Canoe or kayak?

Betty

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For those who have both canoed and kayaked, which do you prefer? Kayaking seems to really be catching on in popularity in recent years.
 

Lorax

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Depends on what you're planning on doing.

Type of water?
Camping out of it?
Portaging or no portaging?
Lake or river?

I have both for different types of day trips and multi day camping trips.
 

ChadTower

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Depends on what you're planning on doing.

Type of water?
Camping out of it?
Portaging or no portaging?
Lake or river?

I have both for different types of day trips and multi day camping trips.

+1

Boats are for a purpose. Define your purpose before you decide what boat to use.
 

juli

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I prefer kayaking even for extended trips. I can handle a trips much easier with my kayak and since I am a light backpacker this is my mode for all trips so all my gear fits in my boat.
 

Hikebike

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I like to go out on the canoe - I have been kayaking a couple of times but I'm more comfortable in a canoe. I have been canoeing for years (since I was a kid) and I've only been on a kayak a couple of times.
 

wvbreamfisherman

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I am more comfortable in a canoe myself- you ride in a canoe...you wear a kayak. I like the ease of loading and unloading a canoe, too. I also like the fact that I can paddle my canoe either solo or with a partner. Tandem kayaks are a little more specialized. On the other hand, kayaks are great fun to paddle and the double ended paddle tends to even out the stresses of paddling.

I guess it comes down to what you intend to be doing and personal preference.
 

Hikenhunter

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I have my eye on the Nucanoe Frontier. You can check it out on you tube. This baby just came out in February. It is kind of a cross between a canoe and a sit on top kayak. You can paddle it solo or tandem, it tracks well for the lake, it manuvers fast for on the river. It can be rigged for sailing, or you can put a small outboard or trolling motor on it. It can handle a load of up to 650 lbs. it has many more features and is stable enough to stand up on it
 

ChadTower

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Interesting. Let us know how that one goes if you get one. It looks like you sit a little high for my taste but I wouldn't mind taking one for a spin.
 

ppine

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This is a broad question. I prefer canoes for carrying capacity, stability, ease of entry and exit in a capsize, and beauty. Large kayaks with cockpits can accomplish most of the same things, and are well suited for cold, rainy weather and high seas. I have no use for the short, stubby polyethylene kayaks that are sit on tops. They are slow, cheap, come apart in UV light, don't hold anything and don't track worth beans.

Short plastic kayaks are popular because they are light, cheap and fit on the factory SUV racks. It is partly a fad that will probably burn out or evolve into more interest in real boats like big canoes and kayaks with cockpits over 15 feet. Paddle boards seem like the dumbest fad yet. Anyone been wind surfing lately? Maybe we can get a Starbucks on the way home.

When you get to camp in a canoe everything is right there in front of you. In a kayak you have to start opening hatches and reaching up thru the bulkheads.
 
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AK Hunter

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The girl friend & I have both kayaks & a canoe.
If I'm going to be camping I'll take the canoe (3 man Coleman), it is big enough to carry all the stuff I need to do a proper camp sight.
If it is only to explore a body of water or a one day outing I take the kayak, it is much faster, lighter, easier to handle in tight places.
 

ibgary

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I have been in a canoe. The wind came up & it sucked. In my touring kayak I just keep going. I find the kayak faster & more stable. I've done almost all of the lower Colorado in a kayak. The canoe will take more gear and it is easier to talk than in two kayaks. Now I'm looking for a tandem kayak. Our daughter isn't big enough for her own yet. Price point, canoes win hands down.
 

DuctTape

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Two different boats for completely different purposes. I have both. Actually 3. I have a kayak and 2 canoes (1 tandem and 1 solo.)


My personal preference for my trips is the canoes. Not for the amount of gear, but for the fact I am not stuck on the same body of water. A canoe is much easier to portage than a kayak. I single carry my canoe and gear without any difficulty. The kayak is pain to even get from the car to the water with everything in less than 3 trips. Since everyone has a different purpose, they will have a different preference.

The reason I think they gained popularity so quickly is because of the almost zero learning curve compared to paddling a canoe. At least for just getting started. Advanced kayak techniques are just as (if not more) difficult than with a canoe. But a beginner can just sit in a kayak and paddle a straight line with really no idea of what they are doing. Ever watch someone (or two) in a canoe the first time with no idea of what they are doing?
 

ibgary

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Boats are like bikes. I don't care what you row or ride, just get out and go. :thumbup::)
 

Hirsch

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For flat water and Class I rapids I prefer a solo canoe because of higher weight capacities and easier loading. If I am tackling class II the a kayak is my choice.

The down side of the kayak I go lighter weight and give up some comfort in gear which must be managed and arranged with closer scrutiny.

I find in the solo canoe I give nothing to the kayak in winds, but a tandem canoe is more difficult to manage under those conditions when paddling solo.

A tandem kayak that can be adjusted for solo paddling is a fine compromise.
 

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ppine

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There are some really fast and elegant solo canoes out there, but you won't find them in big box stores or your local REI store.

Tandem kayaks can be large capacity boats with speed, but they are not cheap, easy to paddle and easy to portage, so they are not popular.

Portaging loaded kayaks is tedious and time consuming.

The popular polyethylene kayaks paddle like submarines when loaded for a long trip. River kayaks are fine in the hands of skilled people but need a support raft for hauling gear.

Kayaks are at their best for swift water when lightly loaded, and for salt water paddling in a long sea kayak with a cockpit.
 
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