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< May, June 2000
	Skills
How to buy a Canoe Gene May

OK, you've decided to get a canoe, and you're reading this to get an idea of what to buy. If you've been thinking about a canoe for a while, you've probably talked to some paddling friends who own one, and maybe talked to some stores or rental liveries. If you asked them for specific suggestions, they may have asked you some questions. Maybe you're reading this hoping to get some specific answers. Sorry, this isn't the article you're looking for—I'm not going to tell you what to buy. What I am going to do is to help you make a choice you'll like, and in the process, get you to see why experienced paddlers often dislike making a decision for someone else.

First, let me dispel some potential fears: You don't have to worry about buying something poorly made if you get one of the major brands. I have three different canoes, each from a different manufacturer, and have no complaints about quality from any of them. And don't worry about buying something you'll change your mind about after you become more experienced, because it will "feel different." Don't worry. The differences between canoes are "feelable" even to inexperienced paddlers.

The best advice I can give is simple: Paddle as many canoes as you can, at least until you have some confidence that you understand and like what you're feeling. Also, test drive boats the same way you intend to paddle them. In other words, if you're going to paddle with a spouse, the two of you should do your "test paddles" together. Same goes for if you're going to be paddling with your kids. Take them with you, and paddle together and share ideas. This gets to be fun fast, as you realize that you can really tell differences easily, and you experiment with different characteristics and share impressions with each other. Buy from a store that is near water and lets you test canoes. Take advantage of the "demo days" manufacturers offer in conjunction with their retailers. They haul in most of their models for just this purpose and their schedules are usually available in late winter or early spring.

As for characteristics, I'm reluctant to make general statements like, "a canoe shaped like so-and-so will handle like so-and-so." There are several ways to get a canoe to handle a certain way, and design features can interact differently. You can't predict handling and feel solely by reading technical descriptions. Theory is nice, but it doesn't substitute for getting in a canoe and trying it.

The first thing most people notice about a canoe is its material. Think back to the first canoes you paddled—if it was at a camp or from a livery, there's a good chance it was an aluminum Grumman. The canoe design is a good blend of compromises—it tracks well, turns well and it is not too "tippy." These canoes are almost indestructible, which is the main reason camps and liveries buy them. They also aren't too expensive. However, they are also heavy. So we have the trade-offs: cost, weight, strength and resistance to being cracked or dented (related to strength but not the same thing), and ease of repair. Other materials available include wood, fiberglass, Kevlar and semi-flexible synthetics like Royalex. How do they differ? Wood is relatively weak, not too light, and requires maintenance. Attractive wood canoes tend to be expensive, but none of the other materials come close to the traditional beauty of a well-made wooden canoe. Fiberglass usually makes for lighter canoes than aluminum, and is plenty strong, but more expensive. Kevlar is stronger and lighter still, and even more expensive. There are some exotic, light combinations of foam, Kevlar and graphite models available, mostly in competition canoes, but they are pricey and often more delicate because strength is traded for weight. Semi-flexible materials will take an amazing amount of abuse, and pop back into shape. Think about how you will use the canoe, and match this to the material characteristics.

Look at some canoes from the side, in particular, at the bottoms. Some are straight and flat, and some have a little curve, called "rocker" (after the chairs). This characteristic greatly effects how a canoe handles. The straight or flat-bottomed canoes have a long "footprint" on the water, meaning that a long piece of the hull is submerged, adding to the resistance of it being rotated horizontally around its center point. Flat-bottomed canoes track in a straight line well, don't turn too easily, and glide well because the long footprint doesn't have to push much water aside. If you are going to be on lakes or flat water where the decreased maneuverability isn't important but where paddling in a straight line is, this is a desirable characteristic. A canoe with rocker has the center deeper in the water, with the ends less in contact with the water, so it turns around its center more easily. Whitewater and slalom canoes often have lots of rocker for maneuverability, but they require better paddling technique to make them track. They also don't glide as well as a flat-bottomed boat, because their centers, being deeper, have to push more water aside as the canoe glides along. Try both; it is very easy to sense.

Now look at some canoes from their ends. In non-technical terms, the word "stability" means the canoe's natural tendency to make itself sit upright when tipped over. Surprisingly, there are two kinds of stability: "initial" and "final" (sometimes called "secondary"). Initial stability means the canoe's tendency to right itself when it is close to being upright. Final stability means the canoe's tendency to right itself when it's leaning way over. How a canoe's hull is shaped, and looks from the end, has a lot to do with stability. The two kinds of stability don't necessarily go hand in hand, so these characteristics are something you should experiment with when you test-paddle. Do this in a bathing or wet suit with a PFD, so you can get the feel when the canoe is way over, and you won't care if the canoe tips. I personally don't care much about initial stability, but like lots of final stability. If I fished a lot, or took pictures, or had kids scrambling around in the canoe, I'd feel differently. I like to be able to lean a canoe to help it turn; if I can lean way over, the ends of the canoe come out of the water and it is the same as having lots of rocker, enabling quick turns. I also like to be able to counteract current when I enter moving water by leaning the canoe away from the direction of the current, without having to fight the canoe to stay upright.

Unfortunately, there are trade-offs in hull shape: canoes that look "flared" from the end, wider at the top than at their waterline, tend to have better final stability. However, they aren't as comfortable to paddle, because you have to hold the paddle farther out to keep from hitting the canoe. If the canoe has the opposite of flare, called "tumblehome," it will be easier to paddle but may tend to get tippy suddenly as it is leaned away from vertical. Flatwater marathon racing canoes often have lots of tumblehome, because these races usually don't have sharp turns, meaning you won't be needing to lean the canoe.

In short, when in the market for a canoe, use the same skills you'd use in buying a car. Where and how will it be used? Who will be driving it? What features do you want it to have? Then, get out there and test drive.

—A long-time canoeist, Gene May sits on the board of the American Canoe Association.