 How to
Choose the Right Canoe Hull With only 900 or more canoe models to choose from--and with each manufacturer having its own classification system--what could be easier than picking out a canoe? And don't forget that canoes can be made from cedar strips, wood and canvas, aluminum, fiberglass, Kevlar, carbon fiber, polyethylene and Royalex. It's no wonder so many people end up buying the wrong canoe--which means enjoyment and safety are compromised. Following is a way to choose the appropriate craft for your intended use. Starting the
Decision Making Process You should now be able to place yourself in one of the following categories: Lake Touring (Examples: Old Town Camper, Navarro Sundancer, and Mad River Malecite); Flatwater Sport--wildlife viewing, fishing and hunting (Examples: Old Town Discovery Sport canoes and Katahdin 16, Mad River Missisquoi, Navarro 16' & 14' Otter); Expedition Paddles (Examples: We-no-nah Itasca 19'0, Old Town169, Appalachian, Tripper and Penobscot, Dagger Venture 17, Mad River Revelation); Whitewater Touring (Examples: Dagger Dimension and Legend 16', Mad River Synergy, Old Town Appalachian); Whitewater playboating and rodeo (Examples: Mad River Outrage & Rampage, Dagger Ovation, Rival, Caption and Quake; Mohawk Probe 10 and 12). Once you know the category of the canoe you want, it is simply a matter of knowing how to recognize what length, width, shape and construction your hull should be. Construction Shape Tumblehome (the width between the gunwales is less than the overall width of the canoe) allows the canoe to be paddled without giving up hull displacement--which determines weight carrying capacity (burden). The greater the displacement the greater the carrying capacity. Tumblehome is often achieved in whitewater playboats by using a gunwale tuck (a method of molding materials like Royalex to create tumblehome). Secondary stability (the canoe gains stability as it is heeled over) is created by flaring the sides of the midsections. This allows the paddler to heel the canoe over to carve turns--an important hull shape for whitewater boats. Tumblehome is also found in some recreational hulls. Rocker is the amount the hull curves from bow to stern. Rocker slows hull speed decreases the accommodation of large payloads. Lake and touring canoes should have conservative amounts of rocker to increase hull speed. It is not critical for river hulls to be fast but it is important that they have rocker for maneuverability (5-6" is good for a 16-foot whitewater canoe). Touring and expedition canoes should have some rocker as well (2" is good for a 16- or 17-foot canoe). When choosing a touring, expedition or sport canoe that will be paddled tandem and solo, the hull should be symmetrical (the shape of the canoe is identical fore and aft) and the bow seat located twice as far from one end of the canoe than the stern seat. When paddling solo, sit in the bow seat facing the stern, which gives the best mechanical advantage for strokes and trim (canoes should have the bow running slightly higher than the rest of the hull). The bow is what cleaves the water, so it is important that the shape suits the use. Whitewater boats need high volume bows and sterns for buoyancy-- assuring their ability to go over large waves and giving the canoe more buoyancy over shorter lengths. More rounded ends in whitewater playboats make it easier to change direction in upstream maneuvers as well. Touring and expedition canoe hulls need to take lake waves (and moderate whitewater) and still have good hull speed. This is achieved by shaping the bow and stern with a slight flare to direct water away. The bow and stern should have low enough volume, however, to cleave waves easily. Size and Carrying
Capacity Depth also determines a canoe's ability to carry a load. Touring canoes (usually about 16 feet) are often 13.5 inches deep, while 17-foot expedition canoes are often 15 inches deep. Whitewater playboats (11-feet or so) are also about 15 inches deep. When loading rockered playboats and river runners, maneuverability is more quickly lost. Flat-bottomed canoe hulls are least affected by loading, as they remain stable and slow. The canoe's width and its effect on speed is related to length. Beam can be greater with longer boats and not adversely affect speed. Touring and expedition canoes need to maintain length-to-beam ratios so as not to compromise speed or load-carrying capacity. Sport boats tend to be wider to create stability and increase payload. A good ratio between beam and length for a touring canoe is 16 feet long with a 33-inch beam. A good length-to-beam ratio for an expedition canoe is 17 feet long with a 36-inch beam. Whitewater playboats of 11 feet have beams of about 28 inches. Seating
Configuration Tandem whitewater touring canoes (16- to 14-feet long with four-plus inches of rocker) are often outfitted with seats placed equidistant from the ends. This provides space in the midsections for gear and a better paddling position for the bow person. The whitewater tandem playboat is best outfitted with seats placed in the Gemini position--paddlers sit equidistant from the bow and stern of the canoe in the midsections of the craft. Solo whitewater playboats need their pedestal or saddle mounted so that, when the paddler is sitting in the canoe with his or her accessories stowed in their normal places, the hull is trimmed with the bow riding 1/2" to 3/4" higher than the stern. Saddle or pedestal height also is critical (the average seat height is about eight inches). The Final Tactic --Douglas Wipper, former director of the National Canoeing Schools of Canada, is the owner and director of the Steamboat Springs Canoeing School in Steamboat Springs, Colo. He has instructed canoeing for universities and private camps for more than 30 years.
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