" In order for canoeing to survive it needs some modern edginess". No it doesn't.
"Plastic kayaks appeal to people with no paddling skills and don't plan to get any" That's a broad brush you're painting a group of people with and makes no sense. " Free style shows the way" Really?
My experience with canoeing clubs and instruction supports ppine's comment about "no paddling skills." I refuse to paddle with the local paddling club - mostly in plastic kayaks - because (a) they often turn a blind eye to unsafe practices, such as gaggling up behind river obstacles and conducting Chinese fire drills to get themselves back in the flow; and (b) they refuse to sponsor or conduct any safety or other instruction.
I've been asked many times why I paddle canoes when kayaks are so much easier. There are several versions of this.
I've been chided a few times for paddling canoes because I must be a curmudgeon who's stuck in the old ways.
Offers to help people with things like strokes, maneuvering, river reading, and balance have been rebuffed with comments about how easy it is to paddle a kayak and get one out of a tight spot.
It's true, there are kayakers who take the time to get instruction and learn more than alternating duck-waddle strokes, but they're in the minority. That's why I think ppine's comment does indeed paint with a broad brush, and appropriately so.