Solo Canoe Seating

[yellowcanoe]

We'll go back in time for a little history of the double blade in canoes. If the thought of that horrifies you , don't read!
Not my opinion. I have a copy of John Jennings The Canoe. Its a very nice coffee table book but more.
Two of the chapters are Paddling for Pleasure in the Northeastern States, and Fast Paddles and Fast Boats. The years covered are from 1860-1900 in these chapters.

The Rob Roy is generally recognized as the craft that started recreational canoeing. John MacGregor was a Brit. He used a double blade. George Washington Sears continued this sort of paddling with the Adirondack Pack Canoe.. very light allowing bushwhacking to mountain ponds. The Natives of course had no part in this..

There are pictures and sketches in the book of double blading in canoes from 1890. A sketch also shows persons of Euro descent paddling a Mi'kmaq brchbark with a double blade. ( even to me that seems odd) and canoers hignkneeling narrow racing canoes with double blades.

So to stir the pot, traditional paddling by the of Euro descent is ... double blading. Doesn't mean you gotta do it or like it. I sometimes hate it ( in mangrove tunnels I will go to the shortest single I have!) Sometimes its a love affair.

Like Mike I need a grab bar. Don't have one though.

So Peach part of the popularity of the double blade is that its part of Eastern canoeing history.. BTW we are very weak on dugouts and I have yet to see a dragon boat.

 

[MacCamper]

Wow, such a wealth of great information. I'm sure glad I landed on this website. The two canoes I have used for the past several years are tandem and I have trekked in the bow seat facing the stern. Depending upon the trip, especially the number of long portages, I will either take my restored 1972 OT Trapper (weighs a ton but looks sweet) or my Winona Adirondack (ultra light but isn't pretty). It is my great desire to compromise the two when my stripper graces the water this spring, light weight and a pleasure to behold.

Bursitis in my right shoulder pushed me toward a double blade a few years ago. The reduced stress and discomfort allows me to sleep well and limits trip fatigue. I condition on an area river and sometimes need to power against both current and stiff breezes back to the landing. A double blade cannot be beat for me when needing to get somewhere fast or battling the elements. The wet canoe syndrome some speak of, hasn't really impacted me. Or at least not to the point of changing my double blade habit.

Last summer, in preparation for a extended adventure north of the Arctic Circle, I got onto some shoulder stretches that have all but completely eliminated my pain. Thus I have picked up a single blade and am once again enjoying my smooth and consistent J stroke. Usually I am strongest on my left but am becoming proficient on my right as well.

My seats have always been benches, and tendency to kneel limited. My wife gave me a Winona seat cushion with back rest and I like it.

The beautiful canoes you folks share as well as trial experience really gets me excited about the upcoming season on the water. Thanks for sharing.
Mac

 

[Uncle_Skwid]

Pedestals and sticks:

Part of the elegance and appeal of the single blade--if the single blade can be said to stand as a sort of doppelganger to the standard "double blade"--comes in the form of efficient power. If I'm positioned correctly in the boat, I can get my stick perpendicular to the water in ways I can't with a double (at least not without a bit of upper arm twist). My torso wind up, from a kneeling position on about an 8" pedestal (I'm in a boat that's 15 inches deep, 32 inches wide, roughly), uncoils with quite a bit of umph in a more or less straight line. I feel like the power I get from kneeling is pretty much macho compared to the power from a lower, seated position. Moreso, I dare say, when I keep myself velcroed to the boat with both knee and thigh straps that hold my crotch firmly on the pedestal, my toe ends to the foot pegs (just enough to hold me, not jamming up against the pegs), and my knees to the hull like a bipod. The energy transfer is pretty efficient. Now, wearing the canoe like a kind of boot, I can twist my torso and hips and knees around and encourage the boat to go with or against both current and paddle, to slip or carve in unison or opposition. I even drive my offside knee forward when I uncoil to help offset the tendency of the boat to pull to the offside. I suppose I might say in the end that the kneeling position sets me up to use my torso and thighs in ways I couldn't otherwise use them. Any other positions I assume in this particular boat fall away toward less efficiency, less power, less control.

Having said that, I move around all the time. (This is one of the reasons I've resisted the bulkhead, and stick with pedestal and straps.) I stand up and paddle (on long trips I take an old rafting guide stick from years back that reaches the water), sit all over the pedestal, sit behind the pedestal with my arms and legs in the air over the water, hang my legs over the gunnels, prop my feet up on a thwart, read, slide my feet away from the foot pegs, squat on one knee, lay across dry bags and float bags on my stomach, sunbathe, balance on one leg while sipping a cold beverage, attempt (and always, eventually, fail), a handstand on the gunnels, float beside the boat, hang onto the underside of the hull. . .

