If you're not running whitewater, kevlar canoes are light but strong.
They're easy to portage and usually found in designs that are optimized for
tripping and lake canoeing, rather than white water. Kevlar will tolerate
rocks, but not as well as Royalex. Royalex canoes are much heavier, but more
forgiving as they repeatedly slide over rocks in rapids.

Stability and speed are not exactly connected. Tripping/lake canoes will
have a sharper/tapered bow that slices the water to help tracking and speed
versus the more rounded bow/stern of boats, usually made of royalex, for
bigger water/whitewater trips. The rounded bow stern make it easier to turn
in whitewater and make for a drier ride through big waves, but that slows
you down on flat water.

Canoes with flatter bottoms tend to have good initial stability (feels
stable when you climb in), but if tipped up on edge, as happens in
whitewater or bigger water, they have poor secondary stability and easily go
over. Canoes with a more rounded profile and tumblehomes (below the gunnels)
feel tippy at first but have tremendous secondary stability - you can tip
them on edge to the gunnels with ease and straighten them back out (with
practice!).

A prospector design (many manufacturers make it) is probably a good
compromise.

Are you paddling solo or tandem?


"CR" wrote in message
om...
I have 2 touring kayaks and I'm thinking about trading them for a
canoe. I like the speed of the kayaks but they are a pain to get in
and out of and it's hard to carry anything in them. Bottom line is I
don't use them anymore. My question is what should I look for in a
canoe? I'll be canoeing in rivers and lakes in north alabama. They are
generally fairly small rivers with easy conditions. What material is
best? Also what size and shape? I'm assuming if you get a stable canoe
you will lose some speed, is that correct?

Any info is appreciated!

Chuck.