I am having a hard time picking out my first canoe and could use some advice. I plan on using the canoe in the summer with my wife and 5 yr old on small lakes and slow rivers. I also want to use it in the winter for trapping beaver. Does poly or roylex get stiff and brittle in ice water? Any advice would be appreciated.
You needn’t worry about Royalex being
brittle in winter unless the canoe in question is maybe 20 years old. New Royales might be a bit more brittle in extremely cold temperatures (maybe below 10 degrees F), but you don’t need to be out trapping beaver when it is that cold in KY. A warmer day will come real soon.
Canoe on ice
not stiff or brittle, but tough to paddle.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2842269880075003331YMTaHF
My advice for paddling in icewater - get a drysuit. That water is COLD 
ice
I have took my old town disco out in the dead of winter, and had to break through the ice by ramming it. I never had any problems, I can’t seem to hurt them at all despite my best efforts.
water temps. will not get cold enough …
… to be a problem with either material , ever .
If you can get a Roylex canoe , it has a number of advantages (3 I can think of) over a polyethylene model .