Seamanship Part 6 - Rigging the "Advantage"

TOE IN:

• Most canoes are rigged with some toe in , perhaps 3/4", in order to compensate for the ama drag causing the canoe to turn towards the ama.
• The Advantage has more gunwale beam at the rear iako than at the front iako so rigging it evenly (measured from the centre of the ama to the outside of the port gunwale) is actually rigging with about 1/2" of toe in.

STABILITY ISSUES:

• Ama weight a light ama means less drag (a fast canoe) but also less stability adding weight to the ama (eg: two small weight training weights, one on the ama-end of each iako) can dramatically improve stability.

CANOE LEAN:

• If the canoe is rigged with lean towards the ama (usually accomplished by adding a wedge between the gunwale and the iako on the ama side ) some of the weight of the crew and canoe are transferred to the ama, pushing it down and increasing stability.
• As the ama lifts, lean disappears and so does the stability from it.
• The heavier a crew is, the more they push the canoe down into the water - as this happens, lean decreases - consequently, identical rigs are less stable with heavier crews in them

WIDTH: 

• A wider rig (ama farther from canoe) is more stable but the ama drag also has more effect on steering than with a narrow rig.
• Suggested rigs for average conditions with a crew of intermediate experience - start with these rigs and then fine tune to suit water conditions, crew weight and experience, etc.
• These are for the Clipper Advantage rigged with a 25 lb Channel Master Ama and iako supplied by Western Canoeing of Abbotsford, B.C.

LIGHT CREW:

• (average paddler weight 140 lbs) both iako at 69" ama side gunwale wedged 1/2" at both iako

HEAVY CREW:

• (average paddler weight 200 lbs) both iako at 69" ama side gunwale wedged 1" at both iakos