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“My paddling goals for 2010 are to christen my new old Peterborough Minetta wood-
canvas canoe…” MIKE ORMSBY, RE: WHAT ARE YOUR PADDLING GOALS FOR 2010?
“The canoe is black with gold aluminum gunwales. On the side of the canoe it says Black Arrow with a black arrow symbol going
through the words.” VICTORIA, RE: DOES ANYONE KNOW THE MAKE OF MY CANOE?
“I did a search and found a portable battery powered electric bear fence. A little pricey
at $250 US.” BRADLEY SAINTJOHN, RE: BEARS IN YOUR CAMPSITE
“Received the hard copy of the magazine a few weeks ago. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Looking at the Buyer’s Guide, I noticed a company [Holy Cow Canoe Corporation]…
not mentioned at all in your magazine.” PAUL, RE: CANOEROOTS BUYER’S GUIDE
“I much prefer to dehydrate my own foods and I still eat in a fairly gourmet way.” LAURIE ANN MARCH, RE: WHAT TO BRING?
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Looking for the perfect canoe? Search no further than the Canoeroots Buyer’s Guide featuring 132 of the best canoes right at your fingertips.
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Comments
Greg commented on the online feature, Cheeseburger in a Can: “Can’t be any worse than the WWII canned rations. I remember opening a can of chocolate nut roll and watching it unfold itself. Carl and I ate it, but once was enough.”
Tim Landon commented on the online feature, BC’s Most Endangered Rivers List: “I urge everyone out there to demand full restoration of the venerable Navigable Waters Protection Act. While we’re at it, how about impeaching the traitors (Federal Conservatives in connivance with the Liberals) for selling out and failing to safeguard our most precious resources of clean water and healthy river ecosystems while ignoring a century of tradition, our national heritage and our right to self-propelled travel.”
Fiona commented on the blog, Camp, Play and Eat Ice Cream: Here’s the Scoop on One Cool Camp Gadget: “We have one of these! When you need to keep it a bit more simple than packing all the ingredients for ice cream, you can use single ingredients like juices or fruit punch…”
Dusty commented on the online feature, Is Your Wilderness First Aid Kit Accident Ready?: “Non-latex [gloves] would be better. Nitrile is what paramedics use. No allergic reactions for the wearer or the patient.”
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8 EARLY SUMMER 2010
David H. Johnston commented on the blog, Go Glamping—New Company Opens Up in Temagami: “This reminds me of back in the
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1900s when everybody hired guides because they were too scared of the wilderness. Seems we have come full circle…”
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Featured Video
Dougie Down the Pet Watch the father-son story of four-year-old Doug and his dad Canoeroots publisher Scott MacGregor as they paddle down Algonquin’s Petawawa River—a trailer from the newly released DVD, This is Canoeing.
Waiting for the big one. PHOTO BY JIM DAVIS
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Carbon
Buyer’s Guide anatomy of a canoe
E L E M E N T S O F C A N O E D E S I G N
Looking for that perfect canoe? The one that calls your name and screams“Take me home!”Search no further— the Canoeroots Buyer’s Guide has 132 of the best canoes right at your fingertips. But before drooling over the next pages, have a look at the elements of canoe design. It provides practical information to help you find your dream canoe, or in some cases, your ultimate fleet. The canoe for paddling a great northern river, gunwale bobbing at the cottage or winning a marathon canoe race might only be a few pages away.
STERN Thwarts Yoke Gunwale BOW Deck
Length, width and depth are rough indicators of a canoe’s speed, stability, capacity and seaworthiness.
Length = Speed
Length is the primary factor in determining speed. When comparing two canoes of different lengths, everything else being equal, the longer canoe will be faster. Shorter canoes generally turn easier, making them more manoeuvrable.
Width = Stability
The canoe’s width and cross-sectional shape determines stability. A wider canoe has more initial stability. Narrow canoes are generally faster and more efficient in the water.
