: I've been contemplating seat designs for my current project. I've read at the
: Milwaukee Museum's native eskimo exhibit, that native designs were
: something of a sling. I'm not sure if they meant a sling for a lumbar
: support, or something like a rock-climber's harness, or both. Reviewing
: the diagrams in Mr. Shade's book, which depicted the center of boyancy and
: center of mass in a boat, I was wondering if it would be possible for the
: paddler to maintain a vertical possiton in relation to the horizon, no
: matter what the boat did underneath him or her, by being suspended by a
: seat as described above. How might this affect the stability and
: efficiency of the boat?

: A draw back that comes to mind is the neccessity for the paddler to be firmly
: connected to the boat so that each stroke's energy is set to move the
: boat, not rock the paddler in a cockpit seat harness. Any kind of rolling
: might be difficult as well. I'm an inexperienced paddler. Off hand, I
: imagine that it would be possible to maintain foot and knee contact with
: the boat, and still have a sling type seat. Preassure from feet and knees
: against sling seat might be enough to stablize the paddler in position
: while paddling. The "cheek plates" would provide adequate
: anchors for sling-supports distributing stress between the cockpit coaming
: and the hull interior. Bottom of paddler would be suspended out of the
: bilge, yet control of the height of that suspension would be possible.

Bill,

Not to worry. I've been using sling seats for some time now in both folding
and non-folding skin boats, and have found them to be be very stable,
laterally supportive, and above all, comfortable.

The folder slings are gunwale attached, but I've also attached slings to
the chines in non-folders.

In the LINK below, you will notice that there are lateral support straps to
keep the seat from shifting side to side. The particular seat can be adjusted
for height, but in later versions, see pic, I've found it unnecessary.

The attached pic shows an 18oz. PVC/Polyester sling that is overlapped and
glued. The lateral support straps are yet to be added, but they will be sewn/glued in place.

After years of experimenting with floor boards,carved foam seats, fiberglass
seats, and inflatable seats, I've concluded that the light weight, simplicity,
support, and comfort of the sling is best, at least for me. Best way to find
out for yourself is to make one. It will cost only a few dollars, and take
less than an hour to make. Then you'll "know" if a sling's for you.

Tom