Canoe Mad River Explorer
Canoe or Kayak, and why?
Do you prefer to canoe, or kayak? What type of boat do you have? What type of water to you paddle in? How long have you been paddling? Are you a solo or tandem paddler? Why do you do one over the other? What is your favorite river/trip?
I canoe, I have a Bell Prodigy and a Mad River Pearl(but I prefer the Prodigy)of my own, but we also have a Esquif Zephyr, a Curtis Solo Cruiser, a Nova Craft Bob Special, a Mad River Explorer, a Bell Wildfire, and a Bell Merlin, I have paddle just about every river worth paddling in Michigan (flat water and white water), and some white water in Tennessee (not a lot), I have been paddling my whole life (15 years), I am a solo paddler(for about 7 years), I used to kayak but I think canoeing is more of an art, and it takes a lot more practice to master. My favorite trip is the New Years Day trip on the Pine River(michigan), from Dobson to Lowbridge.
I agree that paddling a canoe with real skill takes more time and practice and can be more challenging in some ways. I lived for a while in Michigan and know its waterways are quite nice by canoe. packing for camping is definitely easier with a canoe.
I prefer kayaking myself, because I enjoy the feeling of being more in direct contact with the water, essentially “wearing” the boat (I paddle skin-on-frame rather than hardshell boats, which means I can actually feel the water around me). Kayaks are more versatile in some ways in that you can take sea models out in the open ocean and also use them in icey winter waters while you are protected within the cockpit and spraydeck and can eskimo roll if capsized.
I have two folding aluminum and nylon kayaks I can travel with (both break down into a duffel bag I can take on a plane), a 34 lb 14′ 6″ Feathercraft Kahuna for day touring and a 52 lb 16′ 6″ Feathercraft K-1Expedition with a rudder for multi-day trips and heavier water. I also have an older Dagger Magellan 60 lb 17′ poly boat with hatches and rudder, mostly to lend to friends and then there is my favorite boat, a wooden framed nylon skinned reproduction of a Greenland Eskimo hunting kayak at 32 lbs and 18′ long. Very fast and smooth to paddle.
My favorite short day trip in Michigan is probably tame to you: the Taquahmenon river in the UP from the Falls to Superior. Paddling along the shoreline of Lake Michigan in the summer from Saugatuck to North Muskegon is pretty, with lots of sandy beaches to land on. Other favorite trips have been around the Thimble Islands and the marsh grass delta channels of the Housatonic River in Long Island Sound in the Atlantic off Connecticut: the clear waters and beautiful coves and mountains of Lake George in New York and the Rideau Canal with its ancient hand-operated locks in Ontario between Kingston and Ottawa. Here in Western Pennsyvania we have 4 big rivers, the Allegheny, Ohio, Monongahela and Youghiogheny plus hundreds of smaller rivers and creeks in the central and northern mountains of the state where you can float through beautiful wilderness. We have a lot of impressive whitewater in this region too, but I’ve never been into that myself — did a little when I was younger (class 4 Slippery Rock Creek and the Youghiogheny and the Class 5 Cheat Canyon in West Virginia) but I like to look at the scenery too much to want to have to constantly be watching for rocks and hydraulics.
Both canoeing and kayaking are excellent ways to enjoy the world and are something you will enjoy your whole life.
Poling Canoe Above Green River Lakes in Wind River Range Below Square Top
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