Few things bother K2 combinations more than the disagreement over seat positions, and the feeling that your partner is
leaning "the wrong way" and tilting the boat onto its side!
As a race progresses and fatigue sets in, this is likely to spark some major arguments! It's therefore really important to set the boat up running 100% true.
Start by looking at the seats, and lining them up as straight as possible down the hull. Many boats still have the pencilled cross in the hull that marked the correct placement of the seat pin, and this helps line up the seats.
Then take to the water for a while - long enough to settle down, get into a positive rhythm, and get the combination working. If the boat still feels like it is leaning one way or the other then stop and shift the seat towards the direction the boat feels like it is leaning.
In other words, if the front seat paddler feels like the boat is leaning to the right, shift the seat slightly to the right. But very slightly!
Once you have settled into a comfortable set-up, mark the seat placements on the hull with a pencil or koki. Some people then go as far as fibreglassing the seats into place, but that's a little too permanent for most of us. A brilliant idea is to use Velcro contact adhesived to the seat and hull to hold it in place.
Remember that the seat will wear hardest under the seat, as you grind over rock after rock. It's a good idea to stick a layer of dense foam in a ring around the base of the seat, to protect where it comes into contact with the hull. But remember to leave a gap in the centre to allow the water that collects in the boat to move around, and to your pumps.