Different strokes …
As for a canoe being “slower,” well - yeah - probably in many cases.
This sort of discussion always reminds me of a brief encounter on the Chesapeake Bay that I had long ago. My family was in our sailboat, and the wind wasn’t being very helpful. Then this old codger approached us in his motor boat. Maybe he thought we were in trouble. We exchanged pleasantries, and then his eyes shifted towards the outboard motor on our stern. “You oughta turn that on,” he suggested, helpfully. “You’ll go faster.”
Then he puttered off amidst the noise and stink of his 35hp Evinrude. He was quite content, and so were we (sans outboard).
I love this debate
It’s like saying a ford is faster than a chevy. Oh yeah? ford pinto or ford gt? Chevy chevette or corvette?
I can easily outpace a tandem race canoe - on an open crossing with 3’ surf. OTOH I had a flatwater canoe racer make short work of me and my kayak on a protected lake.
lots of difs
My two cents:
Ive done plenty of both. I prefer canoes -both solo and tandem. Its more of a challenge and also the flare of history of the canoe on this continent. WIth the early fur-traders, the history of the Peterbough area canoe companies etc. Its like an old wooden pair of skis or snowshoes. Everytime i see a canoe, my mind and body is transformed back into the past, to the days of old where there are no bills, no lawns to mow, no traffic to get stuck in, no cell phones or internet. I think of the voyaguers paddling 100 mile days through the bush and carrying 200lb packs on portages. I can smell the pipe smoke, the bannock cooking on a campfire, songs to set the rythym of the paddle stroke. Seeing a canoe brings me to a simpler life of the indians, building and carving a log or birch bark frame to haul their families around or to hunt moose in the bush.
Ive paddled plenty of sea kayaks. I got rid of mine for a few reasons. I didnt like be crammed and jammed like a sardine into a boat. I wanted a boat i could stay inside for 10-25 hours without wanting to get out. Sort of like being in meditation. If you only tryif for 1/2 an hour you really are not trasported to another dimension. To me if I can stay in my boat and become one with the river for hours then I actually reach a place inside of myself. The canoe is the means I travel to myself.
Ive actually gone somewhere in the middle…yes the middle…a hybrid decked canoe! Having the best of both worlds. Now I am no longer cramped and dont have to have tiny dry bags to fit into deck compartments, but i can just load a 5000cm dry bad and it will fit. And the stabilty of it being more beamy than a sea kayak adds to the comfort. I dont have to carry a heavy 21oz double blade but a lightweight 7oz paddle and never get tired. The deck allows for rougher water on either oceans or lakes, or even whitewater. I get to sit out of the water instead of under or “at” the waterline and not worry about being wet especially on long long trips. I prefer to go for multi -day trips not just a couple of hours. I want to be able to not have to limit what i want to take. Heck if i want to toss in a two burner coleman stove, a folding table and a cooler of Guiness beer then i can do that too. My praticular decked- canoe allows me to sleep inside it and its easier to portage compared to a sea kayak. I think the most important fact i like is its “comfort”. Haveing MORE comfort actually is a means of being faster. For example I’ve paddled with solo and tandem sea-kayaks. They all had to get out and streatch because they were uncomfortable after 4-5 hours. I would go and sometimes wouldnt get out all day. Ive gone as long as 52 hours without getting out of the boat…even to piss! A few years ago I did a solo 6-month trip and typically paddled 10-17 hour days seldom ever getting out during the day. I just like to paddle and become totally emersed into the moment. My sea kayak friends may be faster in a few hour run but I always ended up being ahead after a day or so and sometimes even several days ahead. To me Im not necessarily in need of “speed” but I do like to cover distance IN COMFORT. I do a lot of upstream paddling sometimes for weeks on end and none of my sea kayak people want to come with or cant keep up after a day or so. Everyones got there own reasons for paddling “x” craft just as there are as many boats for each person. Its all about what we prefer and Im sure most have not had the opportunity to try all options. I know a lot of people use their boats for going over waterfalls, or doing freestyle solo canoe paddling. Im not into either of those. To me the canoe or kayak is a TOOL. To get you from point A to B. Doing free style or wave riding to me is the same as other sports that use their “tool” for other than what it was created for such as a dirtbike used to jump over semis, or a car used in a demolition derby, or a snowmobile used to climb up a steep hill, a bicycle used to do stunts or ballet skiing etc etc. Not sure this makes sense but I guess Im saying again that it used for me to got from point A to b and nothing out of the ordinary etc.
