Having been an ACA instructor, done many canoe river trips, raced canoes and canoed in Quebec and Ontario I have definite personal prefernces for canoes - for different canoeing pursuits, that is.

HULL MATERIAL: But for all around canoeing I'd go with an Old Town style of a sandwiched linear polyethelene hull. It's far tougher than any other material, quieter, insulates against cold water and has its own flotation sandwiched between the poly layers. Good boats have wooden gunnels and seats for esthtics. The Penobscot by Old Town has a fairly fast but stable hull. FLAT hulls (like the Grummans)are a no-no for overall stability.

Next is HULL LENGTH: No shorter than 17 ft. for speed (i.e. ease of paddling)Longer hulls, beam measurement being equal, are faster hulls but turn less fast. 17' to 18' is the typical range of tripping hulls.

HULL SHAPE: rockered hull with a hint of chine. You should be able to lean it up on its chine while solo paddling W/O fear of flipping it (as you would in flat, heavily chined a Grumman hull if you put it on edge). A plastic sandwich hull with a slight V hull will track straigher (read less effort on long hauls) and be inherently stronger and still turn well. In other words you want a generalist hull shape and length that does most things well.

Yeah, fiberglass and Kevlar hulls are sexy looking and light(er) but they break their gelcoat easily. Don't ask me how I know. You want a canoe hull that will handle the nasty stuff, like kids and wilderness trips, rocky landings and shallow rocky river bottoms.

Paddles. Nothing but nothing says comfort like a well made, glass or Kevlar reinforced laminated wooden bent shaft paddle. Keep a spare straight shaft paddle for the stern man for whitewater. Paddle lengths are very personal. Be sure yours fits by sitting in your canoe IN THE WATER and trying the length. Seat height has a lot to do with this.
Hope this helps.

Eric
BTW, never EVER walk inside a hull that is not fully supported by water or you could permenantly bend the hull.
P.P.S. You need to learn the many paddling strokes B/C, believe me, you'll use them all. Get Bill Mason's classic "Path of the Paddle". None better. Paddle skills come faster than skiing skills but you still need to practice as much as possible.


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"There are no comfortable backpacks. Some are just less uncomfortable than others."