Getting Started

Canoeing

by Mark Bowie

Canoeing is a simple pastime requiring minimal equipment, one that offers therapeutic exercise and a lifetime of adventures. Getting started canoeing is simple as well. With just a canoe, a couple of paddles, and personal flotation devices, or PFDs (lifejackets), for as many people as will be in the boat, paddlers are ready to hit the water.

The northern forest region has a rich history of canoe building. Native Americans and early guides fashioned canoes in a matter of days from locally available trees and birchbark, sewed them together with cedar roots, and sealed them with tar and pine pitch. Today canoes are built from several materials: wood, aluminum, polyethylene and other plastic resins, such as the popular brand-name Royalex, and Kevlar and carbon fiber. Manufacturers design their boats for a variety of paddling conditions. The length, width and hull shape all affect how a boat tracks, turns, and glides. Each has certain benefits, disadvantages and price ranges. Local outfitters can recommend the right boat, in your price range, for the types of water you’ll paddle.

To save money, you may wish to consider buying a used canoe, though you won’t see many laying on people’s lawns with “For Sale” signs on them; paddlers tend to hang on to their canoes or pass them down to family members. One of the best sources of used canoes is local outfitters. They often sell prior years’ rentals and overstock inventory at discounted prices to make room for the coming season’s models. The used boats may be a bit scraped up, but canoes are generally tough, and the price may be right.

New plastic resin canoes can be purchased for as little as a few hundred dollars from discount warehouse stores. You’ll likely pay a bit more through local outfitters, but they offer better selection, many accessories and expert advice. The resin boats are typically quite heavy, but glide easily and are highly maneuverable, making them the most popular choice for recreational canoeists.

I’m not a fan of aluminum canoes, though they’re reasonably light and maneuverable. Even a slight bang of a paddle against the hull produces a loud clang, enough to disturb the solitude you seek and to scare the wildlife into hiding.
Kevlar and carbon fiber canoes have become much sought after in recent years. Available in one- and two-person models, these ultralight boats are ideal for backcountry paddling and pond-hopping. Custom made by local builders, such as Hornbeck Boats and Placid Boatworks, they retail for around $1,000, which you may find well worth the price for exploring remote flatwater.

Paddles come in wood, resin, aluminum and ultralight materials, including carbon fiber. They all work well, though I’d stay away from metal paddles, which are cold to the touch in cold weather. Choosing a paddle is a matter of personal “feel” and budget. Generally, the lighter, the more expensive. If you plan on paddling for many years, it’ll be easier to justify a high-tech, lightweight paddle.

The latest vest-style (Type III) PFDs are much more comfortable than the neck-choking models with which we grew up. Buy a Coast Guard-approved vest and you can be assured it’ll do the job. And buy vest PFDs for your children as well; they’ll enjoy the canoeing experience much more if they’re comfortable.

Developing and improving your skills will further enjoyment of the sport, so contact a local outfitter for upcoming clinics or paddling trips. The Adirondack Mountain Club and other clubs around the region schedule outings throughout the season. Visit www.adk.org or see the Events Calendar.

To transport your canoe, you’ll want to decide on a safe, quick and simple system. Paddlers with pick-up trucks can simply slide smaller canoes into the bed, and secure them with rope. Those transporting a boat atop their vehicle, can for just a few dollars, buy foam pads that fit on the boat’s gunwales. They provide a sturdy cushion between your cartop and the canoe. Many vehicles come equipped with manufacturer-installed roof racks. Use the foam pads or wrap the roof rack in pipe insulation foam for added protection. Specially designed roof racks from companies like Yakima and Thule are available from local outfitters. You can use rope or straps with built-in ratchets to secure the boat to the roof rack.

As you’re acquiring your equipment, you can be researching where to paddle. Surely you’ll already know quiet lakes and ponds or some tranquil rivers and streams you’d like to visit. Topographic maps, guidebooks and magazines can lead you to others, offering watery escapes beyond your imagination. New Yorkers are fortunate to have a variety of scenic quiet waters perfect for beginning paddlers. The Adirondack Park is a haven of flatwater canoe routes. There are over 2,800 lakes and ponds, and over 30,000 miles of rivers and streams surrounded by mountains covered with thick northern forest – some of the most beautiful, invigorating scenery paddlers could ever hope to explore, and more water than they could hope to paddle in a lifetime.

Combining camping and canoeing is a wonderful way to explore the waters at different times of day and under different conditions. The state of New York operates 40 campgrounds on water in the Adirondacks, including island campgrounds, accessible only by boat, on Lake George, Indian Lake, the Saranacs and others. Island camping is a romantic means of immersing oneself in the waterscape.

One of the best Adirondack guidebooks for beginning paddlers is Barbara McMartin’s Fun on Flatwater: An Introduction to Adirondack Canoeing (North Country Books, 1995). She describes flatwater routes on lakes and ponds, out-and-back river and stream trips, and multi-car shuttle trips, where paddlers leave cars at either ends of their route. The Quiet Water Canoe Guide: New York by John Hays and Alex Wilson (Appalachian Mountain Club Books, 1996) describes great paddles throughout the state. Paul Jamieson’s Adirondack Canoe Waters: North Flow (Adirondack Mountain Club, 1994) is the quintessential guidebook on northern Adirondack paddling routes. In it, he describes in immaculate detail the navigability and scenic values of the northern waterways, many of which are nearly as wild and primitive as they were before the first settlers came to this region. The Osgood River, the North Branch of the Saranac River, and the Jordan River are prime examples.

Weather contributes much to the character of the waterways. Some of my favorite times to paddle are in inclement weather; not, of course, during lightning storms, but in other rainy conditions. These are some of the most tranquil, “atmospheric” times to explore the waters. Few other paddlers are out. The waters become quiet. You can hear the rain “hissing” on the surface. The surrounding forest is painted with vivid colors. It can be an awe-inspiring time to be on the water. I’ve even paddled in torrential downpours. Bundle up as best you can in waterproof clothing; you may get a little wet, but the experience can be exhilarating!

In good weather or bad, on remote stretches or just off a lakeside hamlet, canoeing can take you to places of unimagined beauty — simply, quietly, time and time again.

Mark Bowie of Pittsfield, Mass. is a professional nature photographer and writer. His new coffee table book, Adirondack Waters: Spirit of the Mountains, is scheduled for release this fall. For more information, visit www.markbowie.com.

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