Canoe or kayak?

[Hirsch]

There is the true afficionado who demands the finest in equipment and performance while happily spending large sums to reach it all the while denying credit to lesser piece of equipment. They are the reason that our equipment continually improves.

That said for the average user or those who are just beginning to sample the sport I believe most will find that Old Town and others provide perfectly suitable craft at a price within their budget.

 

[ppine]

If someone gave me a boat from Walmart I would give to someone else. Once you have the pure joy of paddling a fast, stable boat the short, fat, cheap boats are hard to get interested in.

I have owned maybe 8 different canoes in my life and all have been used quality boats. The first one was a wrecked Sawyer Cruiser that I paid $25 for. I repaired it with fiberglass and paddled it for many years and sold it for $400. It has been the same story with most of the boats. Learn how to repair them. Royalex is hard to repair, but hard to damage. Never buy a boat with the name Coleman on it.

I am always planning the next week long canoe trip. Next up is the Willamette R in Oregon.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

If someone gave me a boat from Walmart I would give to someone else. Once you have the pure joy of paddling a fast, stable boat the short, fat, cheap boats are hard to get interested in.

I have owned maybe 8 different canoes in my life and all have been used quality boats. The first one was a wrecked Sawyer Cruiser that I paid $25 for. I repaired it with fiberglass and paddled it for many years and sold it for $400. It has been the same story with most of the boats. Learn how to repair them. Royalex is hard to repair, but hard to damage. Never buy a boat with the name Coleman on it.

I am always planning the next week long canoe trip. Next up is the Willamette R in Oregon.

Royalaex isn't all that tough to repair. West Marine's GFLEX epoxy works great on it. JB Weld does pretty good too. Just clean it really well, rough it up with sandpaper a bit and wipe with acetone to make sure there's no grease, and the epoxy should stick like...well, glue.

The GFLEX is also supposed to work well on Polyethylene, too with the right surface preparation, although I've never done it myself.

Roaylex is tough as Hell, and it takes a lot to do serious damage.

 

[briansnat]

I've used canoes and kayaks and they both have their advantages and weaknesses. When it came down to a choice and I had money for one or the other I went with a canoe because they are more versatile.

There are many misconceptions regarding the differences. One is that kayaks are automatically faster. Sure if you have a 17 ft tripping kayak it will kick the butt of a similar canoe, yet many canoes are faster than the ubiquitous rec kayaks. I've not only kept up with groups in recreational kayaks in my canoe, I've found myself leading the group often, even though I was paddling a tandem canoe solo (and it wasn't a model known for its speed).

 

[Theo]

I've used canoes and kayaks and they both have their advantages and weaknesses. When it came down to a choice and I had money for one or the other I went with a canoe because they are more versatile.

There are many misconceptions regarding the differences. One is that kayaks are automatically faster. Sure if you have a 17 ft tripping kayak it will kick the butt of a similar canoe, yet many canoes are faster than the ubiquitous rec kayaks. I've not only kept up with groups in recreational kayaks in my canoe, I've found myself leading the group often, even though I was paddling a tandem canoe solo (and it wasn't a model known for its speed).

^^ This.
I prefer canoes mainly because when I learned paddling, kayaks were few and far between. Even now, when I am in a kayak, I still try to use canoeing techniques. Try using a J-stroke with a double ended paddle in a kayak.

Kayaking is a science; Canoeing is an art.

 

[Woodland]

My preference would be canoe but I also like kayaking. The canoe has more space in it if I'm bringing a lot of things with me. If I'm just paddling on the lake the kayak is easier to lug around.

 

[Sbreen]

I started out with a canoe then wife and kids went kayaking once and they where hooked then I had to go out and buy 4 kayaks and I was still the only one with a canoe then I finally got tired of trying to paddle by my self so broke down and bought a kayak. We still use the canoe when we go overnight camping. There is a time and place for both

 

[bushhog]

if your can only have one or the other i would go with canoe for the versatility, one two or three people, empty or carry gear, all in one boat

 

[troutstalker]

Not all kayaks are as portrayed! I have a 36 pound Wilderness Systems yak that I can pack gear in a boundary pack behind the seat. When I portage,I put the boundary pack on and I shoulder the yak per homemade yoke. All portages are done with one trip! I can't understand why anybody needs to carry more than they need. It's should be fun,not work! I've seen two guys make six trips to carry gear over one portage. Among all their gear they had lawn chairs,3 coolers and other unneeded gear!

 

[Zed]

I hunt and fish out of a 14ft Old Town Predator sit in kayak. Extremely stable. Camped on the Susquehanna river several times (it can hold a lot of gear). Been in plenty of canoes and they are fine but too much secondary instability for my tastes.

 

[troutstalker]

The River

I've often thought about a trip on the Susquehanna. How's the fishing? Are their any primitive camping sites?

 

[Zed]

Fishing is not as good as it use to be but there are still plenty of small mouth to catch. There are also several primitive campsites to camp out on. There are a couple of islands up stream from Duncannon and then there is at least on downstream as well (before you get to the narrows). Those two are nice and have cleared spots and firerings.. that's it. There are plenty of other public islands there to camp on as well as long as you don't mind bush whacking. DEF worth the trip! Hard to beat a sunrise/sunset over the river.

 

[ppine]

Every river has lots of "primitive camping sites." That is one of the big attractions of running rivers. The problems start in getting permission to legally camp there. We love the public land in the West because it gives people freedom to camp where they want.

 

[ChadTower]

Agreed. In New England a lot of times that's considered vagrancy. The land is ALL privately owned and people don't want anyone using it.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

In all but a few places in WV, the riverbank is public to the high water mark. I'd hate to depend on that in the face of an angry property owner, though.

 

[ChadTower]

Heh. Most of the fresh waterways here have no high water mark. They don't change levels much unless there is a dam.

Or maybe it's more accurate to say the high water mark is a foot from the water. You have to go into the mountains to find rivers that change a lot from season to season and a lot of that would be national park land. Of course, that river is also white water in the spring, 8" deep in the summer/fall, and frozen in the winter.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Six-eight feet is not uncommon around here. We have lots of small streams draining a large area, and a downpour can raise water levels quite a bit in a few hours. Even the big rivers like the Ohio, New and Kanawha can fluctuate quite a lot.

 

[ppine]

Rivers without dams are the ones that fluctuate the most. All of them change flows pretty often. Lack of public land is why I left the East in 1972.

 

[ChadTower]

Yeah, they fluctuate, but unless you want to sleep on a bed of basketball sized granite rocks, you're not camping below the high water line. The rare sand bars are soft enough that your footsteps fill up with water.

 

[troutstalker]

Not totally correct! I have 12 ft. kayak that carries all my gear in one boundary pack that slides under my rear deck. At the head of a portage, I put the pack on and yoke the yak on my shoulders. As for sit on top yaks, Google Jim Sammons Kayak fisherman and watch him catch 300 pound Tuna, Marlin and large Tarpon and Salmon! You can't do that in a canoe!