C-Forum

In a Dagger Ovation canoe, does anyone know how far back the front edge of the pedestal backrest (the place where your butt or back meets the pedestal) should be from the center of the boat? I thought that maybe I should check this before I started glueing stuff in. Thanks.

You may find that Dagger never made a specific recommendation, and that boaters, being the independent and disorganized types they are, never met to establish a recommendation.

My goal for outfitting open boats is to put the pedestal in loose, and find what position results in level trim. Your torso should be straight up or in no more than the slightest forward lean. Maybe a friend can take photos. You can set the pedestal for a very slightly bow up trim, because when you are hustling, you will tend to lean forward, which keeps the bow down somewhat.

The error I still see in OC-1s out on the river, is excessive bow-up trim, which does not mesh with the boat designer's intensions.

The measured center isn't necessarily the center of balance on a asymmetrical hull. Try floating the hull without paddler or pedestal on a calm body of water without wind, waves or current. Add a couple of cups of water and mark the center of the puddle. Putting your center of mass slightly behind that point when sitting straight up should give you a good starting point to follow ezwater's suggestions.

Here's what I do for beginner and intermediate paddlers :
Get someone to spot form the bank of some calm water about 15 ft form the shore. Lean forward with paddle in hand as if you were about to take a forward stroke and hold that position. Then move forward or back until the spotter indicates an even waterline .( neither bow heavy or light ). Then when you sit upright , youll have a very slight bow rise, and even waterline when in the forward stroke position.
Most Advanced paddlers I believe like the bow to be heavy while in the forward stroke position
to get more responsiveness in the bow tho.
Cheers