The portage yoke shoud be at whatever point the canoe's weight is balanced for
carrying purposes. The manufacturer does this according to the canoes
manufactured weight and layout. If either has changed, or been cahnged, it may
be necessary to adjust the yoke position, or simply put up with a canoe which
is a liitle heavier on one end when portaged. As far as the layout, I use
tandem canoes for solo wilderness tripping and routinely move seats, thwarts
and yokes to suit my needs. (My weight and comfort, size and distribution of
gear items, etc.) Many people would hesitate to do so with a new canoe, but in
your case, I would simply move the seats and/or yoke and thwarts to suit my
specific need. Under way, the canoe should be trim, meaning level in the water.
If the seats are fixed and the paddlers weight and gear weight change the trim,
moving gear fore or aft is often required. If you already know how you plan on
using the canoe, make a few test runs to determine the best position of seats,
etc. for you needs. In my experience, these changes have little or no effect on
the strucural entegrity of the hull, if done properly. (Proper and secure
mounting, hardware etc.)
" If clean air and water and a healthy environment have not harmed you, please
reciprocate."