I do not think that there is a “correct” answer to solo seat location. There are too many variables between boats and paddlers and personal preferences.
Do you primarily sit, or kneel, or some 50/50-ish combination. As a sitter you can be closer to center without the canoe going bow heavy, kneelers may need to be further aft.
Physique and body weight matter. Endomorphs with big thighs and some cab forward belly differ from tall skinny ectomorphs, especially kneeling. Shorter folks with less wingspan may want to be a little further back for a narrower paddling position, and trim some gear weight forward.
Boat design matters, not just symmetrical/asymettrical or swedeform etc, but gunwale width, and even boat length/weight. It is harder to loft as much bow with a longer, heavier canoe. A 36” wide tandem with a near center solo seat is awkward to single blade without kneeling/heeling the canoe; paddling style preference matter too.
I won’t even get into double blade seat placement (hint: can be a wider paddling station with a low angle stroke).
Are you accustomed to years of paddling bow backwards in a tandem? You may find that you want the solo seat a little further back of center for familiarity of feel.
Do you always day paddle with the dog? How big a dog? Chihuahua vs Mastiff. Accessible gear placement matters; I like my cooler directly behind my seat for accessibility.
I know
approximately where I usually want a solo seat, but in different canoes my preferred position ranges from front edge of seat 6 or 7 inches back of center to 11 or 12 inches back in longer/wider hulls. A shorter skinny friend who kneels, after much experimentation, has his seat 20” back of center in a 15’ canoe; I scoffed when he told me that, but he swears it works best for him.
I would do the milk crate test as YC suggests (maybe when the water is swimmable warm), with your usual day paddling load and dog and go with what feel best from there; on a camper or overnight trip you can always gear trim.
Hints with the milk crate test – I know my preferred seat height better than I know the location. I had to cut down a milk crate; left at original height it was
way too tall for my typical seat depth preferences, which would have seriously thrown off the test results. It also help to put some split foam pipe insulation or pool noodle on the bottom of the crate, so it better conforms to hull curves and doesn’t slide around as easily.
About the yoke. I have never been a fan of clamp on yokes. When I used one I had it affixed to the hull in the stern when not in use, between the rear thwart and one gunwale. It was always in the canoe that way, and I couldn’t forget to bring it (which I, oops, had done). Conk has an interesting technique for that, maybe he’ll post a photo.
For an always there “yoke”, for roof rack to water and back use, I use a strap yoke in all of our solos. A length of 2” poly webbing with a buckle or other connector on a webbing loop at the other side. The Velcro is to hold the coiled strap under the inwale when not in use. It is always there, I can’t forget to bring it and it connects faster and easier than most removable yokes.
PC180161 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
On heavier canoes I use a couple of D-rings to secure the far end of the webbing
P2160534 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
That is a 70lb RX Explorer; the 2” webbing yoke works comfortably fine for short carries, and the two D-rings won’t shatter like cheap side release buckles. Mohawk sells strap yokes, but the quality of their side release buckles has gone to hell, and $35 for something easily DIY-able with a length of webbing, two machine screws and a length of Velcro is a bit much.
https://www.mohawkcanoes.com/collections/seats-yokes-and-thwarts/products/webbing-yoke
