The Canoe
Created | Updated Dec 13, 2004
In some parts of the world, the canoe is known to be a hobby, an obsession, or possibly a way of life. (Probably rarely a way of life, but an excellent mode of transportation) The canoe is a small boat without any form of top. The shape started with the first canoes which where made by hollowing out a large log.
An average canoe
The average canoe is around 15 to 17 feet long made of aluminium, fibreglass, wood, plastic, or even a Kevlar as a lightweight alternative. It seats two with seats which are sometimes nothing more than a board of wood or plastic and at best a comfortable woven cloth mesh. Canoes typically weigh between 40 and 70 pounds.
The not so average canoe
Several non-typical canoes exist, one is the voyageur canoe which was used in the early north American fur trade. These are mammoth beasts that when made to accommodate people instead of pelts can easily hold 10 to 12 people and are roughly twice the size of a average canoe measuring at nearly 40 feet long. Another non-typical canoe is some that are designed for white water canoeing which are shorter, smaller and generally bear more of a resemblance to a kayak.
Moving around
Then the two paddlers will sit on a seat or kneel if there is no seat to use and paddle, the responsibility of steering belongs to the person seated in the rear; the one in the front just provides power and forward momentum. There are several strokes that one can make with their paddles to steer and when both paddlers work together one can turn nearly on a dime. On occasion for whatever reason one may choose to pilot the boat alone, in order to accomplish this the person would sit in the back and have to be very careful not to go off course as most paddling styles turn the canoe to one side of the other, and having two people balances this out. It is even possible for one person to paddle a large canoe such as a voyageur canoe usually with the condition that the wind is in your favour.
Why on earth?
People use canoes in various recreational and sporting activities. The notable one is simply passing a summer day by taking a relaxing paddle around the lake. Some people enter into canoe trips paddling a course of anywhere from 30 to 150 kilometres over the course of two days to two weeks finding campsites in the wilderness at the end of each day. White water canoeing is a burden and something that people usually don't do by choice; more often than not it is a unfriendly part of any lengthy canoe trip. (If one wants to play in white water kayaking is then recommended). Racing is another activity that people partake in although usually for sport as opposed to recreationally. Sea canoeing is a bad idea, whoever thought of it as unless you have a 'skirt' or a means of keeping the waves from entering your canoe (think bathtub without a hole in bottom) then you will quickly learn that the water is cold that day and there is no easy way to right a canoe without assistance from another craft.
Canoeing might be strange sounding to some, but with practice and experience it becomes a pleasurable and enjoyable activity for a hot summer day.
An average canoe
The average canoe is around 15 to 17 feet long made of aluminium, fibreglass, wood, plastic, or even a Kevlar as a lightweight alternative. It seats two with seats which are sometimes nothing more than a board of wood or plastic and at best a comfortable woven cloth mesh. Canoes typically weigh between 40 and 70 pounds.
The not so average canoe
Several non-typical canoes exist, one is the voyageur canoe which was used in the early north American fur trade. These are mammoth beasts that when made to accommodate people instead of pelts can easily hold 10 to 12 people and are roughly twice the size of a average canoe measuring at nearly 40 feet long. Another non-typical canoe is some that are designed for white water canoeing which are shorter, smaller and generally bear more of a resemblance to a kayak.
Moving around
Then the two paddlers will sit on a seat or kneel if there is no seat to use and paddle, the responsibility of steering belongs to the person seated in the rear; the one in the front just provides power and forward momentum. There are several strokes that one can make with their paddles to steer and when both paddlers work together one can turn nearly on a dime. On occasion for whatever reason one may choose to pilot the boat alone, in order to accomplish this the person would sit in the back and have to be very careful not to go off course as most paddling styles turn the canoe to one side of the other, and having two people balances this out. It is even possible for one person to paddle a large canoe such as a voyageur canoe usually with the condition that the wind is in your favour.
Why on earth?
People use canoes in various recreational and sporting activities. The notable one is simply passing a summer day by taking a relaxing paddle around the lake. Some people enter into canoe trips paddling a course of anywhere from 30 to 150 kilometres over the course of two days to two weeks finding campsites in the wilderness at the end of each day. White water canoeing is a burden and something that people usually don't do by choice; more often than not it is a unfriendly part of any lengthy canoe trip. (If one wants to play in white water kayaking is then recommended). Racing is another activity that people partake in although usually for sport as opposed to recreationally. Sea canoeing is a bad idea, whoever thought of it as unless you have a 'skirt' or a means of keeping the waves from entering your canoe (think bathtub without a hole in bottom) then you will quickly learn that the water is cold that day and there is no easy way to right a canoe without assistance from another craft.
Canoeing might be strange sounding to some, but with practice and experience it becomes a pleasurable and enjoyable activity for a hot summer day.
