Perfect Trim?

[Steve in Idaho]

Sorry if I gave that impression, but it must take considerably more energy to turn a tandem boat with a relatively flat rim then it does to turn one that is bow light.

Again, I think it depends a lot on the particular canoe, the paddler, and to some extent, the paddle (I favor a long bladed ottertail when soloing a tandem).

I think you have mentioned an 18' tandem, and I suspect that has a lot to do with what you're saying. The longest tandem I have paddled solo for any distance is 16.5', and most have been shorter than that.

There is one thing besides this length difference I would like to explore, but it's not so much about the bow being light as it is your position in the boat.

When paddling into the wind, we usually say we should move our weight forward to pin the bow. As I mentioned earlier, that doesn't always work for me. But I wonder if that's just because the weight I'm moving is myself, and because of that I'm also moving my biggest "sail area" forward of the center of effort.

You have that same "sail" close to the stern. Even moving forward to bring the bow down with gear far ahead of you, you can still be pretty far aft. Could that be part of why you aren't having difficulty in a headwind when tripping? You have more "sail area" astern?

I would like to try that in the Malecite when the lake opens back up.

 

[tketcham]

... it must take considerably more energy to turn a tandem boat with a relatively flat [t]rim then it does to turn one that is bow light.

Not if you heel the canoe and use an axle or wedge or any number of prying and drawing combinations. There are a bunch of solo paddling (in tandem canoes) instructional videos that demonstrate the maneuvers.

 

[lowangle al]

Again, I think it depends a lot on the particular canoe, the paddler, and to some extent, the paddle (I favor a long bladed ottertail when soloing a tandem).

I think you have mentioned an 18' tandem, and I suspect that has a lot to do with what you're saying. The longest tandem I have paddled solo for any distance is 16.5', and most have been shorter than that.

There is one thing besides this length difference I would like to explore, but it's not so much about the bow being light as it is your position in the boat.

When paddling into the wind, we usually say we should move our weight forward to pin the bow. As I mentioned earlier, that doesn't always work for me. But I wonder if that's just because the weight I'm moving is myself, and because of that I'm also moving my biggest "sail area" forward of the center of effort.

You have that same "sail" close to the stern. Even moving forward to bring the bow down with gear far ahead of you, you can still be pretty far aft. Could that be part of why you aren't having difficulty in a headwind when tripping? You have more "sail area" astern?

I would like to try that in the Malecite when the lake opens back up.

The boats I've done it in were from 16 to 20 feet and I don't think the physics changes due to length. I also don't think my position in the boat has anything to do with it either. I get the same results in wind or calm. I am curious to try my malecite from the center seat with a lot of weight in the stern to confirm that the hull reacts in the same way as when seated in the stern.

Not if you heel the canoe and use an axle or wedge or any number of prying and drawing combinations. There are a bunch of solo paddling (in tandem canoes) instructional videos that demonstrate the maneuvers.

.I'm familiar with the other ways to turn a boat. With my style, I use the hull as a rudder to do most of the turning for me, saving my energy for going forward. I use pivot turns under power to make most turns. By using the hull as a rudder I minimize the use of steering strokes. It's similar how a motorboat turns, except instead of being able to turn the motor which causes the boat to lean you need to lean the boat yourself and just apply power.

As for bow pinning, I'm usually not trimmed flat enough to do it, but it is effective whenever I tried it. Here is my philosophy. Since a canoe steers from the stern, I'm going to use the stern to carve my turn. From a centralized position, common practice seems to be to release the stern by heeling, and carve with the bow. I think carving with the stern will slow you down less than carving with the bow. You can still carve with your stern from the bow seat backwards position, you just don't get as much turning action from it.