Do the middle seats slide side to side? Those two big guys in the middle don't look like ther is much spare room to slide for a better paddle angle. Try a voyageur class canoe one day. If you like the C4, you will like that one as well. I have raced both voyageur and C4 class canoes in the Adirondack 90 miler and on the Yukon River ever since 1997.