But then when its time to paddle, I strap myself in more or less tightly on my knees and try to fall into that relaxed cadence of the fly fisherman, coiling and uncoiling, working the infamous positions of the clock. Until we reach that proverbial edge of Columbus's world, and then I flail like everyone else and hope someone remembered to snap a photo.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Unc S ( If I might call you that), I agree. Torso rotation ( unwinding -winding) is so much easier when kneeling. It must be better in Standing. Up. Position. Which in this day with paddles, means something looking more like a surfboard than a canoe. The trouble for me is getting up to Stand. I need a milk crate...or better yet.. a nice tandem.It's got those handholds called thwarts.

I have never wanted my crotch held firmly to anything. I did try a Pat Moore saddle and hated it.

I've always held that the correct answer to anything canoeing is "maybe". Double sticks for go ahead when you have room, but its a sweep on one side countered by a sweep on the other. Single is precision.. The sideslip is so useful with a single blade to place your canoe exactly so. With a double its a shower ( do you need one?)

I'm usually in a boat 15'feet long but 26 inches wide. Marge Cline aka Rivermom could do handstands in her boat similar size . I always hated getting students that had seen her handstands. They weren't getting that from me!

I too move around all the time and sometimes in very calm conditions go transverse in the boat and travel with cross reverse strokes. The bio mechanics of that stroke make for very fast travel . But it takes some getting used to.

Ah. Dare we start a thread about proper double blade technique? Done wrong the paddles bring wretched injuries.

 

[Uncle_Skwid]

YC,

I suspect here that I could, but alas I shall not, argue your use of the the word "anything" when it applies to being held firmly to your crotch. We'll keep the discussion rated PG.

As for the sentiment of thwarts and milk crates, one of my grandest friends of the river had to, several years back, give up his canoe for his knees and hips. We tried to rig him a seat from which to paddle, which included milk crates and crazy creek chairs, NRS straps and coolers, but he couldn't help but fall to his knees, fall over, get frustrated. He even briefly tried a kayak but at the age of seventy, the movements were just too foreign. His body wouldn't cooperate. He now oars a 14' and 18' cataraft, heading west to the big water a couple times a year. He needs a bit of help coming and going from the river. (Of course, once he's on the river he's still magic.) But slowly, steadily he is conceding his body and his body's movements to age. "Concessions to age," he announces whenever he can't quite get his left arm high enough to tie the boats onto his truck. "If I have to concede one more got dam thing to age I'm gonna..."

You're gonna what? You're gonna find something else that works. (So we got him a little stepladder to help him reach the racks.) Whatever works. Whatever gets you back out there, chasing the rain, chasing the water to the sea.

 

[Iskweo]

I will use a double blade on occasion...I just dont hae one that works for me yet. I find it puts a lot of water on me and in the boat. It was pointed out to me that I need to use a shallow sweep instead of the straight up and down method. When single sticking I often hit and switch so this is not a lot different than a double for effect. I am also not opposed to hanging a motor off the side if the need arises...lol.

As far as all the other stuff. I am rather traditional in my likes. I can see the usefullness of Alans carbon fibre sliding pedestal seat..a great idea. Karin makes a really nice and comfy contoured, laminated seat though and it fits with my esthetic needs better. As in , they are pretty and she makes it extra wide for me.
( cough cough) I dont actually like the seat in a solo to be so far to the centre of the boat. I prefer the standard seating arrangement you get from Tandems. Heck, I sometimes paddle a tandem from the back seat and toss ballast in the front to trim it out. Call me Canadian, but it seems to work out just fine. I do find that spending more than a couple of hours in the boat without a walkabout tends to get tricky. Milk crates and thwarts are all good but I am almost needing a trapeze bar to get myself up. I suppose I could just lean the boat oer and roll out of it. I can see the day when I will hae to rig mine out like Mr McCrea does. All things considered though, the best accessory might just be a strong young paddler to do the hard stuff for me. Not 20 of them like Rob takes though...one or two is plenty.

