seat design

[Chipper1959]

I've come to the point in my Hiawatha build where it's time to build seats. I'm planning on hanging them from the gunwhales because that seems to be what most folks do.
I'm looking at the different designs out there and I'm curious as to why the seating area is usually so small. It seems to me there would be no disadvantage in making the seating area as big as possible...or in other words, making the seating area as to fill the entire frame.
In looking at the picture below, (of a typical seat), why wouldn't the crossbars,(the short pieces), be placed farther apart, towards the outside, in order to get more seating area.

seat.gif

p.s. I have a "normal" size arse...

[Patricks Dad]

It may be that the effort to cane the seat influences the size... The bigger the seat, the more work it will take.

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Chipper
You need to take a look at other canoe building books. I have a book by Gilpatrick (1993 version). Gilpatrick has a nice section on canoe seat building. He starts the section with a Maine twist on the word "ample". He does that so you will know what he means when he describes his seats as "ample". These seats are pretty nice looking and I am thinking of going that way when seat time comes for my Ranger.

I just looked on eBay you can pick up gils book for $14.99 (US dollars I guess). On the cover you get a birds eye view of Gil's ample seat.http://www.ebay.com/itm/Building-Strip-Canoe-Cane-Seats-Paddles-Gil-Gilpatrick-1993-Book-Illustrated-/320883159542?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item4ab62071f6

[Mihun09]

I built a seat for the wood canvas canoe I just finished. I made it contoured and deeper and wider than normal. I did use webbing instead of caning though. I could have bought a seat but figured I could build one and was up for the challenge. It is contoured both ways, being the main rails are shaped as well as the spacer rails so the front of the seat angles down for kneeling comfort.

It is very comfy.

[DSJ]

Chipper
You need to take a look at other canoe building books. I have a book by Gilpatrick (1993 version). Gilpatrick has a nice section on canoe seat building. He starts the section with a Maine twist on the word "ample". He does that so you will know what he means when he describes his seats as "ample". These seats are pretty nice looking and I am thinking of going that way when seat time comes for my Ranger.

I just looked on eBay you can pick up gils book for $14.99 (US dollars I guess). On the cover you get a birds eye view of Gil's ample seat.http://www.ebay.com/itm/Building-Strip-Canoe-Cane-Seats-Paddles-Gil-Gilpatrick-1993-Book-Illustrated-/320883159542?pt=US_Nonfiction_Book&hash=item4ab62071f6

You can see Gilatrick's seat plans here on page 43 , but buy the book anyway, It's certainly worth it just for another perspective on strip canoe building.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=lR-SZLG ... ck&f=false