How to Choose a Boat

Pick Your Style: Canoe, Kayak, or Raft

Canoes, kayaks, and rafts come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Select a watercraft based on your experience, your budget, and how you want to use it.

Canoes

These popular boats are small, light, and usually very narrow. Canoes are propelled using single-bladed paddles while the pilot sits on supports or kneels in the hull of the boat. Canoes are usually open at the top, but slalom canoes are closed like kayaks.

Canoes are famous for their instability (which can be fun), and good communication is needed if two people are piloting a canoe together. Round-bottom canoes are more “tippy” but are more resistant to capsizing. Flat-bottom canoes are generally more stable, until you pass a “tilt threshold,” in which case they capsize fairly easily.

Kayaks

Kayaks are somewhat smaller than canoes and are covered with a deck. The paddler sits in a hole in the center of the kayak and paddles with a double-bladed paddle. A spray skirt prevents the kayak from becoming filled with water. Skilled paddlers can even completely capsize and then right the kayak.

Kayaks are fairly stable because the paddler is positioned at a lower center of gravity than in a canoe. Most recreational kayaks are between 9 and 14 feet long.

Rafts

Rafts differ from canoes and kayaks because they do not have a hull. Rafts float paddlers on top of the water by their buoyancy, not by the displacement of water as with a canoe and kayak. Rafts are mainly used for recreation and navigating whitewater rapids. Most rafts are paddled with a single-bladed paddle.

Be Prepared With Watercrafting Accessories

Now that you’ve picked your watercraft, it’s time to hit the water, right? Not just yet. There are a number of other things that you’ll need to get before you’re ready to go.

Paddles: Without one, you’re up a creek! Paddles come in a variety of shapes and sizes. If you’re canoeing or rafting, a single-bladed paddle is what you need. Kayakers will need a double-bladed paddle.
Personal flotation device (PFD): Your personal flotation device is the most important purchase you can make. It can mean the difference between life and death, so it’s important to buy a personal flotation device that is reliable, durable, and fits you properly. U.S. Coast Guard regulations state that you must have a class III PFD onboard, but the American Canoeing Association recommends that a PFD be worn at all times. Of all canoeing fatalities, 83% occurred when the person involved was not wearing a PFD. So buy one, wear one, and make sure that it fits properly.
Appropriate clothing: Find clothes that are loose-fitting, comfortable, and quick-drying. If it’s hot out, bring a hat and sunglasses.
Sunscreen: It’s very easy to get sunburned when out on the water. Sunscreen is an absolute necessity.
Drinking water: Canoeing, kayaking, and rafting can all leave you dehydrated, so it’s important to bring a supply of clean drinking water with you.
Patch kit: Since even the best-quality boats can spring a leak, patch kits can provide an extra measure of safety. While some small holes can be patched with something as common as duct tape, read the instructions from your boat’s manufacturer on what to do to adequately repair a leak.