Canoe Buying 101

2011 Swift Canoe & Kayak, Scott Way, John Winters. This document is not to be printed, distributed, sold for pro t, or used in any capacity outside the Scribd document database without the expressed written consent of Swift Canoe & Kayak and/or Scott Way and/or John Winters.

Your rst step is to organize your priorities. Are you a casual canoeist with no illusions about your abilities or are you serious about paddling? Do you have a long range goal of extended expeditions or will you be content with short range paddles in calm waters? Are you cautious or daring? Will you paddle for relaxation or thrills? With your goals de ned you are ready to ll out your personal canoe buying questionnaire. This exercise is entirely for your bene t, so its best to be brutally honest. Deceiving yourself now will only increase the likelihood that youll end up with a boat thats not right for you. You must also do this BEFORE you look at boats! Keeping your head in the presence of beautiful boats isnt easy. Your Personal Priority List 1. What is your current skill level? (1 if you have never paddled, 10 if you have forgotten more about paddling than most people will ever know) 2. What do you expect your skill level to be two years from now? (1 if youll only ever paddle a few times a year, `10 if you expect to live and breathe for paddling) . 3. Where will you paddle most of the time? (meaning about 80% of your paddling or more) Will it be the ocean, atwater lakes, whitewater rivers (class III-V), or around the cottage? 4. What is the typical weight load you expect your canoe to carry? (Body Weight + Gear) 5. Arrange the following from most to least importance to you: Aesthetics 1. Controllability 2. Durability 3. Maintenance 4. Price 5. Tripping Worthiness 6. E ciency 7. Stability 8. Weight 9. Other Requirements 10. I have deliberately left Comfort out of the priority list. Your safety and enjoyment are a function of your mood and your mood is a function of how happy your body is after several hours of paddling. Why a particular seat suits one person and not another, or why one boat feels stable to some but shaky to others is impossible to adequately rationalize. No matter how appealing a boat is, if it doesnt feel good, look elsewhere. The importance of comfort is non-negotiable. Comments Questions #1 & 2 Most rst-time canoe buyers have a pre-conceived notion of what they need before they start looking. Thats perfectly understandable, but you come to the experts to get expert advice. Keep your mind open to helpful suggestion, but be wary of the hard sell. Be honest about what your abilities are now, and where youd like them to be in the future. Generally speaking, if you lack con dence in your abilities a more stable user friendly canoe is best. If the boat seems shaky to you, or if youre not con dent that youll be willing or able to develop the skills necessary to increase your comfortability, then keep searching. Dont buy something because someone told you need some particular feature(s), buy it because it suits you. Yes, some gurus of the sport insist that everyone learn to paddle in a high-performance boat. How else will you develop proper skills? This is valid up to a point, but assumes that everyone wants to be an expert when most people are content with some good safe fun. Fast learners or the already skilled can move right into a high-performance boat. The point is to t the boat to your abilities and not vice versa. 2011 Swift Canoe & Kayak, Scott Way, John Winters. This document is not to be printed, distributed, sold for pro t, or used in any capacity outside the Scribd document database without the expressed written consent of Swift Canoe & Kayak and/or Scott Way and/or John Winters.

Question #3 This is qualitative and quantitative. It is possible to paddle extensively in large open lakes and never meet anything more than a gentle rolling swell. On the other hand, there are small bodies of water that can rattle even the most hardened trippers nerves. Know where youre going to paddle and know what your future boat can handle. Larger bodies of water carry larger risks; snapping winds, breaking/capping waves, unexpected rapids/whitewater, and rapidly changing weather are only the most obvious of what can turn a pleasant paddle into a trip worth forgetting. Your canoe should be able to handle the worst you are likely to experience, but remember that no boat can save you from bad judgment. Be honest about where you intend to paddle, and be aware of the capabilities of your future boat. Use something called the 80/20 rule. This means catering your purchase towards the paddling you expect to do 80% of the time. If youre an expert paddler of all types youd need a whitewater canoe for river tripping, a atwater tripping canoe for backcountry camping, and a cottage canoe for leisurely tours with no gear, but very few people have that kind of budget. Cater your search towards the boat that will satisfy the greatest proportion of your needs. There is no perfect boat. Question #4 Do not become overly preoccupied by weight capacity gures. What you want is the best combination of speed, e ciency, and payload (or weight capacity) that suits your needs. Longer doesnt necessarily meaner higher payload, just the same as longer doesnt always mean faster. There are important things to consider like asymmetrical vs. symmetrical design, hull shape, width, and depth. Length certainly plays a role in the available payload of a canoe, but it isnt the only factor. Make sure you understand the concepts above before deciding what length you want. For example, asymmetrical designs typically perform better when theyre loaded up with gear, whereas symmetrical designs arent so weight dependent. Both have their pros and cons, and you should understand the di erences before you decide on what length (and shape) of boat you need. Question #5 Aesthetics There is no law that says that a canoe must be ugly in order to be inexpensive, durable, safe, or perform well. Canoeing is an aesthetic experience and you should never have to explain that the canoe on your truck is not a bathroom xture. On the other hand, if it stirs your soul, dont brush it aside. The bottom line is aesthetics are only part of the puzzle. Craftsmanship is an indicator of quality, so keep that in mind if you nd yourself looking at an ugly canoe with an appealing price tag. Controllability This includes both tracking and maneuverability. The balance between the two depends upon how and where you paddle. Exceptional maneuverability is less important in open than in con ned waters. Only a test paddle will tell you if a canoe is suitable, but be sure to test it both loaded and unloaded. How a boat feels changes dramatically with increasing load (especially asymmetrical designs). A common desire amongst rst-time canoe buyers is a keel. While a keel will help with tracking, it will not help with maneuverability. Keels help you track in a straight line, but they make turning more di cult. Furthermore, a well-designed canoe without a keel can track straighter AND turn better than one with a keel, so be open to di erent designs. Durability Durability is extremely important if you intend to go into the wilderness where any accident with your boat could mean serious danger. Even if youre just cruising around your local lake or cottage where the consequences are negligible, the material of your boat is always factor worth considering. If you intend to paddle serious whitewater, Royalex is the preferred choice because of its sturdy construction and resistance to impact. On the downside, Royalex boats are heavy so theyre burdensome for portaging. If youre a wilderness tripper who needs the lightest boat possible for portaging, Kevlar or carbon is the more desirable choice. But keep in mind that, generally speaking, the lighter the boat is the more expensive it is, so your budget will in uence the material you choose. Find the best possible combination of weight, material, and price that suits your paddling needs.

