The thing that gets me is the non padling public who can't understand why you would need more than one. I don't feel guilty at all about the amount of boats I have. They still cost less than if I were to get a nice motorcycle or motorboat and it was spread out over 25 years.
Why does a golfer need all those expensive clubs, or a chef need all those knives? And, of course, for an avid fan of the sport, that is a costly progression of “nice motorcycles” and “nice motorboats”. $$$$
Spread over 40 years of canoe ownership I doubt I have $100 a year in boats
and gear. And even that calculation is skewed; I have given away more fixer-uppers than I currently own.
For an active and evolving participant I’d bet the annual cost for a paddlesorts aficionado is less than many other outdoor recreationists.
I’d wager it is less annually over the decades than golf, and in the water sports arena less than motor boating, sailing or scuba. Or even the frozen water sports, probably less than snow mobileing or skiing over the last 40 years.
No one is still seriously golfing with hickory shaft clubs (think wood & canvas canoes), or doing cross-country with surplus Norwegian Army skies (think, tripping with a Grumman), or using tortoise shell dive goggles (um, maybe canvas packs).
Yeah, I’m leading with my chin there, but canoeing may be odd it its lasting regard and participation in traditional ways.