I hae not really had occasion to use a narrow little solo boat. I like that Caribou S, reminds me of my 14 foot Huron, which I hope to get started on soon. We had a 14 Chestnut that was pretty and fun to use but not really practical for tripping, so this one might end up the same way. I am leaning more towards the 15.5 - 16 foot boats. Like that Canadian we sold. I really liked Rob's Jack's Special and that might be the future for me..cedar strip. All cusom tricked out with a padded floor where I can nap.

Christy

 

[Guest]

I am almost needing a trapeze bar to get myself up. I suppose I could just lean the boat oer and roll out of it.

The hardest boat I have ever paddled in terms of egress was the Mad River SOT canoe called the Synergy

http://www.rei.com/product/785485/mad-river-synergy-14-canoe

That was an interesting concept, a canoe sit-on-top, deep enough not to need scupper holes. Deeeep.

It was dry, stable and fun to paddle. And nearly impossible to get out of. Everything around the molded plastic cockpit is slick as snot on a door knob, there is no thwart or protrusion handhold to grasp, the seat is too kayakish low to get your feet under you and even the “gunwales” are too thick and slippery to help lever upright.

I made the mistake of taking a Synergy down a strainer infested swamp run and it dang near killed me. By the time I had struggled to exit the Synergy for the third time I hated the dang thing, and by the umpteenth nightmare I swore I would never take anything other than an open canoe down a swamp river.

The solution in that boat, and some other hard to egress SOTs, is to install a grab loop webbing strap within reach and use that to lever yourself onto your feet. Someone actually sells those trapeze lever kits now, but they are dead simple to DIY. And still nowhere near as easy as getting out of an open boat.

In a canoe with a raised seat I can get my feet under me and stand upright by simply holding the gunwales at first, and then move my outside hand to within-reach utility thwart so I can keep my weight transfer steadily centered.

Same when getting in the boat, especially in a soloized tandem, where the distant gunwale is far from my arm’s length. I hold onto that reachable front thwart with my outside hand to keep my weight centered and use it to balance ease my way down onto the seat. I overbuild my seats and hangers, and use ¼ machine screws for the drops, but even so I don’t need my bulk dropping on the seat from afar.

That front utility thwart also defines the open “cockpit” area of the canoe and helps trap/tie down my gear, keeping it secured away from the foot brace, or the rudder pedals in decked canoes.

Custom thwart placement is helpful beyond just providing an old man handhold. I like a very stiff hull and usually install two front thwarts, positioned with space between them to “trap” a blue barrel or large dry bag, and another stern thwart, positioned far enough behind the seat to attach the back band straps and provide some open, easy access area behind the seat for reachable day gear. The reachable front thwart is also nicely positioned to provide a comfortable forward handhold for directing the bow when under the yoke.

All that old man levering myself out of the hull is unnecessary when landing at some easy peazy step out sandbar or cobble shallows, but when getting out on some steep bank or high riverside rock I’ll take all the help I can get. Add to that those boat-beating launches into exposed wind and wave, where every second I spend getting settled with paddle in hand is taking its toll on the hull; the quicker I can get securely in and out of the boat, grab a paddle or pull ashore the better.

I can see the day when I will hae to rig mine out like Mr McCrea does. I do find that spending more than a couple of hours in the boat without a walkabout tends to get tricky.

I really liked Rob's Jack's Special and that might be the future for me..cedar strip. All cusom tricked out with a padded floor where I can nap.

Well, folks do sleep in their Sea Winds, including rigs with custom mosquito netting and rain flies.

Or even open canoes; I was out for a dawn paddle in a cypress swamp on a group trip once and came across a friend’s apparently empty canoe lodged in the cypress knees. My first thought was “Oh, crap, this isn’t good”. I paddled over and unexpectedly found him asleep in the bottom of the boat. He had awakened at 4am and thought “Eh, why not go nap in the swamp. . .

(No, that wasn’t Conk, whose peculiar pre-dawn peregrinations are another story)

I have confessed many times to being a comfort wuss. Every place my body that touches the boat is padded for custom contact comfort, including minicel under my heels. I’m looking for all-day comfort.

I know I have achieved my goal when I finally land on some shallow sandy beach or bar along the way, get out, stretch my legs and then get right back in the Barcalounger seat to read the map, make some lunch or even just have a quiet sit, look, listen.

Christine, seriously, I know minicel is not attractive in any aesthetic sense, but it weighs next to nothing and is easy to custom carve and install. If my canoe isn’t the most comfortable seat in the house something needs fixing.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

The three canoes I spend the majority of my paddling time in are very different from each other, so my seating preference varies accordingly.

