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Author	Message Text
sedges	06/27/2017 09:23PM   First of all, lowering the seat is not going to help with your primary problem of instability when entering the canoe. It may help with the turning around imbalance issue. I have found that when entering I put one foot in the center of the bottom, have both hands on the gunnels and when I lift my other foot in I rest my shin on gunnel for a moment before I pull my foot over and into the boat. It allows me to adjust my balance with the weight on my hands and works to keep my weight low. It is something you will get used to with time. One thing that it takes a while to feel OK about is the secondary stability of the boat. It may feel tippy, because it is a lot narrower than the tandems you are used to. Even when you feel like its going over it probably would not have. The best way to learn to trust secondary stability is to go swimming. Push the hull over and see what it really takes to tip it. I takes a lot more than we imagine. I have a feeling that you would get used to this in the course of a trip. That seat is already pretty low. Maybe it will take more than a week to get used to the motion. The key is to relax not to react to every tipping motion.
LindenTree3	06/27/2017 09:23PM   I think Piragis sells hollow dowls with threaded rods for this specific purpose. That's what I did/used for my solo, can't remember for sure but I think it was Parigas. You can order different lengths, or order long and cut them down.
VaderStrom	06/27/2017 01:07PM   quote AmarilloJim: "If you could just mount the seat on the lower side of the shelf you would lower it an inch without a spacer." I agree. It is a no hardware alteration with a chance to see if that's low enough or if you need to change it further.
billconner	06/27/2017 01:13PM   quote AmarilloJim: "If you could just mount the seat on the lower side of the shelf you would lower it an inch without a spacer." That was my first thought and that I could do that while on the trip, but the rivets holding the angles to the hull obstruct the seat spars. Plus, I feel that 1 1/2 to 2" is probably what's needed. I really only felt unstable getting in and trying to get my second foot in to drain. In other words, I was off balance with one leg outside, not surprising. Once in awhile when I tried to turn to look aft, I'd also feel a little tippy, so I stopped that. Thinking about getting a bicycle type rearview mirror that mounts to hat or headband. :)
PortageKeeper	06/27/2017 03:56PM   or..... drill out the hull rivets and flip the angle over using the same rivet holes to re-mount it. Can't tell, but if the angle bracket isn't a 90*, then that may not be an option. If I were doing it I would bend a new piece of aluminum that would use the same holes but hang down further, but, I have a brake for doing that. Also, you can notch the styles to accommodate the rivets. As others have said, most likely some day you will want it back where it is now. My first ride in my first Magic was dicey too, but I just kept paddling it til I was used to it. Now I have considered raising it instead.
butthead	06/27/2017 02:47PM   Lower it without changing mounts, use spacers, longer bolts, and locating to bottom of the hanger. You can raise it as you get used to it if you wish, latter. I did that wit the Moccasin I had and after a year put it back to stock height because I wanted more room under and the sitting angle. AmarilloJim and VaderStrom have the idea. butthead
billconner	06/27/2017 12:27PM   After a week in my new-to-me Tranquility with some big water, I'd like to lower the seat an inch or two. I'm hoping to just "hang" it from the current aluminum shelf angles with stainless steel bolts and either ss tubes or perhaps aluminum "blocks" drilled or even some ash blocks drilled and coated. I like the tube spacer because it seems more likely to be sure to miss the rivets holding the shelf angle to the hull. Any tips or experiences that might help will be much appreciated.
AmarilloJim	06/27/2017 12:53PM   If you could just mount the seat on the lower side of the shelf you would lower it an inch without a spacer.