So, it probably won’t happen, but I’m wondering if it’s easier to learn to canoe or kayak. I mean, nice mild, lake/stream type of environment, not raging going over Victoria Falls in the darn things.
Bit o’ background, first.
I’m 50, in “decent” shape, never have particularly done either. My wife hints that she’d like to try one or the other. She is younger.
Anyway, we have been trying to figure out some activity that we might both like, and like to do together (Yeah, I know the obvious one).
Any way, as I said, we probably will end up doing neither, but if we were, what would you all suggest?
It depends on how you plan to use it. If you want to go on long trips and haul a lot of gear, a canoe would be more appropriate, but if you just want to get out on the water, kayaks are way more fun, easier to learn, and lighter to carry. Who knows? Once you get into it, you may want to get both.
I think canoeing or kayaking are both fun. I’ve done very little kayaking and I guess I do prefer canoeing but for no particular reason. We just go on calm water but we still get to see things we wouldn’t get to see otherwise and it can be very lovely and quiet—except for when you’re fighting over which way you should be going (there are occassional discussions ). I would rent a canoe and kayak (I don’t mean at the same time) and try it out a few times before you think about buying one. We always rent them. The people will usually drop you off and pick you up and that works well for us.
If you and your wife want to do this together, I’d say a canoe unless you have the budget to buy two kayaks. Two-person kayaks exist, but they’re not much fun compared with a one-person. Plus if you want to go out for solo trips occasionally, a canoe will be more versatile for that.
The only negative thing I can think of about canoes is that they can really catch the wind. In a kayak you’re low to the water and you’re not as affected by the wind. But in a canoe with lots of freeboard, you’ll have a struggle on your hands on windy days (or you’ll have to tack against the wind to keep it from hitting you broadside).
What I like about kayaks is that you’re right there at water level and you can go remarkably fast. Canoes can haul more gear and are easier to get in and out of.
If you get a canoe, do yourself a favor and get a good book on canoeing (Bill Mason’s guide to quiet-water paddling is excellent) so you learn how to paddle correctly. In most quiet-water situations, the bow paddler is just providing power, not steering, and always paddles on one side (until he or she gets tired and you both switch). The person in the stern does the steering and paddles on the opposite side to the bow paddler. In whitewater the bow paddler has a lot more to do, draws and prys etc. to help steer the boat, but in quiet water the bow is mostly just providing power.
One more thing: friends don’t let friends paddle aluminum. Get fibreglass or kevlar (more expensive but worth it!)
I’ve done both.
Learning 2-person canoeing is pretty simple. There are a few different strokes to learn, and
how to not tip the boat, and that’s enough to go out on calm water. The person in the front
is the “engine”, simply paddling for distance; the person in the back directs the boat with
different strokes, and can help with the forward motion as well.
The paddle stroke in kayaking is far less intuitive to me, but once you have it down it’s not
too hard. The tough part of being a beginning kayaker is learning to roll the kayak, so that
you don’t flip over into the water. My advice is, have someone teach you this before you
even buy a kayak. It’s not easy to teach yourself. You need someone there to help you flip
you back over when you can’t do it, and to show you the hip action that’s necessary (it’s
counterintuitive, you have to roll your hips away from the water, which means you have to tilt
your head toward the water, which your body does not want to do). The lake near my
work occasionally has someone come out and teach an hour class on this for a couple
bucks. It’s worth it, and they usually have kayaks for you to try so you can decide if this is
for you.
There is also a very wide type of kayak, used only on lakes, that doesn’t roll over easily.
Those might be good to try, since they’re pretty much a personal canoe with a kayak-style
paddle. Lots of lakes rent these. Really, you should try renting canoes and kayaks first
to see what you like better. Boats ain’t cheap.
I commend you for trying to find something active to do together. I’m desparately trying
to do the same. I may have to learn to ride a horse…
Oh and one more thing: once you get your canoe or kayak, be sure to head down to the Wood River in western Rhode Island (only an hour and a half or so from Hartford, I think). In 20 years of paddling around New England, that lovely little river (mostly quiet easy paddling, only a few rapids, which you can portage around) remains in my mind as one of the loveliest places to canoe.
Not quite, but the point is that they’re really light. I used to have an 18 foot kevlar canoe (a We-no-nah Sundowner) that weighed 50 pounds, a real dream to portage. And it could hold three people with gear for a week’s camping trip.
I have been thinking along similar lines. On a trip to northern Michigan this summer I observed a couple remove two long kayaks from the top of their car, pack all of their gear inside, and lauch them on Lake Michigan, heading towards Sleeping Bear Dunes. It looked like fun. However, the problem that I have with kayaks is that you have to sit with your feet straight out in front of you. I think that any 50+ year old person would find this position uncomfortable for any length of time. In order to make it easier on my lower back, I would much rather sit in a kneeling postion, as you do in a canoe.
I still recall my last canoeing trip with my woman friend. The school bus dropped us off twenty some miles upstream, and we started the journey back to our car. The aluminum canoe that we were given looked like it had already hit every rock on Sugar Creek. With two people in a canoe you need to work on teamwork. You soon learn that both of you can’t be in charge of steering the canoe. One person does power strokes, and the other person steers the canoe. Not long after we were on the water, I learned that I was doing it all wrong, nothing like my friend had learned when she was in girl scouts. The water on the creek was low, and when I wasn’t pulling the canoe over shallow water, I was running into rocks that the poor canoe was already so familiar with.
I have to report that we did finally make it back to our car, but an unspoken thought in the back of my mind prompted me to the realization that I was never going to get myself in a similar position with this friend again. Now I am thinking about solo canoeing on a lake in the early morning hours, watching the ducks on the lake, and listening to the the relaxing sounds of the canoe paddle slipping into the surface of the water.
I forgot to ask, and this is of paramount importance.
Where will you keep your keg? I’d recommend stuffed into a large innertube attached to the canoe by a short rope. Not too long so it doesn’t get caught on floatsome and hanging tree branches. You also don’t want the thing floating out in front of the canoe turning you sideways. Maybe a two feet.
You may want to start out with a quarter barrel first until you get the hang of it. Also, the first few times you should pull out of the water to pour your beer. It’s tough enough not flipping over even without the keg let alone trying not to spill any while moving.
Just remember when you pull toward the sand, the bow will slide into the sand/muck first and that keg in the tube is gonna keep going. You MUST keep the back end from pivoting into the river or it’s over you go. I know from experience. That’s where a strong steersperson comes in handy.
I almost forgot. You could attach it to the front. That way you don’t have to constantly try to keep ahead of it.
I guess I was in the wide type of kayak—both times were on lakes. Both kayaks I was in allowed you to simply fall out or push yourself out of the kayak when it went over, so you did not have to roll it. I flipped a number of times (trying to get started on a very wavy lake, not the normal thing at all) and could get out instantly. Definitely check about this if you go kayaking. I can’t roll a kayak, so it would be very dangerous for me to use one of the other type.
Paddle boat! One with the bicycle-type propelling device. They’re stable enough for amateurs, you plan to be on flat water anyway, and you can probably find one that would hold (at least) a picnic basket.
My sisters and I were subject to forced camping vacations on the Tennessee river and I would have been ecstatic with anything that would get me off the shore without waiting for Dad to be in the mood to start up the boat. The big innertubes always got a workout, but they were’t much good for exploring shorelines.
M
PS–How many of you can claim to be able to sleep overnight in a hammock? It’s tricker than it sounds.
). I would rent a canoe and kayak (I don’t mean at the same time) and try it out a few times before you think about buying one. We always rent them. The people will usually drop you off and pick you up and that works well for us.