The more time I spend paddling solo, the more I prefer kneeling.

My solo canoe (Dagger Sojourn) came set up for sitting or kneeling (if you have small feet) with a sliding bench seat. I added an adjustable foot bar for sitting, but I also raised the seat for kneeling and added thin foam padding for my knees. The PO had foam knee cups in there which I took out because they were too limiting for my use. I kneel the majority of the time, usually only switching to sitting briefly to stretch. I have been pleased to find that even though the Sojourn is famous for hard-tracking - in the kneeling position, I can control and maneuver that solo through the local class 2 rivers. Sitting through that would not be an option for me, especially with the seat raised as it now is. Kneeling gives me more control of the boat and more reach for turning and control strokes. And it's easier on my back.

My solo paddling style in the 16' Prospector is very similar to Hoop's - except the I am taller, so I can paddle closer to the center. So, I replaced the thwart ahead of the stern station with a kneeling thwart. Nice thing about that is that it's super easy to slide across and change sides when needed. The kneeling thwart and thin knee pads don't get in my way while I'm poling, so I can switch from poling to paddling and back with ease. When I am paddling tandem in that boat, I mostly sit (Nova Craft seats are surprisingly comfortable for me - especially with an added pad/pocket rig strapped on) but change my leg position often - because I can. The NC Prospector is so stable with a load and/or two paddlers that control up to class 2 is never a problem in the sitting position. Haven't done any class 3 in it yet, but I expect to be kneeling when the time comes.

My Millbrook Coho has no seats by my request. This was to be primarily a poling canoe, and continues to be how it is used. But I just recently decided to experiment with a foam pedestal for kneeling with a paddle (not wanting to add a seat or a thwart). I glued a sheet of 1/2" mini-cell under an NRS mini-cell saddle, so that my knees are padded when using the pedestal. the setup conveniently wedges under the yoke of the Coho when not in use. Then I can slide it back before going to my knees from standing with the pole and straddle it when switching to paddle. It worked well when I tried it last weekend on a class 2 stretch of the Payette. Because the inner surface of the Coho has the kev fabric texture, the rig doesn't move around with my weight on it even with a little water in the bottom.....in cl2, that is. I find this saddle configuration to be extremely comfortable.

 

[Canotrouge]

The three canoes I spend the majority of my paddling time in are very different from each other, so my seating preference varies accordingly.

The more time I spend paddling solo, the more I prefer kneeling.

My solo canoe (Dagger Sojourn) came set up for sitting or kneeling (if you have small feet) with a sliding bench seat. I added an adjustable foot bar for sitting, but I also raised the seat for kneeling and added thin foam padding for my knees. The PO had foam knee cups in there which I took out because they were too limiting for my use. I kneel the majority of the time, usually only switching to sitting briefly to stretch. I have been pleased to find that even though the Sojourn is famous for hard-tracking - in the kneeling position, I can control and maneuver that solo through the local class 2 rivers. Sitting through that would not be an option for me, especially with the seat raised as it now is. Kneeling gives me more control of the boat and more reach for turning and control strokes. And it's easier on my back.

My solo paddling style in the 16' Prospector is very similar to Hoop's - except the I am taller, so I can paddle closer to the center. So, I replaced the thwart ahead of the stern station with a kneeling thwart. Nice thing about that is that it's super easy to slide across and change sides when needed. The kneeling thwart and thin knee pads don't get in my way while I'm poling, so I can switch from poling to paddling and back with ease. When I am paddling tandem in that boat, I mostly sit (Nova Craft seats are surprisingly comfortable for me - especially with an added pad/pocket rig strapped on) but change my leg position often - because I can. The NC Prospector is so stable with a load and/or two paddlers that control up to class 2 is never a problem in the sitting position. Haven't done any class 3 in it yet, but I expect to be kneeling when the time comes.

My Millbrook Coho has no seats by my request. This was to be primarily a poling canoe, and continues to be how it is used. But I just recently decided to experiment with a foam pedestal for kneeling with a paddle (not wanting to add a seat or a thwart). I glued a sheet of 1/2" mini-cell under an NRS mini-cell saddle, so that my knees are padded when using the pedestal. the setup conveniently wedges under the yoke of the Coho when not in use. Then I can slide it back before going to my knees from standing with the pole and straddle it when switching to paddle. It worked well when I tried it last weekend on a class 2 stretch of the Payette. Because the inner surface of the Coho has the kev fabric texture, the rig doesn't move around with my weight on it even with a little water in the bottom.....in cl2, that is. I find this saddle configuration to be extremely comfortable.

