Participating in a canoe or kayak paddling may feel a little weird, whether with experienced friends or family member it can be difficult for your brain to let go of your concerns, but reality, once you are 10 minutes in the waterway the beautiful experience will surpass your fears and you might even think you are a pro, you will realize how safe and reliable canoe paddling exercise is to you. But what you may not have noticed the safety and the smooth experienced was facilitated in part by the choosing the right canoe for the water surface you were paddling, yes it takes some thought and considerations when buying a canoe, they comes in a different size, shape and also vary in the materials that make them, all these features are important to consider before buying it. In this article, you will get some considerations you need to make when choosing a canoe particularly if it’s your first time.
It is important to do some self background check before heading out for a canoe, you need to consider where will you be paddling, in open water, rivers, lakes, is a canoe for adventure or fishing, is it a family canoe or its just yours, these considerations are essential in determining not only the size but the material and type of canoe you need to serve your needs.
Another important consideration you need to make is the shape, and the style of the ends at bow, stern, and the curve (rocker) along the keel of the canoe. Some of these features such as hull affect the stability of the canoe, and the flatter the bottom of the hull the stable the canoe is on water, however, a rounder hull will be more stable when your canoe is exposed to strong waves or boat wash, here the decision is yours, you can either choose a boat that feels stable in undemanding water or a canoe that feel unstable in undemanding water but increases stability in choppy or boat wash.
You need to pay attention to the shape at the end or tip of the canoe you are intending to buy, a nice well-rounded tip will make the canoe stable, easy to maneuver but you will suffer from high water resistance slowing you down, make a choice whether you need a faster relatively unstable canoe to go for a narrow designed tip, it is your choice to make because there is some trade-off speed versus stability. You can use this as your guide when you are buying a canoe.