32 SPRING 2010
Depth = Capacity andDryness Depth is the distance measured from the bottom of the hull to the top of the gunwales. Greater depth allows for increased carrying capacity and protects against swamping, making the canoe more seaworthy. Deeper canoes have more freeboard, but they are harder to handle in windy conditions.
Carrying Capacity
Measured by how much weight a canoe is able to displace while maintaining at least six inches of
freeboard.Making the canoe longer or deeper extends carrying capacity; the canoe’s width is generally not increased since it results in drag.
dimensions shape
A cross-section illustrates how the shape of the bottom and sides of the canoe will determine its primary and secondary stability and performance characteristics. A canoe with primary stability is initially very stable, however, if leaned too far, it quickly upsets. Canoes with secondary stability offer better performance and stability while on edge, useful for whitewater and rough-water paddling.
FLAT-BOTTOMED Offers great primary stability but sacrifices speed and rough-water performance, ideal for recreation and sport canoeists.
SHALLOW ARCH Designed for all-round performance. Maintains a good balance between primary and secondary stability.
ROUND BOTTOM Found in specialized racing designs. Great speed and efficiency but very little primary stability.
FLARE Flared hull sides help to deflect water, keeping the canoe dry.
Freeboard Waterline Draft
STRAIGHT A balance between the paddling efficiency of tumblehome and the dryness of flare.
TUMBLEHOME Sides that curve inward toward the gunwales, allowing closer placement of the paddle to the hull.
ROCKER Describes the upward curve of the bow and stern. Rocker determines the manoeuvrability of the canoe.
For instance, a canoe with more rocker turns easily and is ideal for whitewater, whereas a canoe with less rocker tracks well and is suitable for racing and long- distance lakewater travel.
Hull Symmetry
SYMMETRICAL Canoes that have identical bow and sterns ends. This design offers versatility because it can be paddled solo or tandem.
ASYMMETRICAL Typically has the widest section behind the centre of the canoe creating a longer bow. This shape increases forward speed and tracking, ideal for touring and performance canoes.
materials
There is a wide array of materials used to make canoes. Once you have chosen a design that suits your needs, your choice of material will be based on durability, cost, weight and aesthetics.
Wood Canoes CEDAR STRIP, CANVAS, BIRCHBARK
PROS: Beautiful craftsmanship and organic authenticity.
CONS: Higher maintenance and more expensive.
WHO? Canoeists willing to put in more time for maintenance and sacrifice durability and weight for beauty.
High-End Composites KEVLAR, CARBON/GRAPHITE BLENDS PROS: Lightweight and tough.
CONS: Kevlar and carbon can be quite expensive. Fibreglass less so. WHO? Trippers and racers.
Royalex
CONS: Heavy. WHO? Whitewater paddlers.
Aluminum, Fibreglass and Poly- ethylene PROS: Less expensive. Durable. CONS: Often heavy. WHO? Recreational and sport canoeists.
Which one should I buy?
Before wandering into your local outdoor retailer or canoe manufacturer, take time to determine what type of canoeing you would like to do. Can you picture yourself taking your grandchildren fishing at the cottage, embarking solo through the wilds of the BoundaryWaters or travelling with your family into La Vérendrye on a weekend vacation? Each activity requires a very different canoe so it’s important to know what you want.
Be wary of the“a canoe is a canoe” sales pitch or the“does it all”model. Numerous retailers and manufacturers offer test paddles, so try before you buy.
Take a look at the options available to you. Some trim options, such as moulded, adjustable seats and sculpted yokes, affect the performance and handling of the boat. Others, such as wooden gunwales, wicker seats and cherry deck plates, serve the same function as aluminum or vinyl, but improve the elegance of the canoe.
It’s important to identify which performance characteristics are important to you before taking the plunge. If you take your time and do it right you’ll be thanking yourself for a lifetime.
—Canoeroots editors
www.canoerootsmag.com 33 Polyethylene Birchbark
PROS: Durable. Can usually be returned to shape after a hard impact.
Cedar Fibreglass Kevlar
2010
MATERIALS: HANDCRAFTED CANOE
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