Canoes, kayaks or Canadier - what is the difference?
Canoes - kayak or canadier
What is the difference? Which canoe suits me?
The decision for the right type of boat depends on the purpose for which the boat is to be used. Basically, canoes are divided into kayaks and Canadians. In addition, there are different materials from which the canoe can be made and whether you want to paddle alone in a single or with several people in the canoe.
Canadier This type of canoe originates from North America and was used by the Indians there for transportation, hunting and fishing. Today's touring canoes are ideal for longer trips on lakes or calmer rivers, even with a lot of luggage. Canadiers are open to the top with a surrounding coaming and are ridden sitting or kneeling with a paddle, usually by several people. That is why they are often used by families.
Kayaks Kayaks have their origin with the Eskimos. They are closed boats with a seating hatch, much flatter and narrower than Canadians. Kayakers sit in their boat and move the boat forward with a double paddle. Kayaks come as single or double seaters. For touring trips, there are kayaks that have storage space specifically for luggage. The kayak is the "all-round" type of boat in canoeing and is used in everything from sea kayaks for large waters to whitewater kayaks.
Advantages and disadvantages With a kayak, you can usually move faster than with a canadier. On the other hand, canoes offer more possibilities for towing luggage, which is easier to stow than in a kayak. Kayaks can be driven more sportily, also in the white water. You can "eskimoto" with them, i.e. make a roll through the water and continue immediately. Canadians, on the other hand, are more stable on calmer waters than kayaks.
Materials and their advantages The main materials used for canoes are: Polyethylene (PE), a robust, relatively soft material used mainly in whitewater boats, and glass-fiber reinforced plastic (GRP), a material that is light, hard, but relatively fragile. There are also canoes in the classic style made of wood, as a particularly resistant variant made of aluminum, weight-reduced in combination with carbon, as well as foldable with particularly small pack size as a folding boat or inflatable dinghy with a rubber skin, or made of polymer mixtures.
Get an overview For most beginners, touring and all-round whitewater canoes are the first choice, as they cover a wide range of uses. If you want to paddle comfortably with two people, children, a picnic basket and the dog in one boat, a larger canoe is a good choice. For sporty paddling over longer distances and on the coast in the sea, touring and sea kayaks are usually the best choice. If you want to buy your own canoe with suitable accessories, you should definitely visit the World of Paddling at boot Düsseldorf. There is a comprehensive overview of the most diverse types of canoes and you can get personal and indiviuell advice from various exhibitors before buying.
