Finally bought a canoe. Family vacation at Lake Superior this July and 25th wedding anniversary get-away to Caribbean with spouse had me thinking about getting certified for scuba (sunken ships diving in Superior, usual stuff in Caribbean), but my ENT talked me out of it. Half-a-dozen inner-ear surgeries, to include three rebuilt ear-drums (hard to accomplish with just two ears) kinda ruled me out. So we'll stick to snorkeling (much cheaper, BTW) and, in my despair, I finally bought a boat - of the sort I am most familiar. We always had a canoe in my family, so as a kid, I would explore local rivers with a friend for hours on end - just disappearing for the bulk of the day.
So, when I investigated what's out there, I decided to go with this slightly stripped down version of Mad River Canoe's Adventure series that is sold at Dicks for a good price (about $250 less). Unlike most canoes, which stretch pretty wide (40 inches or so, this thing comes in just less than 35 inches (see a review here, where I got the pix). The hull if very kayak-like, with flat surfaces that break every six or so inches. That, plus the narrow width, makes it seem very unstable at first glance, but it isn't. Jerkier at times, but when it slips to the side, it tends to stop when the first above-water panel hits the water.
The tradeoff on the width and hull design is that this thing moves in the water more like a kayak than a canoe, meaning it goes fast! Since I don't fish and mostly like to explore, this is ideal, even as it takes some discipline with my kids.
Took it out yesterday with sons on White River inside Indianapolis. Today we hit a local county park lake with my eldest daughter and our two new additions.
Anyway, shouldn't cause me any more surgeries and I do love being on rivers.