Choosing the Right Canoe

There are three basic seating configurations for canoes. Traditional lake and expedition canoes have the bow seat set almost twice as far from the bow end as the stern seat is from the stern end. A 17 foot expedition canoe will have the back edge of the stern seat about 30 inches from the stem end, and the front edge of the bow seat about 55 inches from the bow end. This is ideal for longer canoes that are often paddled tandem or three in a canoe. The bow seat location gives the bow more buoyancy in waves. Tandem whitewater touring canoes (6 to 14 feet long with four-plus inches of rocker) are often outfitted with seats placed equidistant from the ends. This provides space in the midsections for gear and a better paddling position for the bow person. The whitewater tandem playboat is best outfitted with seats placed in the Gemini position — paddlers sit equidistant from the bow and stern of the canoe in the midsections of the craft.

Solo whitewater playboats need their pedestal or saddle mounted so that when the paddler is sitting in the canoe with his or her accessories stowed in their normal places, the hull is trimmed with the bow riding one to three inches higher than the stern. Saddle or pedestal height also is critical (the average seat height is about eight inches).