Canoe schooling

SASS249 said:

A few thoughts below, this is a complicated subject and you can only hit the highlights in a post like this.

I am a big fan of canoes, not so much kayaks. That being said, really using and enjoying a canoe requires a significantly different set of skills than using a kayak. Just be aware that the learning curve is a little steeper.
If you are mostly going to solo then the Old Town Sarnac 146 is not a bad choice.

Canoes basically are usually classed as lake or river canoes. A true lake canoe usually has little or no rocker and a small shoe keel to aid in wind resistance. Unless you are really only going to paddle lakes I would not recommend them. Most are a joy to paddle in a straight liner but tend to turn like a cement truck.

River canoes are usually more narrow, have some rocker and no keel. They are harder to paddle in a straight line, but much more maneuverable than a lake canoe.

Many of the current crop of canoes are a hybrid of the two types. IMO the best example, and a true work horse is the Old Town Discovery 158. This is a wide, flat bottomed boat that can carry a ton of gear and people, but as a trade off it is not as easy to paddle as a true river boat.
As far as solo paddling that is again a skill set you have to develop. I paddle almost exclusively solo. My tripping boat is my wood strip version of the Old Town Discovery 158. Built in wood it is almost 20 pounds lighter than the plastic version. However, I have literally paddled the plastic Discovery thousands of miles, in everything from slow blackwater to class IV rapids.

I love canoes but they do take some getting used to.

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