I'm considering moving the seats of my Wenonah Sundowner 18 toward the center of the boat.  The stern seat would be close behind the center thwart and the bow seat just ahead of it.  I'd use cane seats so the paddlers can sit close to the opposite gunwales when paddling.  There are several intended benefits of doing this:

- To give the bow paddler a wider station.
- To put most of the weight in the middle, thus making handling easier in wavy conditions.
- To reduce the amount of yawing, or deflection, thus reducing the amount of J-stroking needed.

A down side might be that it could make the boat harder to turn, especially a long, straight-keeled boat like the Sundowner.

Packs would obviously go toward the ends, and I assume it would be easy to trim.

Has anyone heard of or had experience with this sort of thing?