I often cary an old pedestal to do just that in my 16 foot CompositeCreation Expedition, or any tender canoe that I paddle solo in class II III ww... You can put it where it is the best when you need it, and get it out of the way when not needed!!

 

[JagDaddy]

I paddle a Supernova and the factory tilted bench seat is set back of center. When I was interweb boat researching I must have read a million words on Supernova seat placement haha

I haven't changed mine yet, the boat trims good with a trip load (pack up front, plastic wannigan box behind seat) in it and handles ok to me on moving water, not as good flatwater goofing off with out some weight, but my scruffy German Shepard is happy to be that weight LOL. Right now I kneel against the seat in fast water on a pad, feet under bench. Being back of center changes some of my strokes but not horrible, just different.

My feet clear the bench but my wife worries about entrapment when I solo our seasonal creeks/rivers since they are by definition in 'flood' and are tight and prone to strainers, I probably should too, but it hasn't been a problem yet. Still, being stuck under a tree solo would be some drama, entrapment is probably the most dangerous thing that can happen out there.

I almost bought a Wenonah Rendezvous and almost all had tractor seats and foot braces, except for one in CO that had a full Mikey white water outfitting, odd to see that in a Wenonah style boat. Might of been awesome but looked odd to my eye :- ) I couldn't get excited about the tractor seat and foot brace rigging, just not my style.

I'm really considering removing the bench and adding a whitewater saddle, partly for the clean bail out and partly for the thigh straps, the Supernova is sporty and I miss the control thigh straps and cups provide catching little eddies and violent braces. Wife says do it and then add a wide padded kneeling thwart to sit on to stretch out in the slow. She is sure concerned about how I rig my solo 'me' boat haha She doesn't even profess to like canoes, my trusty old decked C2 about ruined our relationship before it started, she's a 'dirtbag' kayaker and has been eyeing a Dagger Katana (high volume trip whitewater kayak) since I got my boat.

But alas my seat is just like when the big truck delivered her :- )

 

[Peach Canoe]

I paddled a Supernova one afternoon and enjoyed it a lot. If I remember correctly, the seat was well-placed with the front rail a few inches aft of centre, and the seat high enough to get my size 12's underneath.

I fit my solo seats with the front seat rail 5" aft of centre, and the bottom of the front rail 9" off the bilge and the bottom of the rear rail 10" off the bilge (no pad installed for these measurements). I like my solo canoe to be trimmed empty, with the bow about 1" higher than stern. I use foot pegs (or a foot rest), and a full-size FreeStyle-like bilge mat that's 32" x 52". The mat is half-inch minicel or similar, and covered with light nylon cloth like that on wetsuit neoprene.

It's interesting that you mention the Rendezvous in full Mikey-- I had a couple of those boats over the years-- one in Eggplant Royalex and one in Kevlar Ultralite. I did a full Mikey on the Royalex boat, and sold it to a fellow in Manitoba a few years back. I went to Denver some years ago and met and paddled with the designer of the Rendezvous, Jerry Nyre-- a real gentleman.

The Kevlar Ultralite Rendezvous feels like a completely different hull from the Royalex version, and I liked the Kevlar Rendezvous better: it's a very capable tripper, and I paddled it around the Bowron Lake Circuit about 6 years ago.

I tried a WW saddle, but I really like to move around in the boat; both feet under; both feet forward; one forward and one back; and sometimes I sit right on the bilge with the front of the seat bracing my back. I felt trapped with the pedestal, and because I'm not a dedicated WW paddler (nor do I have those skills), I took it out.

I wish I still had a photo of the Purple Rendezvous with the Full Mikey, but I don't. We've done a number of solos this way-- here's a couple of photos of my wife's Wildfire with top-opening cage.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Nicely outfitted Wildfire !

How was the lashings fastened to the gunnels, on the underside ?

Good points on the pedestal seat. I move my feet around a lot too, unless I use a "Nate Stick". It's a flat rounded stick, I lay across the gunnels, under my legs. Really takes the stress off my back from sitting a long time.

Jim

 

[Peach Canoe]

The Nate Stick! Who knew? I will absolutely try that. What's the origin of the name 'Nate Stick'?

The nylon cord lashing is one continuous length that runs through holes drilled in the fuselage, just below the gunwales. Kevlar is very hydroscopic, and the holes need to be waterproofed after drilling. I Q-Tip epoxy onto the holes until they drink their fill, then I insert a 3mm diameter short plastic rod in each hole until the epoxy cures, and then extract the plastic rods.

