Ah choices! Shall I
take a canoe or a kayak on my paddling trip?
Well that depends on if you like Coke or Pepsi, drive a car or a truck,
listen to pop or classics… well you get
the idea. It mostly comes down to
personal preference, but knowing the differences can help you have a more
enjoyable time out on the river.
The
oldest boat known to still be in existence is a canoe from about 10,000
years ago. Kayaks didn’t come along for
at least another several thousand years.
So if “experience” is an important qualification to you, well then stop
reading and pick the canoe!
Canoes and kayaks come in many different styles and
materials, but the one characteristic that they all share is their ability to
allow you to float easily on water and navigate across its surface. Here at Fox’s Canoe Livery in Hocking Hills,
all our canoes are designed to hold 2 (or more) people, while our kayaks are
designed to hold only 1 person. So in a
canoe, there is someone for you to blame, in a kayak, it’s all your fault!
There are two primary differences between our canoes and kayaks:
SEATING ARRANGMENT
Though solo canoes and multiple person kayaks are
manufactured, we don’t really have them available to rent here at our
livery. So capacity is a key element to
the seating arrangements of each type of craft, with the canoe being the option
if more than 1 person wish to travel together in the same boat.
Paddling a canoe is akin to sitting in a chair. There are
two seats in our canoes, with the additional option of sitting 1 person (or two
3-8 year olds) directly on the bottom of the boat. The canoe seats do not have built in back
support, though a few back rests are available for free on a first come first
serve basis.\
Paddling a kayak is akin to sitting on the floor. The whole craft rides low in the water with
“bucket style” seats. Some have cockpits
that you sort of climb down inside or there are sit-upon versions which you
sort of just climb on top of.
THE PADDLE
The canoe paddle has a grip or handle on a shaft opposite a
single blade that gets dipped in the water to move the craft. It is placed right alongside of the canoe on
one side or the other.
The kayak paddle resembles a cotton swab, with two blades,
one on each end of a long shaft. The
blades are placed alternately on opposite sides of the craft, into the water at
an angle away from the sides of the kayak.
Some important considerations
A kayak is generally easier to learn how to use than a canoe, but in the hands of a master a canoe is more maneuverable and quite elegant. The art of steering a kayak is more intuitive to beginners due to the double bladed paddle, being more centered in the craft, and having no other paddlers affecting the boat. For more see our paddling primer.
Kayaking is a wetter ride.
For starters water collects in the bottom of boats, which as it turns
out, is sort of where you are sitting.
Additionally, the action of paddling with a kayak paddle tends to cause
more droplets of water to end up in the craft as you paddle, whereas droplets rolling off a canoe paddle tend to drip back into the river. Then again, who cares if you plan on popping overboard
from time to time to swim!
A canoe is easier to enter and exit from, particularly for
older bodies that just don’t bend like they used to. There is more ability to adjust your body
for comfort in a canoe it seems, however without the aid of a seat back, kayaks
tend to trump canoes for back support.
A kayak tends to offer more maneuverability and speed, and
without having to coordinate with another person, more freedom to explore the
river as you wish.
As for stability, our wide bodied kayaks and sit-upons are
in line with canoes as far as their adeptness at remaining upright. The skill of the paddler tends to be a
significant factor in the likelihood of flipping a boat. That being said, I’ve known the river to flip
even seasonal paddlers with equal success regardless of
which boat they were in!
The view from both offers equally interesting views, but
from slightly different perspectives. Sitting
up in a canoe you can usually get glimpses of features and terrain out on top
of the banks of the river. Being down in
a kayak is more of a fish-eyed view.
Paddling a kayak tends to be more of a symmetrical experience,
canoes more asymmetrical. Both repetitive
motions are a beautiful and wonderful work of art, a way of dancing across the
surface of a still pond. Don’t believe
me? Check out these artistic dances of
light and paddling of a canoe and of paddling a kayak. Cool!
Ah choices! Whichever boat you choose, it is very difficult to NOT have a great time out on the Hocking River!
Wish you can also consider paddling using a SUP board someday but love your article Wes! Hope you can try stand up paddleboarding when you have time. Snowcoast Paddleboards Alberta
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ReplyDeleteI have been in a Kayak in the year 2018, and it was a great experience. I would be using a canoe this time to find out the difference. Canara Bank Customer Care
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