Canoeing and kayaking are two popular outdoor activities that can be enjoyed by all skill levels. Both are human-powered small craft, usually propelled with a paddle, and have their pros and cons. Canoes are open and spacious, while kayaks have enclosed cockpits. They are generally more stable than kayaks, which are more stable and family-friendly.
The myth that you need more skill to paddle a canoe than a kayak persists, as a novice can look good in a kayak on a mirror-calm lake, whereas it takes more skill to master. However, both canoes offer speed and agility, making them suitable for various water activities.
Kayaks are more nimble, easier to manoeuvre, and can travel faster, but they are more stable and spacious. The open deck of a canoe makes many first-time paddlers feel more at ease in a canoe than a kayak. Both canoes and kayaks require physical strength and endurance to propel the boat through the water, but canoeing requires more upper body strength.
Kayaks are faster, more durable, and can be used in more places, such as rivers, lakes, and oceans. They are easier to start paddling but do not educate on fluid dynamics and paddling technique, so a course on these topics is necessary.
In conclusion, canoeing and kayaking are both fun and great for paddlers of all experience levels. They are considered Expedition craft, more suited for longer journeys, while kayaks are smaller, nimble boats designed for speed and maneuverability. Fishing from a canoe or a kayak is also enjoyable, but canoes are generally more stable and harder to capsize than kayaks.
📹 What’s the Difference Between a Canoe and Kayak? | New Forest Activities
The most asked question that those in the water-sports industry get asked is usually, “Whats the difference between the boats?”.
📹 Canoe or Kayak? Style or Function
In this video I discuss the differences and similarities between kayaks and canoes? Which one should I buy? Mentioned: Jerry …
Canoe for me. It’s just so versatile. One paddler or three, bring a dog if you like. Paddle, pole or sail depending on the conditions. Sit, kneel or stand. Sleep aboard. I’ve done all of those in the same canoe. Haven’t try rowing or a motor yet, but the canoe can do it. I started in kayaks (canoes are rare this side of the Atlantic) but don’t really get on with them, they always seem to be wet, the drip from the upper paddle means you have to wear waterproofs and the spray deck whatever the weather. I find double paddles unnecessarily heavy as well, the single paddle floats through most of the stroke and just skims the water on the recovery, I can do that all day. The feeling of extra stability that comes with sitting low down is a bit of an illusion as well, it’s actually reducing your ability to control rolling movement. My preference is kneeling, which is a very reactive position. This will be contraversial but I feel safer in a canoe, even on open water. I quite often paddle alone and know I can recover and get in from the water, I’ve practised extensively and once had to do it for real. With the kayak I never had that confidence, I could roll, but never reliably.
I spend alot of time on the water. I’ve had many power boats and still do. Most of our adventures are in the Everglades backcountry. And the trips that stand out the most are the ones where it’s just me and a paddle and my 16.5 prism solo, gliding down the wilderness waterway. I had spray decks made for that canoe which encloses the front and rear. So it’s the best of both worlds for me. There is no better way to take in nature than with a paddle in hand. Great article. Made me want to get out the old canoe and hit the water.
Great article! I have tried both canoe and kayaks and think that they each have their own nitch. For fishing or camping the canoe works out better for me. For messing around in the ocean or doing white water the kayak is the best way to go. I know someone will tell me that the outrigger canoes are best in the ocean and they are probably correct especially if you put up a sail. On the Amazon River and tributaries where the most common mode of transportation was by water I never saw a single kayak. They mostly had dugouts but also a few aluminum square stern canoes.
Great article, super helpful. I’ve been mulling this question over for a little while now and was leaning kayak for the wrong reasons. To anyone perusal, there’s an important distinction I wanted to make on a small point in the article: the Inuit are not First Nations people – the latter refers to the Indigenous peoples to the south.
Great article. You touched on the center of gravity and how low your weight is. With a sit in kayak, your bottom tends to be below the water line, more stable. With a canoe or sit on top, your bottom tends to be above the water line, less stable. That’s only one factor of stability along with vessel width, chine, etc. The description of what the canoe or kayak is used for is excellent. Also, pacific islander canoes, covering great distances offshore…that’s a whole other topic.
Love the vid. The people at Rutabaga are fabulous. I was looking for a fishing platform, and opted for a canoe. Picked a 31 pound Prospector 14 Pack from Swift. Easy to carry to and from the water. Especially easy to load on to the car. Waves roll under the hull effortlessly, giving it great initial stability for sitting quietly on the water while casting and waiting for a bite. Speaking of cars. We have a Honda Pilot – great family hauler, and I’ll throw the canoe on top if we’re going someplace with flat water. The Pilot is a bit high to get the canoe on and off easily, but it’s not terribly difficult. For my solo fishing outings, we just bought a Mazda CX-30. Getting the canoe on and off of that little crossover is a breeze. Put the rear seats down, and I have plenty of space to carry my gear. There would be enough room for two big dry bags as well as the rest of my fishing gear and paddles, to spend two weeks in the Boundary Waters.
