Traditional canoe seats work great, but they're not removable and not adjustable. SlackSeat provides a portable canoe seat that's remarkably adjustable so you can paddle more comfortably.

SlackSeat is a type of canoe seat, but it’s designed to be sat on differently than your traditional canoe seat. While a traditional canoe seat is locked in place (or, in some cases may be adjusted forward and backwards), SlackSeat allows you kneel with your bottom supported and the weight off your knees and ankles. You can vary your paddling position according to your own preference and comfort and according to the conditions.

When paddling with a partner, you may simply want to change things up from the regular seats, particularly on longer days of paddling. But where SlackSeat really shines is improving your ability to comfortably paddle solo, particularly in a traditional tandem canoe.

SlackSeat and a kneeling thwart both make kneeling in a canoe more comfortable, but SlackSeat is far more adjustable, comfortable, and portable.

Kneeling Thwart

A kneeling thwart is an old solution to the discomfort of kneeling in a canoe while paddling solo. Rather than crushing your ankles, a kneeling thwart allows you to lean your bottom against a 3” plank of wood installed on a forward-tipped angle near the centre of the canoe. Combined with a pad under your knees, it’s an improvement to the comfort of paddling. Unlike SlackSeat, a kneeling thwart adds structural rigidity to your canoe, with the trade-off being that it requires some drilling, is semi-permanent, and your height and angle are locked in place.

For an improvement to a traditional kneeling thwart, there is a solution called a Welsh Plank. The paddler still sits on a chunk of wood, but it’s set up a little better than a kneeling thwart as it’s suspended from cordage that allows for more variation. But a Welsh Plank can only be used on traditional wood gunnels.

SlackSeat

SlackSeat is used much the same as a kneeling thwart but is far more variable to match the unique needs of each paddler and to allow you to vary your position throughout a day of paddling. Rather than sitting on it like a traditional canoe seat, the paddler kneels in the canoe with the SlackSeat tucked between their bottom and their calves and each end held in place with gunnel grips. The height can be quickly and easily varied with a webbing strap on the non-paddling side pulled through a stainless steel cam buckle.

A kneeling thwart is an old solution to the discomfort of kneeling in a canoe. SlackSeat provides (much) more comfort, is adjustable, and requires no drilling into your canoe (highly portable).

There are some benefits to a kneeling thwart over SlackSeat. For one, a kneeling thwart adds structural reinforcement to your canoe. While SlackSeat is portable, removable, and lightweight, it is not going to add rigidity to your canoe hull and requires the paddler to paddle relatively close to either the yoke or another structural element of the canoe like a thwart.

While a kneeling thwart does help with the discomfort of kneeling in a canoe, you’re still leaning against a 3” plank of wood with a relatively high center of gravity, and because it’s locked in place, when you lean the canoe, it’s like you’re sitting on a park bench with two of the legs cut shorter. 

SlackSeat requires no drilling into your canoe, is remarkably lightweight and portable, and allows the paddler more comfort and variability when canoeing.

Kneeling in a canoe provides more control and better stability. Here are a few more reasons why you may want to kneel in a canoe:

• Sometimes your body says, “please stop sitting.” Kneeling allows you to change things up and keep the blood circulating on longer trips
• Kneeling lowers your centre of gravity, providing better stability in wind and waves 
• When paddling solo, you can lean the canoe to your paddling side more easily for less of a reach 
• Again, while solo paddling, kneeling allows you to paddle near the centre or pivot point of the canoe, providing more control

Paddling a canoe solo is a very different experience from paddling with a partner. It requires more technique to do it well. The first thing you need to do is move closer to the center of the canoe, so the front and back of the canoe are "trimmed" or level in the water.

While paddling with a friend, the person in the bow (the front) is responsible for much of the propulsion, while the person in the stern (the back) is responsible for keeping the canoe straight. When you're alone, you need to take care of propulsion and steering almost simultaneously.

If you try to do this while sitting in the same position as when you’re paddling with a friend, the nose of your canoe is going to point up out of the water and quickly turn into a weather vane, spinning the canoe in whatever direction the wind would like. It's a very frustrating experience. 

To deal with this problem, the traditional solution is to sit on the bow seat, facing the stern. This definitely helps plant the canoe better in the water, but it isn’t perfect. You’re still not paddling right at the pivot point, and unless you have a dog or some equipment in the front of the boat, your canoe is still going to be trimmed with the nose up, meaning less control. 

And besides, the typical canoe seat gets uncomfortable after an hour of paddling. Changing up your paddling position can really help keep you from getting stiff and sore. 

My dad used to say “change is as good as rest.” Changing your paddling position from sitting to kneeling is a nice break for your back and your bum. You can lean your bum against the seat and kind of half-kneel, which helps with the discomfort of kneeling, but to really get control of your canoe, particularly in windy conditions, you want to kneel as close as possible to the centre of the canoe, or the “pivot point.”For most people, kneeling in a canoe for longer than 10 minutes without some sort of padding or makeshift seat becomes unbearably uncomfortable.

SlackSeat makes a great third, or maybe even fourth, canoe seat for kids.

Although SlackSeat was initially designed as a solo canoe seat, it works great as a middle seat for kids. Depending on the age of the child, they may be most comfortable sitting on the seat like a traditional seat, or they can use the seat in the kneeling position. They may need assistance with changing the height as the cam buckle requires a good thumb-press to adjust.

SlackSeat is used successfully on every type of gunnel, including wood, vinyl, aluminum, and integrated carbon kevlar.