I need to be taken back in time with my boat, to a different land to dream about new places of exploration, new people and new lands. I dont feel I need to pretend to be some macho stunt paddler because I dont have anything to prove only just the feeling of connections with the river, the land and the environment.
N
When guiding for the local state park…
– Last Updated: Jan-02-08 7:55 PM EST –
I paddle a Dagger Tupelo and with the right length paddle I can keep up with all but the fastest kayaks on the river and float over rocks and boulders that most yaks ground on.
If you plan on taking it into the 'Glades and taking the inland route it's a lot easier to climb on to a chickee from a canoe than a yak, especially during a strong tide.
canoe/kayak.
wow great topic…
Ok i got 3 canoe and kayak.
canoe…esqif pressage
scott prospector
old wood flat back
and just sold 2 canoe…esquif vertige and old fiberglass canoe.
kayak…wilderness pamlico 135t and 140
and a sit on top emotion fishermen pro.
i love them all…all have there moments and utility.
i got those kayak this year…and di not toutch mutch my canoes this past summer only 3 time and 31 time my kayaks…go figur.
but the last time i paddle my scott canoe i try to use my kayak paddle.wow i tell you you can go as fast in a canoe then in a kayak…i reach 6mph in both on 2 deferent gps…mabe .6 more in the kayak…not that mutch off a deference.
to go camping…canoe
to have space to bring the dog…canoe
to bring more stuff.canoe
to move around to place yourself comfortable…canoe
kayak…deferent.i do like and the one i got is very comfortable.so love it…but did try other kayak.and dont likethem at all and would go wit my canoes anytime before those kayak.
everybody have there opinion and there body shape to.
some like fast…i like slow but do like to go on shore faster went bad temp get around or to get to my fishing spot before the rest off the group…hahaha.
this is a gret topic.and will help deside what is my next purchase.
joco
It is a form of telepathy
When RedCrossRandy was paddling bow for me he would be throwing crossbowrudders,onside posts and gooneys(quarterdraws) with out me having to vocalize it. I would only say hut to let him know I was changing sides for balance.
So who’s talking about racing?
I’m just talking about the two paddling styles in general, and the communication required for each. If you want to assume that sit-and-switch paddling automatically implies racing in highly specialized, skinny boats that tip over if you look at them cross-eyed, fine, but that applies to such a tiny minority of the paddling world that it’s hardly a way to make a point (in my whole life, I’ve seen about three of the kinds of canoes you guys use for racing). If you want to talk about the need for quick, nonverbal communiction in extreme conditions, a person could counter the racing-boat example with traditional tandem paddling in long stretches of Class III whitewater.
The only point I intended to make was that it’s really a stretch to say that sit-and-switch is a step above other kinds of tandem paddling in terms of difficulty or communication required. Obviously that’s true if you cherry-pick the examples you wish to compare, but if you get away from the racing circuit for a while, you’ll see that there are plenty of sit-and-switch paddlers out there in general-purpose boats who’s needs are nothing out of the ordinary in terms of boat control. The need for being in-tune with your partner increases with the level of difficulty of the paddling conditions no matter which style of paddling you use.
And non-sit-and-switchers have no…
…need for such maneuvers or knowledge of how their partner will react?
Canoe wind cover. Haven’t seen this…
– Last Updated: Jan-05-08 1:42 AM EST –
...mentioned, but I can no longer sit in a kayak, and can barely enter/leave one, so I enjoy my solo canoe (Wenonah Vagabond). In trips with kayakers, I can keep up because my wife made me ripstop nylon decks, which I attach w/Velcro. Gives the same effect as a deck, and makes a dramatic difference in minimizing wind effects.