Performance System

A five point brace can be achieved by adding our foam thigh pads. Bracing your feet on the footbrace (or the bow tank), seated comfortably rest your knees against the optional foam thigh pads. Utilizing these pads greatly increases the control you have in the canoe. If one of your passengers suddenly decides to lean out over the edge – you’ll be able to control the canoe just using your legs and hips.

In the stern, we have an adjustable footbrace system. If you have ever paddled in a seated position with your feet not braced, you probably remember having a sore shoulder, neck and back by the end of the day. Our footbrace is a telescoping bar pinned into angle that is mounted on either side of the canoe by sealed rivets.

By placing the balls of you feet against the bar (approximately shoulder width apart) you are able to pull the canoe forward using your whole body. If your feet are not braced, the only thing pulling the canoe forward with your stroke is the friction of the seat of you pants on the seat. You end up tensing your back muscles to keep from pulling yourself off the seat, resulting in a sore body at the end of the day.

Our tandem canoes are all available with bucket seats, placed low enough so you never have to kneel to get your centre of gravity down for stability. Bucket seats are a comfortable – tractor type seat – featuring a slight raise at the back to gently cup your derriere (hey, 2 million farmers can’t be wrong). Seats also feature drainage points so if you take on water, you won’t have to sit in it.

In most if our tandem tripping canoes 16½ feet and longer, the bow seat slides. This is so you can easily adjust the trim of your canoe so that it rides level, taking advantage of the sharp entry line for steering purposes; Also handy if you find yourself with ‘oncoming’ seas. Rather than take water over the bow, slide the seat back so the bow rides up over the waves. The seat doesn’t slide when you take a stroke, but adjusts by raising your weight up off the seat and sliding it along on two parallel bars. The seats are ‘friction-fit’, which means your weight, when seated, will keep the seat in place.