On Fri, 02 Jun 2006 19:29:15 GMT, Mys Terry
wrote:


There are a wide variety of canoes, and some are quite stable. People
traverse white water in them. Even the tippiest of canoes is a lot
more stable than a kayak. A half mile paddle in a canoe is nothing.

Both points are reassuring! That's enough to meake me turn my
attention away from kayaks, towards canoes....

When I was 14, a buddy and I paddled a canoe down the Connecticut
River from Massachucetts to the Long Island Sound.

In my opinion, motors on canoes are very dangerous. If you try to
steer with the motor, rather than keeping it locked straight and
steering with a paddle, the motor will roll the canoe over. They do
make special mounts to hang a small motor off the side, but you don't
really have the budget for anything with a motor anyway.

Thanks for the tip.

I would suggest you hunt around for a place that rents canoes and give
one a try for a few hours. They move pretty easily.

That seems like a good idea..

If you do get a canoe, get the longest one you can find. Those little
14 footers are a lot more work to paddle. The longer the waterline,
the easier to paddle.

Unfortunately, I only have storage for a canoe of 11ft, maximum. (That
is by hauling it up to the ceiling in my hallway.)

Aside from the increased diffuculty in paddling which you mentioned,
would an 11ft canoe have any serious drawbacks for my purposes?

What about materials? Are some materials to be avoided?

Thanks again,

Al D