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The Basics of Canoe Design How to understand which canoe will work best for you


The canoe is part of our Canadian heritage and national identity. Ask any Canadian in a shopping mall parking lot and they will tell you, “yes, that it is in fact a canoe on your roof.” However, knowing it is a red canoe is not enough smarts to make an educated canoe purchase. Not all canoes are created equal, nor are the motiva- tions of all paddlers the same. It’s true you can fish from a specialized marathon canoe, although its tender handling and price tag are likely to put off the average woodsy angler. Likewise entering the 742-kilo- metre, 52-plus-hour Yukon River Quest in a 40- inch-wide square-sterned camo fishing canoe is a less than ideal match of design and desire. Classic designs have lasted the test of time for nostalgic and practical reasons. Explorers, trap- pers and voyageurs needed boats capable of going the distance on quiet lakes, in big water and on demanding rivers while carrying heavy loads or travelling light. Contemporary canoe designs, however, are consumer-driven and are, although not exclusively, purpose specific. The dimensions and shape of a canoe define its performance. Every canoe design blends innumerable variables to produce a canoe with specific characteristics such as stability for bird- ing, manoeuvrability for whitewater or speed for marathon racing. Complicated? On a designer’s drafting table, yes. The basics, however, are not.


Dimensions


Length, width and depth are the rough indicators of a canoe’s speed, stability, capacity and seaworthiness. Changing any of these


dimensions will have a corresponding effect on performance.


Length = Speed Length is the primary factor in determining speed. Given two canoes of different lengths, with all other specifications the same, the longer canoe will be faster. It will also track better (tracking means going in a straight line) and carry more gear. Shorter canoes will be more manoeuvrable and lighter. The longer-equals-faster equation is only helpful up to a point, beyond which a hull’s opti- mal cruising speed gets faster than most people can paddle. Sixteen to seventeen feet is standard because this is the hull length that cruises most efficiently at tandem paddling speed.


Width = Stability Width and the boat’s cross-sectional shape are the primary determinants of stability. A wider canoe will generally be more stable. Width, also called beam, is given in two measurements: gun- wale width and waterline width. The waterline width has the greatest influence on performance because this area forms the footprint of the boat—the width of the boat actually in the water. Wide-beamed canoes offer great stability but also present greater resistance to the water. Narrow canoes may be less stable, but are more efficient and faster.


Depth = Capacity and Dryness Depth refers to the distance between the bottom of the hull and the top of the gunwale. Depth is typically measured at the bow, centre and stern of the boat. The amount of depth


Four Elements of Canoe Shape heavy


Rocker


moderate straight


Hull Symmetry


asymmetrical symmetrical


straight shallow arch Seat Stern Deck Plate tumblehome flat 2004 Annual 33


influences the freeboard—the distance between the waterline and the gunwales. Greater depth allows for increased carrying capacity and better water-shedding ability. Deeper canoes, however, can be harder to handle in windy conditions and will be heavier.


LxWxD = Carrying Capacity Taken together, the basic dimensions add up


to a canoe’s volume—the total amount of internal space. Carrying capacity is measured in different ways, but typically refers to how much weight the boat is able to displace while maintaining at least six inches of freeboard. Carrying capacity can be increased by making the boat wider, longer or deeper. Widening without adjusting the length increases drag, reducing efficiency. Increasing the length is usually the best overall solution, while increasing the depth can help as well. This is why cargo-hauling, tripping boats are long and deep but not excessively wide.


Shape


After the raw dimensions of length, width and depth, canoe performance is determined by hull shape. Front, side and overhead views of the boat give you cross-section, rocker, hull symme- try and taper.


Cross-section—Initial and Secondary Stability


The cross-sectional shape of the bottom and sides of the canoe will influence its performance, especially its stability. Stability is divided into initial (primary) and final (secondary).


The Canoe Map Sides flare Bottom round Moulded Yoke Thwart Gunwales


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