"Tyler" wrote in message
m...
I've never owned a canoe before, but I used to work on the canoes at
Disneyland. I thought it was fun, and enjoyed the exercise. Now I live
near a man-made lake/lagoon which allows paddling. I'd like to
purchase a canoe for myself and maybe 2-3 others (i.e. a 3-4 person
canoe). Ideally, I would be able to do standard canoe paddling or
sculling on the same canoe. Would be nice if it was a canoe that was
less likely to tip, as the other people would be beginners as well.
Also, would be nice if it wasn't too heavy (so that it could be
carried the 1.5 block walk from my yard to the water). This isn't too
heavy of a requirement since I can build a device to move it.

I saw a "K&L Mackinaw 15' 6" Canoe" priced at ~$550 which has three
seats, and some others, which I can't seem to get enough information
on.


15'6" is a bit short to put 3 or 4 people in, even on a calm day. I think
you want to look for the following features, which will be good for a
fla****er (lake) boat, 3-4 people max, or occasionally 1 person, that can
move when there is wind and can be paddled straight.

-17 or 18 foot long
-removable center seat
-flat bottom (if you set the canoe on a driveway, it won't rock side to
side)
-low rocker (and the ends won't rise more than 2 inches above the driveway
either)
-possibly a keel (these have been proven to really be ineffective, but some
manufacturers put them on 'lake boats', so the presence of a keel means the
other, more essential features are there, also)
-low profile (so the wind doesn't catch the ends and make it hard to handle)

There are several models out there with these specs, but you might want to
consider making your own? Check out
http://members.aol.com/cedarcanoo/outback.htm to see what a nice lake boat
might look like.

--riverman
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