an outfitter is moving the seat back on a prism.
i imagine it's to eliminate the on-off portage yoke, and i believe they said it helped trim the canoe better.
i would like to hear from those who have paddled this set-up on a trip, what your opinion of the seat location is.
how did the canoe handle for you.
what did'nt you like about it. thanks

I've only paddled it the way it comes, with the seat regular and the on/off yoke. It paddles perfectly set up factory style. Its a dream to paddle, once you learn how it works. I cant imagine this improving the trim or tracking. I would be leery changing it. Kinda a "if it works, don't fix it" kinda guy, myself. I wouldn't want to have to be in a canoe that didn't paddle to its potential to save 5 seconds of snapping the yoke on.

Have seen a "Prism" set up that way. The owner used a double blade and a single large pack (in front). Trimmed well, and the owner liked the setup.

butthead

I don't know how the seat-on-a-rail portages. I hated mine so much I replaced it with an adjustable bench seat and positioned it 8" back so it's just ahead of the aft thwart. A wooden yoke clamped on the gunwales works just fine.
Because of the size of my pack I had trouble trimming the boat - couldn't get it under the forward thwart. I made an arched thwart to replace the stock one, and the pack slides under it now. I imagine the stock arrangement would handle most packs.
I realize this goes beyond your question, but the unusual setup might generate some useful ideas.

I like the prism the way it is from the factory. I paddle mine empty a lot and it handles well. However, a prism that is going to be paddled loaded all the time may handle wind from the rear quarters better than the standard set up.

Sawbill has those, don't they ?



There is a solo trip report by Bumabu paddling out of Sawbill.... This is a good report. He seemed to do fine with that modified Prism

Bumabu report

The "Sawbill Prism" seat was moved 22" back and a permanent portage yoke installed. I can see a few benefits of this setup: all gear could be put in front of the paddler, and there would be more room for a dog. However, it would be harder to trim when paddling unloaded. Also, all steering would be done from the stern, since bow strokes would be useless, but that's not much different from the stock Prism setup.

I may try that. Moving the yoke twice for each portage gets tiresome.

quote Koda:

Moving the yoke twice for each portage gets tiresome."

I'll second that. It was especially tiresome on the Mudro to Fourtown portages where there was so little paddling between them.

BTW, Koda, I posted a few pictures from my Sept 2008 trip of the portage and rapids on the Isabella River that you were asking about in the trip planning forum. One is looking down on it from above; might be of some help though water levels will be different for your trip. Hope you enjoy it.

Moving the load forward and the paddler aft will compromise the performance of your canoe. Asymmetrical solos like the prism, magic, encounter etc. are designed to carry the load as close to the center of volume as possible; if you shift the paddler aft and the load forward you have shifted the mass away from the area of greatest buoyancy - fine for flat and calm but asking for trouble if the waves or the wind kicks up.

You will spend much more time in your canoe than beneath it. If the yoke is the problem change the yoke- don't change your canoe to accommodate the yoke.

Banksiana, you are technically correct. However, in practical terms the only way to avoid putting weight toward the ends of a boat is to put it all in the middle, and that's usually occupied. It's true that spreading weight along the length of the boat will reduce the buoyancy in the ends, but there isn't much choice. Moving the seat back and placing the gear forward, provided it's all in the middle half or two-thirds of the boat, will not compromise its performance noticeably more than leaving the seat in the middle and distributing the load in front of and behind the paddler.

Thanks, boonie, I saw them. I'll be scoping out the right side of the mid-river rock from the portage above. It's hard to resist a tight squeeze.

In "practical terms" the boat arrives from the factory set up to concentrate the load in the center -sliding center seat, large gear compartment aft, small gear compartment forward. Bell, Wenonah, Sawyer, Savage River etc all build "fast tripping solos" in this configuration; it works.

It was a pretty narrow chute, Koda. It could be fun for you. Easy to check out from above, just off the portage.

Wow! 21 inches back, huh? This could be in order to trim the boat out with a lot of gear in the bow. If paddling the boat in this fashion with no gear then the boat will not track at all and merely drift from side to side. A very inefficient experience. Having the seat moved back so far will negatively affect the performance of the Prism…in my educated opinion.



Thanks for the inquiry!



Jeremy Smith

Accessories Department Manager

Wenonah Canoe/Current Designs Kayaks

507-454-5430 Ext 17

Bwahaha! Kinda like paddling my "Kaynoe" with a normal paddle (unloaded). I've got to get me a yak paddle before this spring to see what improvements it may make.