outfitting my prelude

[Bill]

I read and viewed the awesome pages that Craig Smerda put on the outfitting page regarding outfitting a Prelude. They are awesome and will be a great help. My problem precedes his directions. How do i find out where I should sit? I took my Prelude out last night to find where to center the pedestal. I moved it forward and back but neither I nor my friend noticed much difference. How do I find out how to center the saddle? Can i just mark the center of the boat and then that is where I should sit? If I do this, should i sit my butt right at the middle line? Should my back be against the back of the pedestal or can I be forward of that? At one point I had moved the pedestal way forward so that the back of it was barely under the rear thwart. Does that sound like too much? Also, my paddle for my C1 is 56, should it be longer for this boat? And I'm used to a very low seat, closer to 7 inches. Is that too low for an open boat? Thanks for any tips because nobody around where I live helps, but they do enjoy laughing at my antics.

[Craig Smerda]

Bill,

Glad it was helpful!

I would suggest trying this method for finding the center of a symetrical canoe. First of all if you are going to cut the saddle do that first (7" is pretty low for an OC?). Find the center of the boat via a tape measure or ??. Your body centerline should/could be considered as the middle of your chest (your legs will be in front of you and that adds a bit of weight. As water enters the boat (which happens in canoe) it should balance out) Double check and verify the boat sits evenly in the water before you glue things down.

Have fun and enjoy your new boat!

Craig

[slalom rules]

Bill,
I use an old but simple means of determining trim. I simply put some water in the boat while I am in it seated on my unglued pedestal. Note: The boat is in still water ie floating. I move around my outfitting (Kneepads also unglued) until the water is centered around the low point of the boats rocker. This is the start point. I might recommend that you lightly glue it in place the first time and paddle a bit. Depending on your style and what you want to use the boat for, you might want to adjust a bit. For example, as a slalom racer who is always reaching forward and keeps his weight slightly forward as a result, I might set the seat back just a bit so I won't be bowheavy and pushing water when I am hammering to go as fast as I can. Obviously boat trim in a prelude can be easily adjusted on the water by simply leaning forward or back so its not as critical as it would be say in a marathon racing canoe. Good luck and enjoy the boat.
Pat

[Grey Towel]

Hi Bill
Get yourself a spiritlevel about 5 ft long measure the boat for centre attach the spiritlevel dead centre with tape .
Carve 3 cm off the pedestal I would not take anymore than that off.
Get the Knee pads you are going to use, these two things will determine your central position (weight distribution.)
Now get yourself afloat and move the pedestal untill you find the centre, remember to sit with your backside against the rear of the seat it gives you more stability.
This is where I glue in my out fitting seat and knee pads wide as possible then i work with the rest of the factory kit to customise for myself . If you have mates like mine dont take their word about how your trim looks youll be outfitting every week.

[the great gonzo]

Another approcah that works well on the prelude (I did it like that, and I am very happy with the result), especially if the saddle/bulkhead combination is already glued together is to just temporarily fix your saddle with duct tape to the thwarts (dont worry, it won't fall out) and then ecperiment with different positions, until jou are happy with the handing of the boat. Once you found that position, it's time to glue the saddle down .

martin