riverman wrote:
Hey, a thread with my name on it!

Yeah, you can replace the center THWART with a seat. But as others
have noted, you actualy don't want to be in the exact center of the
canoe when you paddle, as the boat will tend to pivot rather than move
forward when you stroke. Unfortunately, the center thwart DOES want to
be in the exact center, so replacing it with a seat is at
cross-purposes. For this reason, the middle thwart seat in 3-seat
canoes is actually for a third person, not a solo paddler. Even
traditional kayakers sit a little behind the midpoint.

Well, a lot of that is not necessarily so. My canoe is primarily a solo and
has the main seat very near the center. I have no trouble keeping it on a
straight track and have difficulty taking a sharp turn without heeling it
over (due to the hull shape). There are a bow and stern seat but the hull
is too narrow for big people to use them comfortably for a long time (they
were perfect for my kids though). Whether of not a canoe pivots is as much
a factor of the paddle stroke, the amount of keel, the amount of rocker, and
whether you have the boat heeled over (assuming you have little or no
rocker). If the seat is far off the center point the boat will tend to
pivot more because you are lifting the bow (or stern) out of the water so
you have less drag at that end. I've seen Timmaay do that many times.
Especially the time he had his anchor outg.

correct stuff snipped
--riverman

--
Stan Gula
http://gula.org/roffswaps