? Begin each trip by putting the extra gear up in front of the child to balance the trim of the canoe (Fig.3). Altneratively, turn the canoe around so the bigger person is kneeling against the bow seat, facing the stern. A child won’t mind sitting on the stern seat, facing the

stern either. This ensures the centre area’s widest part of the canoe is in contact with the water (Fig.4).

Remeber to be sure to let the smaller person in first and kneel with their bum on the edge of the seat. Knees should be wide apart on the bottom, or pushing against the sides of the canoe if legs are not long enough to kneel. Bigger person then gets in, kneels on the bottom of the canoe, bum resting on the seat. Then holding the midpoint of their paddle and putting the blade in the water, they let go of the dock and grab the top grip of their paddle. Ta-da, hot chocolate can be saved until later.

~ Paul Mason is a Paddle Canada canoe instructor and patron. He shares his love of canoeing through his canoe courses and website: canoeinstruction.co