How to Buy Your First Canoe
June 14, 2011, By Sage Kalmus 0 comments
Deciding to buy a canoe is easy. You've probably rented one now and then for the family when you were at a lake or river and had a lot of fun with it. Deciding which canoe to buy is a bit tricker. If you've checked out what's available, you've realized that there are quite a few options to consider. This brief breakdown will ensure you get the one that's right for you.
Types of Canoes
Canoes fall into three main categories: general purpose, performance and whitewater. There are, of course, many variations within each of these categories, as well as exceptions that fall into none of them. But for the most part, any canoe you look at probably will be in one of these groups.
Although performance canoes, built for racing, and whitewater canoes, built for extreme conditions, offer certain stand-out features, for the occasional paddler a general purpose canoe is usually best. Let's focus on that type.
General Purpose Canoes
Also referred to as wilderness-tripping or touring canoes, general purpose canoes are similar to racing canoes in that they're long and narrow, most measuring 18 feet or more.
The two main characteristics you'll compare when selecting your canoe are hull material and shape.
Material
Canoes may be made of aluminum, plastic (such as polyethylene, or P-tex, and Royalex) or cloth (like kevlar, carbon fiber or fiberglass). The key (and perhaps only) advantage of aluminum canoes is that they're durable. They can take a beating like no other. At the opposite end are cloth canoes, which damage easily. Plastic canoes fall somewhere in the middle; however, they tip more easily and require more frequent corrections to navigate and stay on course than either aluminum or cloth.
The hull material will determine much about its weight. Because of their easy portability, many people prefer lightweight canoes. But there are a couple of drawbacks. One is the expense. The lighter the canoe, the more it costs. Lighter-weight canoes are typically made from more exotic materials, like kevlar instead of aluminum, which cost more money.
The other is performance. To put it bluntly, lighter-weight canoes are simply harder to handle. If you're an experienced paddler, you might enjoy managing a lightweight canoe much like a rodeo rider enjoys riding the wildest bucking broncos or like race car drivers enjoy navigating their vehicles around the track. But for most average canoers, and all beginners, it could be too much to handle. Lighter-weight canoes take on water more easily, don't turn as easily, and suffer more severe, sometimes irreparable, damage when crashing into rocks.
Ultimately, factors like your distance from the waterways you plan to paddle and your age and physical strength will dictate much about what weight of canoe you can handle. Your wallet will determine the rest.
