Edgar wrote:

I would expect a number of any deaths reported from canoes and kayaks are
due to them being run down by fast power boats in the hands of idiots.

It certainly feels like that would be the case, but in fact its not very
common. From a major study:
"The extent to which other vessels contribute to
canoe and kayak fatalities is harder to determine.
In its review of narrative accident data, the ACA
found only a few fatal accidents positively
identified as involving another vessel."
The study goes on to point out that there are a number of fatal capsizes
that are un-witnessed and thus we can't know if another vessel is
involved. We'll certainly never know how many deaths are caused by
wakes from passing boats. But, isn't that simply one of the implied
risks of padding? Certainly, no one should paddle a canoe or kayak
across a busy harbor without wearing a PFD.

The study also points out that the low profile of touring kayaks does
not seem to be a factor in accidents or fatalities. In fact, touring
kayaks were only involved in a small number of fatalities, about one per
year.

http://www.americancanoe.org/atf/cf/...7D/SEI_CJ2.pdf

About 15 years ago, when kayaking took off, there was a belief amongst
paddlers that the rules implied that the "smaller boat always had the
right of way." While there is some truth to that in many state rules
that cover inland lakes (i.e. not covered by the ColRegs or Inland
Rules), that is certainly not the case in most cruising waters.
Fortunately, safety education for paddlers now teaches the real rules
and the prudence of avoiding busy waters.

I would have guessed PWC's often run over canoes, but in fact the
generally run over each other:
"70% of PWC accidents are collisions and 70% of these are collisions
with other PWC."
http://www.ridetechnology.com/accident.html