2011 Swift Canoe & Kayak, Scott Way, John Winters. This document is not to be printed, distributed, sold for pro t, or used in any capacity outside the Scribd document database without the expressed written consent of Swift Canoe & Kayak and/or Scott Way and/or John Winters.

Maintenance This isnt a big deal with most canoes unless you buy something exotic. Modern canoes are relatively maintenance free in that re- nishing the wood components every couple years and the occasional wash is likely all you have to do. However, keep in mind that di erent materials require di erent care. Composite materials can be a ected by UV exposure and need to be treated accordingly, so consider where youll store them. Oddly enough, most damage occurs when loading or storing so a good roof rack and storage racks are a wise investment. Price Set a range but be exible. Adhering slavishly to a price limit is often false economy and a few extra dollars might buy a signi cantly better canoe that is better suited to your needs. A quality canoe is a lifetime investment if you treat it properly, so spending more now and treating it well should save you from having to buy again in a few years. Tripping worthiness This is not a trivial matter. Canoes are vessels for exploring isolated places in nature, but obviously not all canoes are the same. If youre a serious wilderness tripper (or want to become one) your boat must be pro cient in dangerous waters (large open lakes, fast rivers, etc), responsive enough to get you around dangerous obstructions, fast enough to cover the requisite distance between locations, light enough to portage, and stable enough to keep you upright even when youre tired. Having the proper canoe to get you through hazardous tripping conditions can be the di erence between a great trip and your last trip. E ciency Do not confuse e ciency with speed. Racing canoes are fast but are e cient only when paddled hard. Dont expect to cruise at 8 mph unless you have the muscles and skills. Your search is for the fastest boat at your normal stroke rate. Increasing length (and the important length is the waterline, not the overall length) increases the top speed potential. However, because of the increased wetted surface of longer canoes, length decreases e ciency at lower speeds. Stability Stability is a highly subjective and personal matter. Canoe X may be stable for one paddler but like balancing on a trapeze for you. Mind you, it doesnt take long to become accustomed to a boat, but that doesnt mean you should have to. There are those who sneer at the notion of stable canoes, but dont let them in uence you. There are plenty of stable boats that are just as responsive as the tippy super boats. Weight Weight is an often underappreciated and misunderstood facet of canoe buying (and canoe paddling!). If you intend to go backcountry camping you can expect lengthy portages (not to mention all the gear you have to carry too). A few pounds here or there can make a huge di erence in how much you enjoy your paddling time. Theres also a myth that lighter boats are more likely to get pushed around by wind or waves, but this simply isnt true. In di cult conditions a heavy unloaded boat wont fare any better than a lightweight boat thats properly loaded. What matters is how the boat sits in the water (i.e., its waterline), how it responds to the weight placed in it (i.e., its payload and trim characteristics), and how the hull design displaces water as it moves along (i.e., its displacement). Other Requirements If its important to you, then put it down. Now, examine your list. Adjust it as needed and you are ready to look at canoes.

2011 Swift Canoe & Kayak, Scott Way, John Winters. This document is not to be printed, distributed, sold for pro t, or used in any capacity outside the Scribd document database without the expressed written consent of Swift Canoe & Kayak and/or Scott Way and/or John Winters.

The rst rule is to stick to your priorities and stick to your list. Ask the salesperson how each canoe ts your criteria, not theirs or someone elses. To what skill level is it best suited? What load is it designed to carry? Accept no compromise on what is important to you. You will always regret giving up something you value for a passing whim. For items of middling importance, some compromise is acceptable. For instance, if weight is low on your priority list, a Royalex or berglass boat may be perfectly acceptable even though something lighter will be much easier to portage. Those items at the bottom of your list can be ignored if all the other requirements are met. A test paddle is always a good idea, but this is your rst canoe and you may not know what makes or breaks a boat. There are several routes. You can take professionally run paddling lessons, join a canoe club, or paddle with friends in rented boats. This is where experts and friends come in. They have been the same route, already made some of the mistakes, and might even know a rst class salesperson that can help you out. You are now ready to begin your search for a canoe. Good luck and have fun!

2011 Swift Canoe & Kayak, Scott Way, John Winters. This document is not to be printed, distributed, sold for pro t, or used in any capacity outside the Scribd document database without the expressed written consent of Swift Canoe & Kayak and/or Scott Way and/or John Winters.

2394 Highway 11 North, Gravenhurst, Ontario P1P 1R1 705.687.3710

Swift Canoe & Kayak

1.800.661.1429 www.swiftcanoe.com