Oldtown 120 sportman, powerd by Minnkota, with spot lock technology. Saved for about 3 year’s, while, enjoying my Predetor 120 pdl. Now it’s been a year with the Oldtown 120, and I see no reason to ever upgrade. I still run my Bixpy on a gravity rudder, in tge stern. Hands free fishing machine. Set a heading, enjoy my hot coffee, and get to my spots. So much technology on. Kayaks today. Gotta stay kayak. However, sea kayaks are so beautiful especially with a few Friends on a 3 day camp and fishing trip. 🙏 😎 🎣
Thank you for this great article. I just went from kayak to canoe. Grabbed a Clearwater Prospector. They are made in Alberta where I’m from. Can be paddled tandom or solo. I am loving it, but I have much to learn, which brought me to your page. Any tips or advice from you and your community would be great.
I’m voting kayak, even for portaging. I don’t kayak to go backcountry camping, I backcountry camp so I can go on longer kayak trips. Yokes are available to make carrying one easier. 17′ fibreglass seakayaks generally weigh less than 50 lbs. Composite under 40. Seakayaks will go anywhere in a river a canoe could but thrive in big open water where you can’t take a canoe. Kayaks win hands down for versatility. Therefore I have no use for a canoe.
После многих каяков пришел к тому, что начинаю строить к весне одиночное каноэ, похожее на old town 119. Хочется походить по малым рекам в свое удовольствие,не торопясь насладиться природой с удобной и простой погрузкой и выгрузкой вещей. Устал от огромной реки Волга, где большое пароходство и огромное количество моторных лодок. Решил, что созрел для каноэ, для начала небольшого )))
good advice and observations . Myself for what i do is I prefer sit in touring kayaks as we like camping as well as day trips . less exposure to the sun wind, cold and rain and move faster so I can cover more distance and explore more with less effort . although having the extra room and convenience of packing that a canoe has is a bonus for canoes if into camping . If one is just into doing day trips I would recommend a kayak over a canoe . but then if fishing . that would be better done in a canoe . . Is a lot of different reasons for one or the other
It’s pretty simple: kayaks are for the ocean, canoes are for inland (lakes and rivers). It’s not a coincidence that kayaks were invented by seagoing people who used them to hunt seals, and canoes were invented by inland dwellers who used them to travel over small lakes and rivers with portages. My advice to anyone looking to buy either: stick with the classic, standard designs (sea kayaks; normal canoes) rather than the modern toy versions (sit on top “kayaks”; canoes with decks).
Against my better judgement, we bought a tandem Hobie Mirage kayak with pedals and to my surprise, the pedal power is much better than paddling. Of course it’s not designed for the shallows or a weedy bayou. but for the serious fisherman or sightseer. It’s fast, maneuverable and extremely stable (and no, I don’t work for Hobie.) The engineering that went into this thing, is just astounding.
Years ago I started with a solo Mad River Lady Slipper in Kevlar. Pretty, expensive, tippy and light. I later got a Bell Rockstar solo in Rolalex. Heavier (50 lbs), a little wider but bulletproof. I practiced and got pretty good at solo strokes, and only paddled on the right side most of the time. I got older and wanted something easier to paddle so I got a Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 kayak. A little lighter, faster and easier to paddle than the Rockstar. I wanted to try fishing so I got a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120 sit on top. A little heavier, much more stable but slower than the Pungo. Great fishing kayak as well as river camping. The Pungo was better for pure cruising. As I got older and more into fishing I bought a Hobie Outback with peddle drive. It is more stable, easier to propel using your legs and rudder. Fortunately I live on a river as it is a challenge to car top at 80 pounds. I now have a Bixpy electric drive to get me to faraway fishing spots and the peddle drive for actual fishing. Great fishing platform. I sold off the Slipper and Pungo but still have others.
I prefer the canoe because I do not like being stuck in a sitting position, legs straight out. In the canoe I can move my legs around or take a kneeling position. It is easy to load my hiking pack into my canoe. It is easy to carry by 40 lb. canoe on its portage bar, and it is easy to load the canoe upside-down onto the roof-rack of my vehicle. Of course the kayak is faster and more seaworthy. I have seen kayaks go out into waves that I would never attempt in a canoe.
