In my previous article Canoe vs Kayak Comparison , I talked about the merits of purchasing a canoe or a kayak. This article assumes that you have decided to buy a canoe, and details the various different components and options to help you choose a design that best suits your needs.
Tumblehome
Tumblehome refers to the angle of the sides of the canoe at the midpoint. A canoe with completely vertical sides has no tumblehome. If the sides slope outward from the centre you have flare. If the sides are rounded so that the upper parts of the sides slope inward toward the centreline, you have tumblehome. Tumblehome is built into a canoe for the purposes of manoeuvrability and wave resistance. The solo canoeist kneels just aft of mid-ship, but to the side the paddle is working. This puts the canoe on a serious list. A canoe with adequate tumblehome, though it is seriously leaning over, still presents a vertical side to the oncoming waves, and the buoyancy centre is directly underneath the paddler's weight. With no tumblehome, you might be able to stay dry, as most slop will bounce downward, but the canoe will be less stable. A canoe with flared sides is most likely to welcome relatively small waves, motorboat wakes, and unexpected belches from the Loch Ness monster right into your canoe.
These are exaggerated cross-sections, to show you what you are looking for. If you know you will never be alone in a canoe, the issue of using it on a list is not as pressing; however, if there is a big weight differential between the stern paddler and the bow paddler (the stern paddler must be the heavier, or you will have unbelievable steering and stability challenges!) then you will find some tendency to lean the canoe slightly, and having that vertical side to present to the wave is important.
Some canoes with good tumblehome are designed with a ridge along the sides, offering something of a "keel" when the canoe is on a list.
Bottom Profile
Bottom profile determines stability and speed. The flatter the bottom, the more stable the craft. However, the flatter the bottom also means the more surface area in contact with the water, which means greater drag. More rounded bottoms tend to be less flexible, less stable, and faster. (Remember, we are speaking about canoes, not the female of the species!) Adding a keel to a canoe increases its tracking ability for long flat-water travel, but also increases drag. Canoes made of Fibreglass, Kevlar, or similar materials that are light are often given a keel for the soul purpose of stiffening the canoe floor. However, keels are bad news in river work or around tidal currents, both of which can deliver powerful hidden cross-currents. In a borrowed 16 foot Frontiersman (a common canoe in summer camps) a partner and I shot a narrow channel between two islets, and nearly flipped when the fast tidal cross-current caught the two inch keel that ran the length of the canoe, which I had completely forgotten was there. But for long distance flat water canoeing with tandem paddlers, a keel is not a bad thing. If you have not spent hours and hours developing your "J" stroke in the stern, you will find a keeled canoe slightly less work in correcting your steerage.
Canoe Rocker
Rocker refers to the relative flatness or curve of the canoe lengthwise. A flat canoe is stable, and delivers the most buoyancy for its size, since the water is supporting it equally over the majority of its footprint. However, it tends to be sluggish, offering the most resistance to the water, and it doesn't turn easily since both ends are equally submerged. Some rocker will allow you to turn the canoe easily with a few strokes.
This profile shows a minimum amount of rocker. A canoe of this shape, with no keel, will provide great manoeuvrability, solo or in tandem, yet allowing reasonable tracking for long straight tripping. More rocker allows more ease in turning, essential for river work.
Canoe Hull Rise
Rise refers to the height of the bow and stern points relative to the sides at amidships. Traditional Ojibway birch-bark canoes were constructed for shooting rapids in rivers, and the bow and stern rise on these craft is extremely high, allowing the bow to plunge fairly deep into a river without shipping water. This can be handy in any rough water; however, the higher the rise the greater the exposure to wind. No rise allows little attack to significant chop, or motor boat wakes (one of the most common and annoying hazards for canoeists). The diagram above shows a reasonable amount of rise. Many contemporary tripping canoes are designed with an almost flat gunwale line, making them less likely to be blown off course, but not as protected when attacking high waves.
Canoe Hull Depth
Depth, as common sense suggests, will affect seaworthiness and load bearing ability. The depth of your canoe determines freeboard (the distance between the waterline and the gunwale at the centre of the canoe). Obviously, the less freeboard, the less your chances of keeping the crests of relatively small waves from climbing over the side. Too deep a canoe (for your particular load needs) means that you will present so much canoe to the wind that in windy conditions you will be sailing more than paddling, highly annoying when the wind wants to take you 90 degrees off course.
Length
The combination of length and width determines speed and bearing capacity. Questions to ask as you prepare for your expedition are:
- Do I need this canoe to carry one or two people?
