Disagree about the age
And I think this is where WW canoes may be losing ground. When we started WW this last season we expected to see OC’s with white haired folks and playboats full of young people. Among newer WW kayakers in classes, the last was true. The true playboats were mostly younger guys.
But that’s all that worked out. In particular on Sunday in the Fife Brook section of the Deerfield the WW classes were almost all middle aged people in creekers. We hit Pinball at the same time as one big group, and I gave up on more than one eddy when I saw a very alarmed-looking person with geying hair charging for it. At lunch we stopped with another class, and we all commented on the fact that there was just one person under the age of 30 in that class. The rest were 40 and up, and even on the Sacandaga most of the new kayakers in lessons are at least in their 30’s, also a lot of creekers.
From prior discussions it appears that the boomer predominance is a local phenomenon, but if it’s happening here I figure it’s happening in other areas with a big professional class too.
In all of it though - many fewer canoes than hard shell kayaks around here.
yeah you’re probably right.
seems as I age, people in their mid 30's appear to be in their 20's to me :-(. My son Aaron is really messing up the chronological equation. Not many 13 year olds dedicated to poling and OC-1's. On the dedicated C/OC boats forum he's the youngest at 13, there's one 16 year old, and most of us are late 30's to 60's.
whitewater, definitely a tiny subculture
Not sure if I’d go so far as to call it endangered, but whitewater open boating, especially when you go above class 2, is about as niche as you can get in most places.
On a crowded day on a class 2 run like the North Branch of the Potomac or Nantahala, I’ll see at most maybe 5 open boats. On a class 3 run like the Lower Yough, I’m lucky if I see even one or two other open boats. On any of those runs, I’ll see at least 50 kayaks (more if it’s the ‘on’ season).
Local flatwater liveries still do a lot of tandem canoe business, though they now stock as many or more rec kayaks than canoes. One livery actually offered solo canoes as a rental option for a year or two (though they were the Discovery version of the OT Pack, so not exactly good representatives). They sold them both off after a couple of years in nearly new condition and did not replace them.
not scarce
I think more and more people like being independant and thus get a solo boat which is typically a kayak
I prefer canoes …solo and tandem over yaks. Use to be a yaker but like the challenge more of a canoe and also dont like being crammed into a boat and was always wet either from sweet due to the close i had to wear or from water over the deck.
i like the tradionalism and history of the canoe too,…sort of like an old pair of wooden x-country skies
cnaoe/kayak.
great topics.
i have 3 kayak and 3 canoes.
and looking to build myself a skin on frame kayak and get a solo canoe.
there boths great…but deferent
if you want to bring a lot off stuff etc…canoe is the way to go.
i fish frome canoe or kayak…my kayak is fully equip for fishing frome gps to fish finder…and love it…it is perfect…BUT wen i fish frome my canoe,a bit more place to move around or to trow a fish in front etc.
all my boats are betwen 60 and 80 pound so not mutch deference there.
one think i like about my one off my canoe0 its in royalex,wow what a tuff material compare to my widerness pungo or my pamlico.
yes kayak are more,IN right now…peope over here9ottawa ont) are just going for full sea kayak but do only river and lakes.
but if you got out in the parks like verendry park or algonquin park…kayak are almost none esxistent compare to canoes…
so fo some long run camping…canoe again.
they both have there good and not so good.
just paddling what ever it is.
its the same thing in kayak fishing site…for sit on top or sit inside kayak.
joco
good post NM
Kayak price is not set at 1000 dollars
There is a big range for kayaks. The typical range of a touring/Rec kayak is 450-6000 dollars. there are kayaks that are much more expensive than a canoe, such as a High end Expedition kayak like a Nigel Dennis, a valley, or a QCC, for example. Then, there are Entry-level and mid-class touring kayaks (usually 12-15.5’) witch run for about 500-2000, less than the average canoe. And, Rec kayaks (9-11’)run for under 600 usually. And, If people want a reasonably priced canoe, they could just get a Poly Canoe.
Sex Demographic Also
I didn’t see any mention of the marketing demographic between men and women.
I don’t have any idea what the demographics are for purchasing kayaks; but, I feel very comfortable stating that 80% of the “rec” kayakers who show up for group paddles are women. I’ve co-lead or participted in 5 or 6 group paddles over the past two years, and they definitely were dominated by female rec kayakers.
An interesting side note is that the women rec kayakers fall into two distinct categories: ‘single under 30’ and ‘over 55’. In our local club, many of the ‘over 55’ group are married, but their spouses are not interested in paddling.
That’s because we open boaters have
the sense to paddle early or late on the Nantahala. That way we aren’t dodging rafts, and the eddies aren’t clotted with river maggots.
never
Kayaks are outselling canoes right now. A lot of that has to do with the fat and flat rec yak that let beginners learn without all the fuss.
Canoes will never go away. They are just too practical. While I own both, if I had only one, it would definitely be my Old Town Discovery. Rock solid, rock smashing, log pounding, ground scraping fun with a huge load of gear to boot.
I would rather paddle the kayak any day because of wind and water resistance. For a given canoe length, yaks will nearly always paddle easier, canoe will hold a greater load.
Long live the canoe.
different buying patterns too
Kayakers change boats it seems like they change their socks, for a variety of reasons.
Canoeists buy a boat and keep it, sometimes forever.
Sure its a generality but canoeists don’t seem to be as good at letting their money go
The key to that demographic, children.
Both have no or few child care duties unless raising a grandchild for the over 55 bunch.
Paddlers are CHEAP!
$1000, $2500, even $3500 is not a lot of money for a boat you trust your life to. Compared to any other type of boat, canoes and kayaks are a very good bargain. Actually, paddling sports are a tremendous value compared to serious cycling, skiing, golfing, what have you. Plus you don’t have much in the way of recurring costs like lift tickets or greens fees.
I am sure many choose paddling because of its relative value, but many still take this for granted.
Certainly the plethora of cheapo plastic recreational kayaks has created a lowered price expectation for the plethora of cheapo paddlers out there. But if you take your paddling seriously, and I assume you do if you are bothering regularly visit paddling.net, then $2,500-Plus is NOT a lot of moola compared to what you could spend in other serious adult sports & hobbies.
Where’d you get that idea?
I’ve sold more canoes than I have kayaks while looking for boats that I liked that were cheap enough for me to pay for.
But, I haven’t sold a solo canoe yet, that’s more of a challenge.
You rich people rock!
Paddling is by far my most expensive hobby / sport / pass time and I’ve gone into debt pursuing it and I’ve never paid over $1425 for a boat.
I hope to grow up to be someone as wealthy as you who considers $3000 chump change.
By your standards, I obviously don’t take the sport seriously and can’t afford to. Actually, by my own standards, I don’t take the sport seriously. If I did, I’d obviously move closer to either whitewater, oceans or the great lakes. That’s where the people are that take sea kayaking seriously and you obviously think that’s the only kind of serious paddling.
Enjoy life at the top of the food / paddling chain.
Live long and prosper (more).
Happy new year.
from a former
president of the ACA
It’s all relative
For those who’re appalled at the prospect of forking over $2k or so for a canoe (or kayak) – be thankful your sport isn’t offshore sailing. $2k wouldn’t even cover your annual dock fee.