The purist may object to drilling the hull, and I understand that.

The pattern for running the cord used to be on Mikey's website-- that's where I got it. If it's not there, I made a drawing of it and it's on my shop wall-- and I can pass it on.

On this Wildfire I installed kayak-style foot braces, tie-downs, and a full-size FreeStyle bilge pad.

That's a nice boat. What is it?

 

[Jim Dodd]

The Nate Stick! Who knew? I will absolutely try that. What's the origin of the name 'Nate Stick'?


That's a nice boat. What is it?

I named it the Nate Stick. While up in the BWCA with my boys. My youngest complained about a back ache. He asked if we could pull over to a beaver den. We did, and he grabbed a stick, about the width of the gunnels. Placed it under his legs. He claimed instant relief. So of course, Dad had to try it .

It worked ! Last Fall I spent three days on a river, and glad I took it along.

The canoe is my first Kevlar build. The Pink foam though it added stiffness, delaminates terribly ! I've been abusing the heck out of this canoe. It's light and fairly fast, and so it goes up on my truck rack quite often, even if it does have an ugly bottom !

Jim

 

[Guest]

The Kevlar Ultralite Rendezvous feels like a completely different hull from the Royalex version, and I liked the Kevlar Rendezvous better: it's a very capable tripper, and I paddled it around the Bowron Lake Circuit about 6 years ago.

I can not think of another canoe model in which the RX version feels so different from the composite. I found the composite Rendezous a very likeable canoe and did not care for the plastic version at all.

A number of paddlers have expressed the same preference. I wonder why?

 

[JagDaddy]

Jerry in CO had the RX Rendezvous I was talking about and two others in RX. He also had/has several in kevlar.

I was seriously considering one, it was Jerry that pointed me towards the Supernova.

Good guy.

I haven't bagged my boat

 

[Peach Canoe]

Jim, that's a nice Kevlar canoe you've made. Did you make a plug, then a female mould? What are its approximate dimensions? It looks to be symmetrical, with fine ends; it surely carries a good load at respectable speeds.

Mike, if you invert the RX and Kevlar Rendezvous hulls side-by-side, you can note some subtle differences. The RX hull is subtly 'rounder' as one would expect (the specific characteristics of Royalex vs Kevlar; and the difference in moulding technologies). I'd have to look again, but I recall the Kevlar hull had finer stems at the WL.

On the water, as you would expect, the Kevlar Rendezvous felt 'stiffer', more agile, and quicker in acceleration. I think the weight difference of the hulls figures in greatly when paddled empty, and there is about 20 lbs difference (37 vs 57), or thereabouts between these two versions of this design.

 

[Guest]

Mike, if you invert the RX and Kevlar Rendezvous hulls side-by-side, you can note some subtle differences. The RX hull is subtly 'rounder' as one would expect (the specific characteristics of Royalex vs Kevlar; and the difference in moulding technologies). I'd have to look again, but I recall the Kevlar hull had finer stems at the WL.

I’m sure the composite Rendezvous has finer stems than the RX version, as is the case with any composite/RX cousins.

I’d be interested in seeing a side-by-side comparison, especially from the end-on perspective. I always thought, without any empirical evidence, that there was some difference in the low-set tumblehome/chine bubble that affected performance, especially when crossing a sharp eddy line.

The plastic Rendezvous felt grabbier and less forgiving. Maybe the sides are near identical and that is just the more elliptical bottom.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Jim, that's a nice Kevlar canoe you've made. Did you make a plug, then a female mould? What are its approximate dimensions? It looks to be symmetrical, with fine ends; it surely carries a good load at respectable speeds.

.

Thanks. I used a stripper as a male mold. The lines are from a Jensen 17, I added tumblehome, and shrunk it. And yes it was symmetrical.
Ended up with two canoes this way. Very similar to James Moran's method in Building your own Kevlar Canoe.

Jim

 

[Peach Canoe]

I always felt the Rendezvous had a deep forefoot that translates into that grabbiness you speak of crossing the eddy line. I moved the seat back a few inches on both models.

The Kevlar version was lighter up front and felt less grabby crossing the line. However, I would add a little weight aft for play on the river-- but that weight plus the asymmetry of the hull made back-paddling problematic unless I came well off the seat.

Asymmetry can also affect travel in a following sea, especially a quartering sea.