- Do I want this canoe to take me miles at a time, or just into a small lake to sit and fish (or take pictures, or duck-hunt?)
- Do I need this canoe to bear enough gear for overnight tripping, or just day trips?
- Will I be able to lift this canoe easily onto my vehicle, and portage it to where I want to launch?
For two people who need enough gear for a couple of nights out, there is little need to look beyond a 16 foot canoe, though a 17 or 18 foot canoe which is narrower will bear the same load, and be much quicker to get there, though less manoeuvrable. You have to think of your vehicle: how much boat will protrude beyond the bumpers? How many times do I want to crack my skull on the gunwale when I go around the back of my car?
Shorter canoes may carry enough for a few nights out for two people. There are hunter's canoes which are short, wide, slow, and extremely stable, but you wouldn't want to take them very far. My wife and I, in our early twenties, did an 8 night saltwater trip (with two points of access to supplies) in a canoe which is nominally a 14 foot but actually 13 feet along the gunwales. We carried a minimum of gear. Nowadays, in our advancing middle age, we need a 16 foot canoe to carry some of the comforts we require (like tent, air mattress, and a bottle or two of good Merlot). The solo canoeist can get around happily with a 12 to 14 foot canoe. Portaging the small canoe with the paddles strapped in and all necessary gear in one backpack, is realistic, if your canoe is not already 70 pounds.
great content! it sounds from the article i just read that a beginner/occasional user who wishes to canoe with two for daytrips with no expectation of overnights might find a twelve foot canoe too small. Your comment that a 12-14 is good for solo tripping makes me think that a used 12′ canoe, though sold with two seats, might be too cozy for afternoons in marsh or pond. am i reading this right?
Aaron
You are probably right. Beam has some effect, of course – the Aluminum Sportspal is really short but really fat. But it is made for fishers/hunters to sit in safely, not for anyone who enjoys the smooth quiet slip of a real canoe. You also need to assess the weights of the most frequent users. Smaller canoes can’t cope with Really Heavy Paddlers. And the stern paddler needs to outweigh the bow paddler, or you’ll have huge challenges with keeping a straight line. Good luck!
Peter, very good piece! I would also mention that a shallow arch bottom, though initially less stable than a flat bottom, is much more predictable, as the turn of the bilge is more gradual. As well, while some tumblehome is good in terms of narrowing the beam at the paddling stations, more extreme tumblehome can be dangerous. Mohawks, and Bells use a shoulder, so that the sides are slightly flared and therefore the boat hardens up when leaned, but the tumblehome near the gunnels narrows the beam at the paddling stations.
Rise can also be called shear. Two boats with a similar station profile, but with different bow heights will exhibit certain specific traits. The higher bow will have more windage, but will also be drier. However, the equation is not so simple. In the case of the Prospector Fort by Chestnut, now much copied, the shape is very fine forward, but flares dramatically in aft stations. As well, near the waterline, it is fine, but there is perceptible flare above. A slab sided profile, much like the Clipper Ranger is great at flatwater, but can be wet in waves. However, take the same profile and build in some flare several inches above the waterline, and the bow would be drier. It would then, though, tend to be slowed by bigger waves, much like the Prospector.
@aaron For nosing around, as long as your 12 footer has enough beam (32 ” minimum) you’ll be fine. If you’re duck-hunting or flycasting, I’d take out extra insurance – it would be close for any activity other than paddling or picture taking. If your lunch picnic involves large amounts of water, cheese and beer – and your combined weight is over 400 lb, 12 feet probably doesn’t give you bouyancy. The best way to decide about a canoe (no brainer here) is to try it in the water, any water, even a swimming pool. We launched in our 14′ for a an eight day saltwater trip once, and realized it wasn’t answering well to the waves. So we took out airmatresses, cameras, guide books to wild flowers, anything not related to food and survival. Then we were fine. Last time we tried it, we had to borrow a 16 foooter. Sorry, but I need that airmattress nowadays! Good luck.
-Peter
Aaron, I would second what Peter says. The other issue is that except for solo boats, you won’t find many tandems in the 14′ range, and those are likely to be poorer designs. For a small tandem, 15′ is about the minimum, like the Bob’s Special, bump it up to 16′, and you’ve got a lot of boats to choose from. For day paddling, a Prospector is probably too much boat, but the NovaCraft PAL is a fine boat, as is the Ranger by Clipper. Weight will not be appreciably greater with a slightly longer boat, and the advantage of a faster canoe with more capacity, makes it safer.
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Does anyone know the maximum weight I can carry in a 16 foot Frontiersman canoe befor it gets too tippy to paddle a calm lake?