How to Choose a Canoe

Buying the right canoe depends on what you intend to use it for. A canoe suitable for running rapids may not be the best canoe for long camping expeditions or slalom races. Follow these guidelines to figure out which canoe is right for you.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Canoe Gear Bags
• Canoe Kneeling Pads
• Canoe Paddles
• Canoe Racks
• Canoe Yokes
• Canoes
• Life Vests

1. Decide how you're going to use your canoe. Do you plan to take family trips on a gentle lake, or are you hoping to ride white-water rapids? Will you be racing a slalom course, or fishing in a lake?

2. Narrow your choice to either a strong canoe or a light canoe. You cannot have both, unless you're willing to spend some serious bucks. Decide which fits your needs. White-water canoes should be strong and fairly short, for maneuvering and withstanding rocks. Racing canoes should be narrow, long and light. Camping canoes should be wide and long, and will probably end up being quite heavy. Depending on the type of fishing you do, a fishing canoe should be big enough, and stable enough, to suit your needs.

3. Consider length. The longer your canoe is, the faster it will be, and the better it will track through water (hold its course). However, a longer canoe will also be somewhat harder to control, store and transport.

4. Pick a hull shape. The stability of your canoe depends on the shape of its hull (the bottom). Rounded or V-shaped hulls out-perform the flat hull in every way except for initial stability, which is how the canoe feels when you're sitting motionless in it. Initial stability, however, is fairly unimportant.

5. Avoid buying a canoe with a keel. A keel is an external fin running along the bottom of the craft. They are put on canoes to help steer, but are often more of a hindrance than a help.

6. Examine the tumblehome on the canoe. Tumblehome is the curvature of the sides of the canoe, used to give flimsy construction materials extra strength. Tumblehome makes it easier to paddle, as the paddler doesn't have to reach as far, but too much tumblehome can make your canoe easily capsize. If you plan to take your canoe in the ocean or rough water, avoid too much tumblehome.

7. Consider the depth of the canoe. Twelve inches is a good depth for a simple lake canoe, but white-water canoeists and campers will want an inch or two more.

8. Realize that advertised load capacities generally don't mean much, since most of the load is carried in the middle of the canoe. Just understand that narrow ends are faster, and wider ends are more buoyant.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want to buy a used canoe, look at an outfitter or visit a canoe race or paddling seminar. Avoid classified ads - they almost always feature junk canoes.
• Good canoes can improve with age, but bad canoes cannot. Consider how long you intend to use your canoe when you buy it. You might want to buy a good used canoe over a bad new one.
• Check for delamination on fiberglass and Kevlar canoes. Once it begins, it continues.
• Don't forget to buy life jackets when buying a canoe.

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on 11/22/2005 If you purchase a used canoe, be sure it has adequate, permanent flotation. I bought a used canoe and only after tipping it over in the middle of a lake did I discover that it didn't float. A mild oversight on my part.

on 11/22/2005 If you're planning to use your canoe in an organized competitive sport (such as racing or canoe polo), find out about size and shape regulations before choosing a canoe.