C-Forum

I am carving the saddle on a Esquif Fly to fit my 225lbs. I know that I'm at the top of the weight range and from paddling other Flies, I know what to expect from this boat (Great Things!). I have gotten the saddle carved out just enough to wedge myself in and the boat is definitely heavier in the stern. The bow is about 2 inches higher off the water. I can lean way forward and trim the boat evenly. Boat spins dead center (oddly enough). I can carve the edges. But this has gotta be slowing the boat down. What do you folks think is the proper trim for this boat, even keel or bow light?

I don't have any precise info, but when I got mine (2nd hand) it was bow light. Chris Noble (Wetknobby on here) tried it out and said "you need to move the seat up two inches". I did and whoo hoo - a good boat turned into a better boat. I'd guess it is pretty much even keel. With such a short boat with continuous rocker, it's not hard to adjust trim by leaning. Or heck, just nodding your head...

See Craig Smerda's discussion in the outfitting section http://kayakoutfitting.com/tips/wwcanoe/index.html (section 3 discusses saddle placement). Although this is a general discussion concerning open boat outfitting, he is, I think, specifically talking about the Spanish Fly. I followed his advice and am very happy with the results.

Marc

Thanks, Guys. I did a fair amount of foam shaving in the thigh hooks. Let me move forward about inch and a half. We'll see if that does the trick.

with the esquif fly's, have most folks needed to move their saddle from the stock position?