I am hoping some of you can offer me ideas ... I paddle with my chestnut prospector 15 foot. I can also use my Nova craft Pal or Cronje. I can no longer bend my right knee - kneeling is impossible. I need to sit and paddle and I fear I am not a strong enough paddler from the sitting only position when on a wilderness trip - long distances and less than ideal conditions.
If I trim my Prospector ( or other tandem) properly with gear towards the bow and my dog Jake midships, is it feasible to think about sitting in the stern of the boat and paddle sit and switch? I hate to think about padding this way, but the thought of not getting into the bush is worse
Bob, I have zero experience with Chestnut Prospectors, but I think either the Cronje or Pal would work in that guise, or perhaps, depending on your wingspan and paddling preferences, backwards from the bow seat. Both are symmetrical, and if possible I prefer the bow backwards style.
Both the Pal and the Cronje have the bow seat positioned well back from the stems. I have our Cronje set up so that I can paddle it backwards from the bow seat. There are some personal peculiarities to that bow backwards set up.
For physiological reasons I sit, and need a foot brace, whether paddling tandem stern or, more often bow backwards. And I prefer to be able to brace my knees comfortably against the gunwales.
So the peculiar Cronje outfitting has two foot brace bars, one for the stern seat, one for bow backwards. Those adjustable Wenonah foot braces are conveniently positioned so that either unused bar can be slid directly under a thwart or yoke, losing no gear storage space for packs or barrels.
P5010766 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
My knee spread doesn’t come close to the inwales when bow backwards, so the Cronje has mega knee bumpers for that seating position. Like having a foot brace I am far more comfortable seated when I can brace my knees against the (padded, reduced width) sides.
With a foot brace, knee bumpers and back band I can comfortably lock in on a 5 point stance while seated.
P5010764 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
The center of the Cronje bow seat is 6 feet from the bow stem, so it doesn’t need an absurd amount of trim weight forward, even empty-ish day paddling. I presume the Pal is similar, I’ve only paddled a NC Pal a few times.
The Cronje is 31” wide at the front of that backwards seat, so manageable. The Pal, being an inch narrower max beam should be even more managable. In that bow backwards guise the Cronje is an enjoyable canoe, and at 16’ 8” (Royalex length) it isn’t too much wetted surface to propel solo. The shorter Pal perhaps better as a solo.
I have even though about using a Greenland style Kayak paddle - hard to imagine paddling my prospector with a double blade, but I want to really consider all options so I can still get into the back country.
I am an inveterate double blader, again for old and beaten up physiological reasons. A deep Prospector wouldn’t be my first choice, but neither would a Greenland stick, and I’m curious why you specified that.
I have never used a Greenland stick, so whadda I know. I have used
canoe length-appropriate double blade Euros to paddle canoes from pack boats to soloized tandems.
And again, whadda I know, I use a double long enough (260cm mostly) in our big tripping canoes to effect a low angle touring stroke. Which I can do all day long, even into a headwind.
I am told by the learned that I should be using a 230 and a (wet) vertical paddle stroke. Screw that; I’m not out there to impress anyone, I just wanna get there in the method I find most comfortable. Admittedly with an 8 ½ foot long stick paddle weight becomes a critical issue, and anything less than carbon fiber would now seem torture.
Seem like you have nearly endless options in your current canoes to experiment with, potentially including “soloizing” the Pal or Cronje with a single seat at your best preferred location.
Whatever you find or do, stern seat forward, bow backwards, soloizing a tandem, double blading when the headwinds get tough, if it works for you that’s all that matters.
For my aging and arthritic purposes custom comfort and efficiency outfitting reigns supreme, especially for long distances and less than ideal conditions. To that end if my canoe isn’t the most comfortable seat in the house, I still have work to do.