Except for some creeks far back from the ocean I would not have considered taking a canoe into salt water.Then there was the photo of the two guys at the B&B with white water floatation lashed in the boat.
Has anyone ever paddled a canoe out into salt water, at least bays or sounds?(And lived)
yes
I’ve paddled on the Chesapeake Bay. I don’t tend to wander all that far out, and the waves on the upper bay where I paddle don’t normally get over 2’ tall, so the conditions aren’t very extreme. I leave those for the kayakers.
Way back when -
Rented a house on the beach for a 3 1/2 month TDY near Southport NC, one of the kids and I would take the old Grumman 18 out when the waves were down. Occasionally we would take on a bit of water coming in. On another assignment in the same area, a buddy and I took it out one time and stayed out while the wind was building, the surf in was great until I couldn’t hold it straight any longer and we did the spin cycle thing with everyone on the pier laughing at us.
If there isn’t much wind and the waves aren’t steep, the only problem is getting through the surf line, and if you have to you can sometimes walk the canoe out and board it out past the breakers. I wouldn’t go out if the waves were at all steep, that doesn’t sound at all like fun. Also, we wear type I pfds when pulling these kind of stunts.
Heck yeah,
if the canoe is stable enough. I have paddled two tandems with friends in the bay here, one is 15’ Grumman, other is 17’ Osage, both were very lively and a little scary in big boat wakes. When I solo’d in the same bay with my Mad River Slipper 14’6", and the Prism 16’6", it was a totally different story, no scary moments, in fact it was fun playing in wakes and waves. So if your ride is up to it you will probably enjoy it. One other major consideration is wind, it can blow rather hard in exposed saltwater areas at times, even hugging the shore you can get worn out quickly so try to pick a calm day if possible and have fun!
Dan
salt water
If you do the wilderness waterway in fla than all of your paddling is in saltwater areas. I use to paddle in the back bays, creeks and the gulf off of south florida every week and say that my canoe was one of my favorite forms of transportation (I also had kayaks and a power boat). These boats are very seaworthy, can haul quite a load and make for a very stealthy fishing craft. I’ve caught many a snook and tarpon from my canoe and been on lots of barrier islands. Hey the indians of florida would paddle theirs down to cuba. Their a great craft and lots of fun in salt or fresh water
salt water
If you do the wilderness waterway in fla than all of your paddling is in saltwater areas. I use to paddle in the back bays, creeks and the gulf off of south florida every week and say that my canoe was one of my favorite forms of transportation (I also had kayaks and a power boat). These boats are very seaworthy, can haul quite a load and make for a very stealthy fishing craft. I’ve caught many a snook and tarpon from my canoe and been on lots of barrier islands. Hey the indians of florida would paddle theirs down to cuba. Their a great craft and lots of fun in salt or fresh water
Regarding stability
– Last Updated: Feb-15-04 11:16 PM EST –
I would expect the general relationship of canoe stability to suitablility in various water conditons to be the same for ocean waves as it is for big lake waves and river rapids, that being, a highly stable boat is really NOT the best thing for rough water. You have a lot more control in bumpy water with a boat that doesn't try to keep itself aligned with the water surface all the time. I haven't canoed on the ocean, but I'd expect this principle to be as true in that situation as it is in other types of rough water. Like String, I'd be curious to hear what other types of canoes people use on coastlines, and how they perform in the waves.
Sure
I have used my canoe several times in Galveston Bay, Christmas Bay, Bastrop Bay and down in the Port Aransas area. Canoes can certainly be paddled in Saltwater, just use common sense, extra floaton is always good.
I just found a local paddling club…
– Last Updated: Feb-16-04 1:05 AM EST –
...and a lot of their jaunts are on Puget Sound waters, so I certainly intend to go w/ my solo canoe. However, I'll attach my Spring Creek floats, with no apologies to Real Paddlers. They're going out this coming Sat., but my foot's still wonky, so I can't go. Also a dry suit.
Don Starkwell
and son made it from New Orleans to South America in a large touring canoe. It’s been a while since I read his book about the trip, but I recall it was quite an adventure. They faced hazards both on and off the water. A good read.
Hey String that was us…
You should have come on down to the B&B. The only problem Randy and I had on the first day was the wind, So we dealt with it and bid our time to the wind breaks. Once we got to the wind protected area (which also were deeper then most of the bay)We kicked it up to speed and started leaving behind the kayaks that had been catching up to us. The second day out there was not as much fun. The wind was high and so were the waves. Normally we will do a mile in about 10 minutes at racing speed in that canoe. It took us almost twentygoing out into the wind. It got really fun trying to control the boat coming back with the rear Quatering waves.
On the way home we did stop and wash the salt off of the canoe.
Charlie
salt water
A few years ago a small group of us completed a river trip with about three days of paddling on salt water; one day on a long bay and two days on the Labrador Sea. We island hopped as much as possible to keep the long open stretches to a minimum but could not avoid everything. As a bit of a game we said we would not camp on islands with names we couldn’t pronounce so that eliminated Pitsiutatsitilullk and Kemaktulliviktalik Islands. Saw half a dozen whales, some seals and many birds.
We had one day of wind, which provided some entertaining moments, and two days of very gentle swells. On the windy day, I had to place a barrel of water in the bow area so I could make any semblance of directional control. I guess one of the challenges would be deciding, and then sticking to the decision, on when to NOT go out. There are no second chances out there. Ocean water in this area never gets much above freezing so death is inevitable after very few minutes in the water.
I can’t wait to show up with a canoe
at a ‘sea kayak only’ paddle.It will take a lot of practice first though.