My apologies if this topic has been explored in threads elsewhere. I recently took my newly-purchased used Osprey on a one-week flatwater trip. I'd experimented a little with different paddles before the trip, and settled on a short, light favourite ottertail single blade and a 240 cm Aquabound double-blade kayak paddle I use when paddling wide folding kayaks. The double blade quickly became the paddle of choice on the lakes, regardless of wind and waves (or absence thereof). I moved the sliding seat forwards and backwards, and experimented with a seat pad. I suspect that double-blading would be better, especially in wind and waves, if the seat were mounted considerably lower. Lowering the seat, however, would put the height uncomfortably low for single-blading, especially from a kneeling position. I know recent Osprey models offer the option of a "Combi-seat". That seems like a good concept, but not designed to switch techniques "on the fly". I'd like to have both paddling options accessible at all times. I wonder how an assymetrically shaped hull, i.e. the Osprey, would perform paddled from a position closer to the bow, but facing the stern and paddling backwards as one typically does when paddling solo in a tandem canoe. One would, therefore, have two seats at the ready each ostensibly facing the other. A veritable courting canoe, without the elegant madame occupying the bow seat. A sad thought, I know, and possibly heretical. I opened the door on this idea, though, after recalling what a worker at the factory warehouse of a large (and excellent) Canadian canoe manufacturer told me when I'd asked about soloing one of the assymetrical tandem models which was not equipped with a kneeling thwart. He confidently claimed that one would never notice the difference when paddling the canoe with the almost imperceptibly wider half in front of the paddler rather than behind him.
The second seat wouldn't displace cargo space as the heavy canoe pack rides in the stern behind the canoe seat and the lighter pack would ride behind the back of the rear-facing kayak seat.
Any thoughts on paddling assymetricals "backwards"? I do realize that it's quite probable that the 48 hour deluge and the lack of imminent paddle expeditions are wreaking havoc on my imagination.
