"riverman" wrote in message
...

...In canoes, Wolfie, its pretty common (assuming the style of seat allows
it) to turn the boat around and sit in the 'bow seat', as this puts your
body closer to the center of the boat. Often, this maintains the proper
trim by itself, without having to add a load in the bow.

Yeah, I've tried that. I didn't like it. For one thing, while it does put
you closer to the center of the boat, in the case of my boat the difference
is not enough to eliminate the need for counterbalancing altogether.....the
bow still tended to ride high. Second, and more important, as you approach
the center of the canoe, the boat gets wider and you have to reach out
further to clear the gunwales. Probably not all that important from the
standpoint of mechanics, but it annoyed me.

Similarly, when loading canoes for trips, you tend to put the heavier gear
in the center of the boat (water bottles, beer, pots and pans) and the
lighter stuff (duffel, trash bags, empty coffee pots) out near the ends,
as they won't effect your ability to pivot so much.

Pivoting was never an issue for me. I spent all of my canoeing time on
lakes or low gradient rivers. There was never a single instance (aside from
trying to play a fish....in which cases both hands were busy anyway) when I
needed to be able to turn sharply.

Now that I think about it, I guess that what I really like about kayaking is
the relative freedom of motion versus canoeing and that I can do it alone
without having to make compromises enforced by the inherent limitations of
the craft.

Wolfgang