How to Sit in a Canoe

Most canoes are shaped identically on both ends, allowing you to paddle in either direction. Canoes also tend to have seats bolted into the boat, making it easy for you and other passengers to know where to place yourselves for stability. However, here are some tips that will make handling the canoe easier.

Instructions

  1. Find the Stern

    • 1

      Look for the seat that is closest to one end of the canoe. This is the stern end. A paddler can sit on this seat and gain more control over steering than if he were farther from the end of the canoe (the front of the canoe is called the bow, and the rear is the stern).

    • 2

      Move into the boat by reaching for both sides of the canoe. This will keep you and the boat steady.

    Gain Your Seat

    • 3

      Sit in the stern if you are paddling solo. If you have a passenger, one of you will be seated in the stern and one will sit in the seat closest to the bow. The center seat, if you have one, is only if a third person joins you. The two ends are where paddlers have the most control.

    • 4

      Stay low! If you are having trouble balancing, and fear the canoe is going to tip, crouch as low to the bottom of the boat as possible. In fact, sit on the bottom until you feel comfortable, and then move up to a seat when you feel confident that you can move slowly and steadily in the boat without threatening a tip-over. Most canoe seats are low in the boat to help stabilize the craft.

    • 5

      Sit on the canoe seat in a lunge position when you need more power. This involves keeping your bottom towards the front edge of the seat (as opposed to firmly and comfortably on the seat in the "chair" style used in calm water). Bend one knee to rest on the bottom of the canoe and keep the other thigh perpendicular to the bottom of the craft. This gives the body more torque, or twisting power, with which to navigate tricky waters.