How to Sit in a Canoe: Paddler Position

In an earlier article I discussed different canoe hull shapes and designs.  Another component of the hull design is the seats and thwarts - this translates into the paddler seating position.  This article talks about how to sit in a canoe.

There are two options available for the position of the paddler: sitting, or kneeling. Traditionally, the paddler kneels on the floor of the canoe, with the backside resting on a seat or thwart. Seats thus are installed close to the gunwale of the canoe, usually with spacers to make them level to the water. There is enough space for the paddler's feet to extend underneath the seat. The knees are placed as far apart as comfort allows, and generally the paddler shifts close to the side on which he or she is paddling - bow and stern paddler on opposite sides, for obvious balance reasons. Knee padding, and some kind of support under the instep (like a boat cushion), is all that is required to render this position comfortable for hours on end.

The thwarts and seats in the traditional canoe are not safe for sitting while travelling: they are well above the water-line, so that the centre of gravity of the whole craft is raised above the water line. Most canoeing accidents are the result of two paddlers sitting up on the seats, and both shifting their weight to one side suddenly. In windy conditions, the canoe that was recently your high and dry means of transport becomes that disappearing red dot the wind is taking away from you at a rate faster than you can swim. Sitting on the seats, in a canoe meant for kneeling paddlers, is an invitation to disaster.

The paddler who must sit, then, needs the right kind of seat. If you have bad knees, you need this option. Please do not compromise on this. The only safe canoe is the canoe in which the centre of gravity is below the waterline. You need specially placed thwarts, in order to sit for paddling.

Clipper is one of the companies that have decided that canoeists simply will not kneel, so you will see their designs and comments about the seat placement which assume a seated position. Wisely, their seats extend downwards from the ends, so that the centre of gravity is well below the water line. This offers at least a more stable way to be seated. However, I have paddled in a Clipper, and I would disagree with their rather condemning comments about their seated position offering greater control than kneeling. In a kneeling position, I am able to tilt and hold my canoe at any angle, much greater control than I felt I had in their seat system. Paddling tandem, with my knees down, I can react quickly enough to counteract even the most unpredictable shifts in weight from my bow paddler. But if the paddler must sit, designs like the Clipper seats are essential.

The safest way to paddle solo is on your knees. To make it more comfortable you might well to make yourself a special cushion to fit under your insteps (to prevent the flattening of your ankles and loss of circulation to the feet). I made one from blocks of foam from some old sofa cushions, covered in a vinyl cloth. It is about 32" x 24", and 4" thick at the front and 16" thick at the rear; it's like a big wedge of foam. I kneel on the forward edge, and the 16" thick rear part supports my insteps. I slip a boat-cushion between my heels and my butt, and sit comfortably like that for hours, shifting to the side on which I am paddling.

One other design factor to check on regarding thwarts, is the yoke of the canoe. It should be absolutely at mid-point, so that when you shoulder the canoe it is balanced. A shaped yoke, with neck-hole and contoured shoulder rests, can make it comfortable enough to carry half a mile into that perfect pristine lake that will never see a motor on it.

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