How to recruit new canoe paddlers?

[Steve in Idaho]

Rambling here...

The site member activity thread brought this question to my mind again. I think about this from time to time, and sometimes I think I have an answer; but then it never seems to materialize.

I have assumed that paddling with a group of mostly recreational k*y*k*rs would give maximum exposure. For a while, I thought that those times I carried gear that wouldn't fit in their boats would make an impression, but that doesn't seem to have been the case.

I often get comments about how easily my canoe handles and maneuvers, but never any interest in learning about canoes and how to paddle them effectively. I never expected that any k*y*k*rs would be interested in poling (to them, it looks like a cross between physical therapy and voodoo), but it puzzles me that curiosity about the open boat and single blade is just not there.

I have tried to demonstrate the practicality and versatility of canoes at every opportunity. I wonder if I make it look too complicated, but comments are usually about how easy it looks. I even keep the Mohawk Solo 14 in the fleet as a loaner, but so far, no takers outside of my immediate family. Family has been my only success, but I'm done breeding new paddlers.

I was invited to join the local flat water group on the opening weekend of our local lake, but declined. I went out by myself in the Wildfire a day earlier instead. Paddling alone is always so much more enjoyable I'm tempted to just say dash it all, and go paddling. Let the masses be content in their little butt boats.

Maybe it's just the way things are going to go, but it's a shame that this seems to be a dying art. Maybe I'm thinking about it all wrong. Maybe it's just the reality of where I live. What are you all seeing?

 

[Alan Gage]

I've never had any luck converting a kayaker to canoeing. I assume they think I'm just as nuts as I think they are. Oh well.

I think most of them are just out there to be on the water and don't have a real desire to learn to paddle a canoe with a single blade, even if they do struggle in their kayak and I make it look easy in the canoe.

Any time I have gotten a kayaker to try a solo canoe they struggle with control and are happy to go back to their kayak.

Alan

 

[Benson Gray]

My experience is that this is religious issue and evangelism is never easy. You might have better luck going out with paddleboarders. They already understand the concept of single sided paddling and can carry even less stuff with them. You can even paddle standing up. Be sure not to groan as you carry your canoe to and from the water. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Erica]

I sympathize and wish I had an answer. My success rate is zero. I took part in raising two children. One hates camping. The other has learned to be afraid of gators, though she never was when I was raising her. She will still paddle with me but is grown up with a job and has little time for it.

 

[Tryin']

Arguments to overcome, keeping in mind that the level of on-water experience is at or near zero.

• Cost of entry is lower for kayaks.
• Small kayaks can be tossed in the bed of a truck or poked out the rear hatch of an SUV.
• Paddle stroke is more intuitive in a kayak.
• Center of gravity is lower in a kayak.
• The seating position in a kayak is more familiar and therefore comfortable to newcomers. Heck, just look at the popularity of back supports and pack-seating in canoes.
• Kayaks are typically solo affairs, which makes for easier group dynamics
• Kayaks get most of the press, AND the shelf space at stores

There are a lot of good evangelism points in this thread:

Kayak vs Canoe - Your Personal Pros and Cons

I'm curious how many of you are exclusively canoeists and how many enjoy both. Personally, I own both and enjoy both for different reasons. Canoes: -Can carry more stuff and are easier to pack -Offer a variety of sitting positions and are much more comfortable -Track better and are more...

www.canoetripping.net

My son is a canoe convert. It took a "big" trip for him to see the light. Portaging and camping make it an easy choice. Throwing a boat in the car for a day on the river? That's gonna be a harder argument to win.

 

[yknpdlr]

i will admit that I may have paddled a kayak just once in my life to nowhere in particular, just to try it for a few minutes. Enough to know that I did not like it, as it does not fit my on water travel paddling likes in any way.

I even dislike paddling my Hornbeck canoes, as due to seating position, they require use of a kayak paddle for effective locomotion. But my 14 pound easy to carry mounted on backpack 10.5' Hornbeck is a functional boat for backcountry off-trail bushwhacks, theading me between densly spaced trees from one isolated remote Adirondack pond to another.

I will also admit to reluctantly using a kayak paddle for, and only for, its use being required by the rules in the solo-rec class of the Adirondack 90 mile canoe race while paddling a Placidboat Rapidfire or Shadow in the solo-rec competiton class.