So, I think the seat height preference is different depending on if you sit and paddle or kneel and paddle. Can someone explain? And what if you had a boat that was used for the opposite of what your style is, is it usually easy to alter the seats accordingly?

Thanks.

Generally speaking, if you kneel you need enough room to get your feet out quickly in case of a capsize. I'd say for average feet the front rail should be no less than 8-1/2" above the hull, with the back rail 3/4" - 1" higher. For sitting, I'd guess anything works as long as your back can handle it.

There might be some boats where adjusting seat height would be difficult, but I've never had one. Now if you have an old fiberglass boat with the seats molded into the gunwales you'll have a bit of a problem (including portaging the 100-pound beast).

Yeah, my dad has a boat he bought with his brother long before I was born (we're talking decades here) and it has the seats molded into the fiberglass. Believe it or not, he's still paddling that thing that I grew up in. It's a lot smaller today ;-) and there is no way you could talk me into carrying it to the car, let alone on a portage. But let's not speak ill of the elderly, it will be me too some day.

I asked as I check out some used boats. I sometimes see the seats dropped a bit and sometimes raised just under the gunwales. Wondered if it had to do with kneelers vs sitters. Saw the custom foam center "seats" for the first time at the Expo (looks like used with kneelers that have NO official seat). Interesting setups.

I have so much to learn about everything yet, but I'm very interested in this topic. Sitting and kneeling is what comes to mind first regarding seat height, but there is also what is the best height even just for sitting. And It's not the best for everyone at the location set at the factory. I have been reading on a different forum where some of the more experienced canoeists were saying that the more canoeing they did, the higher they found that they wanted the seat to be. They were ending up right at the gunnels and still sitting. As the seat goes up, you gain something, and lose something, is the way I understand it. If that actually works well, then for me that would be the perfect solution, since then I could go between sitting and kneeling any time. That would be nice for these old bones. So I bought the short seat drops from Bell for my Magic, and I can switch back and forth until I find what I want, instead of slowly chopping the long ones and burning my bridges as I go. I figured for me there was no point in slowly chopping since only really short would serve for kneeling anyway. Soon I hope to know what's best for me.

OK guys........I have an old town penobscot 175 with standard web seats.

My buddy keeps telling me he hates paddling my penobscot because the seats are "too high".

It does seem a little less stable when unloaded, so I'm thinking of lowering the seats an inch or so to "appease" him.

A couple questions.......

1). Is this a reasonable idea to make it a little more stable.

2). Will it make it more stable, or do I need a little more lowering.

3). Am I crazy and SMOKIN KRAK.

4). Do they make kits to lower the seat. I'm thinking those wooden dowels with a hole in them are HARD to find.

Thanks,

Geo

GeoFisher
1) yes
2) yes, 1 inch may be fine. I hang mine about 4 inches from the top of the gunwale(whatevere the seat hanger is)tilting towards thr bow
3) no
4) Not hard to find,check out northwestcanoe.com. They have everthing you need. They are a BWCA.com sponsor

CB


Not affiliated just get ALL my canoe making materials there.

quote GeoFisher: "OK guys........I have an old town penobscot 175 with standard web seats.

My buddy keeps telling me he hates paddling my penobscot because the seats are "too high".

It does seem a little less stable when unloaded, so I'm thinking of lowering the seats an inch or so to "appease" him.

A couple questions.......

1). Is this a reasonable idea to make it a little more stable.
2). Will it make it more stable, or do I need a little more lowering.
3). Am I crazy and SMOKIN KRAK.
4). Do they make kits to lower the seat. I'm thinking those wooden dowels with a hole in them are HARD to find.

Thanks,

Geo"

Hi Geo,

A few answers:

1. Yes, it's a piece of cake.
2. Lowering will probably make it more stable. It's a trial-and-error thing.
3. Possibly, and possibly.
4. You can easily make dowels with holes. Cut a 3/4" dowel into 1", 2" and 3" lengths, say, a couple of each. Then mark the center of each end. Drill a 1/4" or 5/16" hole halfway through from each end. You'll be off a little bit, but it'll work. Having several pieces of different lengths will enable you to customize your setup.

on this same idea, I have an 11 foot solo canoe. A Old Town Kaynoe. Factory height is very unstable. I lowered the seat 5 inches to just over 2 inches from the deck. It paddles like a kayak now and I use a kayak paddle. Wouldn't most solo canoes, and even standard canoes be more stable with the seats lowered?

I stability is a concern, I prefer to kneel. When you kneel your center of gravity is automatically about as low as it can get. That's how whitewater paddlers do it.

I kneel most of the time solo and about half the time in a tandem. My tandems both have just enough space for kneeling with the factory height which is around 9 inches, maybe just a bit more. The are low enough to work just dandy for sitting too.

On solo canoes I like the seat "jacked to the rails" and angled forward slightly. Bell sells a drop that is perfect for their canoes and many others.