Bilbo: I WANNA CANOE!

Gandalf: Do you mean you want to know how to canoe, or that you want to own a canoe, or that you would like to go for a paddle in a canoe?

Bilbo: Well, er, all of the above, I suppose…

So you’ve decided on a canoe for your cross continental odyssey (or your weekend to the lake country). But now you have to get out your credit card and shop smartly. No, Virginia, Cheaper Is Definitely Not Better. To shop smartly you need to know (a) what different shapes you’re going to see, and what their various advantages or disadvantages are; and (b) what different materials will deliver in weight, durability, comfort, and performance. This article is all about the materials.

The cross country vehicle traveller might enjoy showing off an aesthetically beautiful craft. If you are into impressing other people, you will want to choose a cedar-strip canoe, or a wood-canvas canoe. The latter is one of the strongest and toughest canoes ever built. An 18 foot Wood-canvas canoe was once seen going down the Yukon River with a snowmobile perched on planks laid across its gunwales.

Wood Canvas Canoes

Wood canvas canoes are incredible sturdy. My 13 foot wood-canvas canoe came off the roof of my car once at 90 kph (about 55 mph) and sailed over the vehicle behind me, landing on the highway right on the point of the bow. I stopped the car, walked back, picked up the canoe and tied it back on (properly this time!). It had minor damage on the bow, and I discovered years later during re-canvassing that two ribs and two planks were cracked – but in the meantime it was just fine, and covered hundreds of nautical miles.

However, both the cedar strip (covered usually with an epoxy or fibreglass coating) and the wood-canvas canoe are almost certain to be the heaviest, and the most difficult to maintain or repair away from home (not to mention being the most expensive to buy).

Aluminum Canoes

Aluminum canoes are amongst the most durable, but they are also heavier to handle, and in the act of canoeing itself they are cold (on cold water) and brutally hot when you first get into them in summer, and (worst of all) the noisiest craft ever asked to carry a peace-seeking paddler. They clank, literally, with every ripple. Once in my life, at a summer camp, I joined in a three-night out-trip in aluminum canoes. I will not willingly get into an aluminum canoe again in this lifetime.

Fibreglass Canoes

Fibreglass is also relatively heavy, but it is easy to repair. An early canoe expedition film showed a fibreglass canoe going down a river, capsizing against a rock, and being torn literally in half. The paddlers retrieved their gear (in waterproof containers) and both halves of the canoe. With the patching kit they carried they were able to re-join both halves, restoring the canoe completely, and continue on their trip.

Kevlar Canoes

Kevlar and Royalite (or its cousin Royalex) are two compounds used for many modern canoes as lighter alternatives to fibreglass. These materials deliver the greatest strength to weight ratio. For example, one site lists a 16 foot canoe in Fibreglass at 59 pounds, and the same canoe in Kevlar at 48 pounds. Again, the new construction processes which introduce layering of different materials can offer you strength, lightness, and durability, but with greater expense.

Summary

With all the options you face, let me make my basic suggestions, narrowing the field down to two choices.

• For strength and beauty and comfort in paddling, and relative ease in wilderness repair, look for a 16 foot wood-canvas canoe, 14 foot if you don’t want to do overnight work.
• For light weight, and toughness on a variety of beach materials, choose a Kevlar or Royalex canoe (again, 16 feet for significant tripping, 14 for day trips or solo.

On a long-distance vehicle journey I would probably sacrifice beauty and strength for weight. Read this article to learn about how to sit in a canoe over a long distance.

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