It’s been many years since I set foot in a canoe, but I recently order a new one for fishing. I remember the one thing that I absolutely disliked about my previous canoe was that if I put something on the floor, it never stayed. It would roll or slide to the bow or stern, but never stay put. With that vision of yester-year and the added fact that I’m gonna take my dog with me,(I’m sure he would be more confortable with a little tranction), I am considering using something like a thin indoor outdoor carpet bow to stern so to speak. I also thought that there may be a product on the market that I could coat the floor with to make it more slide resistant, as opposed to the carpet. Although loading/unloading is not an issue and I seriously doubt I’ll do any portaging, I would like to keep this add on as lite as possible.
Anyone with an idea?
tie
You could get some kneeling pads people apply to their canoe, cut it into narrow strips, and lay it down every foot and a half or so. Or, buy some outdoor carpet, cut it about a foot wide and maybe 8,10, whatever feet long (depends on how long your canoe is), and lay it in before you get in each time. Make sure it is not “scratchy” on the bottom. I usually tie a piece of rope (1/4 inch cord) about 2 feet long to my small tackle box and tie the other end to a twart. Bottle of water and anything else I might want I put in a day pack and put it under my seat or tie around a twart with cord. I don’t think I’d risk the moisture possibility between carpet and canoe which might cause mold to build up. If you are worried about your slipping then get some wading shoes like fly fishermen use. Lay the paddle down when getting in your canoe rather then rest it up against a twart. It will slide less.
Or…
Grip tape for non skid. Comes in 2" & 4" Kneeling pad won’t slide on the stuff.
http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2007135810050436027fyIDHB
http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2732442810050436027DZgafP
Happy Paddling billinpa
Kneeling pad only
Many canoeists use a kneeling pad. I don’t see any point to carpeting the whole hull though. That would just add a bunch of pointless weight (especially when wet) and would be a nasty place to try to keep clean – yikes – dog-hair, mud, sand, leaves and twigs… what a mess! Picture trying to right a swamped canoe with wet carpeting… Not cool.
As to things rolling around… Get yourself organized and keep your stuff in secured boxes and/or bags. It’s not a good idea to have loose things rolling about on the floor of a canoe - a dirty wet piece of “wall to wall” muddy carpeting won’t help you a bit. And of course anything loose will most likely be lost when you go over.
It’s all in the packaging.
Do NOT stick carpet to the bottom of your canoe. I'll give credit to Arkay for saying it first, but seriously, think about how much that will weigh when it gets soaked. It'll probably add 100 pounds to your boat. If your dog needs some padding, lay something in the boat just for him, in his own spot (not bow to stern), but don't glue it down unless it's non-absorbant material.
I have very little trouble with stuff sliding around in a canoe. The only things I put in the boat which can slide around are a couple of Pelican boxes (for camera and binocs) and a camera tripod. In the boat I use for whitewater, I have tie-downs glued to the hull, and I strap these items in so they can't move much, but that's mostly to keep from losing them, not because sliding is a problem. In my other boats, these items might slide around when launching off a steep bank or carrying the boat by one gunwale, but I just put them back where I want them once underway. The camera tripod is usually way at the back where the boat is too narrow for it to move around much. I always tie it in, either to tie-downs or an end thwart.
For carrying water, I like MSR bags. The flat design lets me stick them under the steat of my rowboats, and in any kind of boat, they pretty much stay where you put them because they won't roll like a round bottle or slide nearly as easily as a square bottle.
All my "other stuff" goes in a dry bag or two. these are vinyl and really don't slide except when handling the boat on shore. They've never moved once I'm paddling. To keep from losing them in a capsize I often tie them to thwarts, or strap them tightly to the floor when in whitewater.
But what if…
…instead of using carpet you used something like astroturf?
I’ve thought aobut it, just to hold down the noise of fishing out of a canoe.
The astroturf wouldn’t absorb water like a carpet.
Don’t wear shorts if you must kneel.
Kneeling Pad?
I don’t need no stinking kneeling pad. The nerves on the front of my knees died a long time ago.
randino
we use cheap welcome mats
The ones with rubber backing. They keep the dog from slipping around.
A more permanent option would be something like http://www.herculiner.com/product_info.html or http://www.cotelind.com/ in a light shade so it doesnt get unbearable hot. Be warned, it will acheive the purposes tyou want but it will also tear up your knees if you want to get on your knees in the canoe. Give one of the bedliners a try, I’d like to know how it turns out.
Line it with Pergo
Easier to clean when the dog soils it.
Canoe carpeting
I would use closed cell foam and also include blocks larger to support knee's on both sides from slipping around. I use thy straps and they help in this movement problem. Caution is given about exiting the boat because of entrapment potential. To injure the knee would hurt some but destroy it would put you into another kind of boat.:) I did enjoy the pergo comment but lets use some teak wood for effect.
dog + foam = bad
I dont think closed cell foam would hold up to dog nails very well.
Pergo ???
Not meant for high moisture environments and dogs get no grip on Pergo. 
close cell foam
We have a 185lbs coon dog who rides and watches for stuff to float by then will pounce on it. I can not use top water baits for his stalking the motion. I had to change his name to jerk-bait.
bathroom rug
For dog duty and general nonskid we use a cheap bathroom rug – it’s got a skid-resistant back and is machine washable.
For keeping small stuff organized I like the Bell seatpads with the side pockets. A thwart bag or bow bag is another way of keeping small items off the bottom.
I thought everyone had carpet
how do hide the wires to your stereo speakers?
Astroturf and Water
For myself, I wouldn't use astroturf either. A lot of water can lay within that stuff that you can't remove with a bailer or sponge, so once again you'd be hauling around an extra hundred pounds. The only way to get it out is to beach the boat and tip it. Then you'd have to wait, and wait, and wait for much of that water to leave. Turn a soaked astroturf welcome mat on edge for half a minute to drain, then give it a few good shakes and see how much water is STILL in there. Multiply that by what it takes to cover the floor of a canoe and think about the weight you'd have there. No thanks. Rather than pull to shore and unload all my gear so I can flip the boat, I'll stick with my bleach-bottle bailer.
stereo
You so funny! I hide the wires under my laminate gunwals.
The speaker wires
arent the problem. The problem is how to keep the dang amp from getting wet. Ive got my bass mounted under my seat so it stays fairly dry (plus givies me good vibrations)
185 lb. coon dog?
Thought we only raised 'em that big in Texas! 