Great comparison. I started with a sit in kayak, (Wilderness Systems Aspire 105 20kg/44lb) and now have 2 sit on tops. One is a cheapie (Seak Swift 21kg/46.29lb) – great for day paddles, the other a Hobie Passport (29kg/64lb). I love my Hobie, but gee, she’s heavy. So that means I need help at home to load, and have to wait for my friends to arrive to get her off the car. 🤷♀ So, what I’m looking for is something lighter around 16-18kg/35-40lb). Of course I’d like to be able to day trip and overnight, as we do both. Mostly on calm water, creeks, dams, lakes and rivers. So I need to decide whether to get another sit in kayak (I sold the original – and yeah I should’ve kept it – because apparently, you can never have too many boats… lol) Or go with a canoe… Thanks for sharing – you raise some interesting thoughts.
Cliff thanks for the article. I live in the Puget Sound Area of Washington State (Bremerton) and have been looking at the sit on top kayaks with pedal props (propeller is turned by a crank like a bike). They are a little spendy but was wondering if you have any knowledge of them as to pros or cons to just a traditional kayak. I have some inflatable kayaks and they are ok (were not very expensive, but don’t track very well). I’m 65 which is why I’m looking at the sit on top, I figure that would be a lot easier to climb in and out as opposed to the traditional kayak. I plan on doing some fishing and just leisure paddling/pedaling. Also you caught my interest when you said you were canoeing on the Little Miami, I think I canoed that river many years ago, grew up around Springfield Ohio, the US Navy brought me to Washington on large gray ship and I stayed. Thanks again.
I’ve been in a canoe a few times in my life but not in 30+ years. I’ve been itching for a canoe or kayak lately and just can’t decide. At nearly 60 years old now, my knees are not what they used to be and my streamlined physique and consequently my balance, also is a thing of the past. I never found canoes to be particularly tippy, maybe initially but I never felt as if I was about to go into the drink. I’ve always heard that kayaks are tippy, especially for people that are a bit heavy and don’t have the greatest balance. Unfortunately, while there are a few box stores around that sell generic low end kayaks, I haven’t found any stores specifically for paddlers anywhere near us with a better selection or places where you can try before you buy. I’d have to travel a few hundred miles and make an overnight or weekend trip out of it to find a place specific to paddling, with people that actually know about the sport, which is odd because there are a few creeks, rivers and a few lakes in Arizona.
Paddling has been a sport that I have been enjoying for at least 40yrs, my wife really enjoys being on the water also so that makes it easy to spend time together. We have a couple kayaks at this point but we have a couple grand daughters that absolutely love spending time on and in the water. We have been considering purchase a canoe just so they would be able to take them with us more often. Is there any canoe you like or dislike ? I was thinking of get into a Kevlar or composite based canoe. Me personally I would love to canoe camp.
Sadly, sea kayaks and canoes have fallen out of favor. Fishing kayaks have become the largest segment with SUPs and sit on top kayaks being the next two. Not coincidentally, those are also the three types of paddlecraft that require the least amount of time to become functionally competent. Few of those will ever find a need or desire to work on paddle strokes or advancing their skills.
First decide where you think you want to paddle. I grew up paddling canoes in the scouts. But after buying a tandem canoe, and my wife turned us over several times. So I said if you learn to kayak, we’ll start a family. I didn’t expect her to get pregnant at the kayak school. So we started kayaking whitewater. The water did most of the work, and we just changed the direction. That was the beginning. 35 years later I’m still whitewater kayaking. While I still teaching canoeing merit badge, but I spend all my time on the river in my kayaks. Whitewater kayaks are light and very durable. They are short and easy to carry. There is an old saying, that if you only have one blade on your paddle, you are only using half your brain. I highly recommend getting lessons from a good instructor. Learning the proper techniques increases the learning curve. There are some awesome articles on you tube, both canoeing and kayaking. Just pick river and look it up.
If you buy a Canoe, please learn to paddle correctly and efficiently. While Cliff is not working hard, he is working a lot harder than he needs to… watch how he powers the canoe forward with his forward stroke and then… cranking the paddle outward in a partial reverse sweep… he cuts half his forward motion because his stroke is opposing his forward motion. Since his orientation is with Kayaks, he’d be better off using a double kayak paddle versus a single canoe paddle, constantly switching sides and working so hard to keep his forward motion. Oh… learn a J-Stroke which combines a forward stroke with a continuing “forward stroke” that continues to push the canoe forward as you use part of your power stroke to push some water outward away from the stern of the boat. Love paddling and was a canoe instructor for flat water and whitewater for two decades until an auto accident destroyed my left wrist. Check your local Parks and Recreation Department… check your American National Red Cross.