Stability in the Prospector

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Woody J
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Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:43 am

Stability in the Prospector

Post by Woody J »

I finished my Prospector at last and set out in the water for the fist time yesteray. While I was generally pleased with the way the canoe paddled, it felt a bit unstable to me. The instability was more pronounced when my wife got in the boat with me.

When I paddled solo in the kneeling position, the canoe felt great. I positioned the seats according to the plans. The bottom of each seat is about 10 and a half inches from the bottom of the boat.

I was wondering if this is just a characteristic of this canoe. I am trying to decide if I should just wait and see if I get used to it or if I should try lowering the seats a inch and a half or so. Another option would be to move the seats closer to the center. Eventually, I plan to use this as a camping canoe, so I would love to leave the middles as open as possible for cargo.

Any suggestions?

Woody
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Glen Smith
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Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Post by Glen Smith »

My Hiawatha has much less initial stability than the Prospector and it really feels "tippy" each time I use it but only for a few minutes then I get used to it and it feels fine. I suggest you paddle your Prospector a bit more and if you still feel it is unstable, begin by lowering the seats as you suggested. Moving the seats closer inboard will increase the stability but I would leave that as a last escape to keep the center for gear storage and also to prevent from having to drill more holes in the inwales.

Speaking of gear storage, have you tried paddling the canoe with the gear you would normally bring along to see how this affects the stability. If your total load weight is less than about 370 pounds, the canoe isn't loaded enough to bring it down to the designed waterline and this will affect the initial stability, making the boat "tippier".
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davidb54321
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Post by davidb54321 »

Woody,

Yes it is tippy, at first.

I know how you feel. I have a 16' Prospector as well. She is definately a little skittish without any weight. Kneeling is no problem, but paddling tandem with my son is "exciting". I feel totally confident that with a load of camping gear, it will settle down and "behave" a lot better.

I am 6'4" and weigh about 230lbs, and I really like the way the canoe handles paddling it solo. Like Glen mentioned, it needs a substantial amount of weight to put it in the water where it is intended to be.
David Bartlett

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Woody J
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Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:43 am

Thanks!

Post by Woody J »

Thank you for the feedback! I am going to drop the seats down just a bit and try it with some camping gear. What a great excuse to go camping!

I will let you know how things work out.

Woody
canoeblderinmt
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Post by canoeblderinmt »

Woody,
It's been awhile since this post thread. How are you liking your Prospector now that you (hopefully) have some more time on the water with her?
" Choose to chance the rapids, Dare to dance the tide..."
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Arctic
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Post by Arctic »

Glen Smith wrote:My Hiawatha has much less initial stability than the Prospector and it really feels "tippy" each time I use it but only for a few minutes then I get used to it and it feels fine. .
Same for me with my Hiawatha- Even tippier with three people on board (600+ lbs.), moving around!

Mark
"The journey is the reward"- Tao saying
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