Back in the days before I had kids, mortgage, wife etc etc I used to participate in a lot of outdoor pursuits such as hiking and mountain biking. I tried canoeing a few times and really enjoyed it but never got much into it. I haven't been able to do much of these thinsg in recent years but now that my kids are getting a little older and seem to like the outdoorsy/nature stuff I'm thinking I'd like to buy a canoe or two for the family and start getting into it. We live smack dab in the middle of two stat parks here in NH so it would be a fairly practical hobby. Anyone into it?
Yup, my brother and I both bought kayaks at the same time so we can borrow each other's and have 2 if needed. My wife and I use them quite a bit on the local streams. My parents also have a old aluminum canoe that I pretty much keep at my house. I took my 6 year old out a couple times on a lake last summer while my wife followed in the kayak. It's a great workout, because if she decides to "help" paddle, it ends up making it that much worse on me! When I have time in the spring after heavy rains I also like to take the kayak out and hit up the rapids. My brother and I even took the canoe out a couple times just to make it more challenging, and it was for sure! We've tried it several times when it floods along with some buddies and none of us have been able to conquer the local stream in a canoe without tipping at least once!
Have done several hunts where canoe is the only way in. Lined up rivers, crossed rivers & lakes, hauled camp & game . Quiet way to hunt beaver dams & lakes . Fun & a good way to get away from the crowd.
I'm not much of a hunter myself but I do appreciate the peace, solitude and naturla scenic beauty that gettign away from the crowd offers. When my kids were born I did the first aid/CPR classes. I've pretty much forgotten it all so I'll have to redo those. Don't want to be sitting on my hands out there if something happens.
My buddy has a few fishing yaks. He takes me out on the water more than he should. Good friend to let me do that free. me last fall:
the Atlantic ocean. lol more specifically, the Thimble Islands off Stonycreek/Banford CT we put in off Indian Point rd (red star) and paddle out to the yellow areas for fish
....................................................^ and yes, there's a place called duck Rocks. lol
You ever make it up to Acadia National Park briansol? They have guided kyaking trips there were you kyak out from the mainland to the islands. They provide lunch too I believe.
As a kid, I spent many summers paddling around with family in an old aluminum canoe and have great memories of it. I didn't canoe much as a young adult, but now I'm retired and have some free time. The wife and I got a pair of sit-on kayaks. She fishes from hers and I paddle around taking pictures. We enjoy many of the local rivers and lakes. I don't know how old your kids are, but if you can get them in a canoe and they enjoy it, I say go for it. Memories, especially good family fun memories will stick with them forever. Larger canoes can have a load rating of over 800 lbs. Mom, Dad, kids, life jackets, a picnic lunch, some fishing gear.... plenty of good memories!!!
Nice pic...kind of proves that no matter what topic we're talking about, it's never far off from wood-hoarding!
My kids are only 3 and 4 but we've already started them hiking and they love being in the great outdoors. They haven't taken swimming lessons yet but that might come this summer. Right now we're kind of in the midst of toddler chaos but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with the older one. I've been dreaming about perfect family vacations at national parks and on the lake since before they were born. I just hope I don't turn into Clark Griswald in a few years.
Anyone remember the scene in The Great Outdoors when they fell asleep in the fishing boat and got covered in leaches?
We have a canoe and kayaks. We prefer the kayaks because they are more maneuverable and it gives everyone a certain amount of independence. Here's a video of my son and two friends going down a local river. It was a 6 hour trip.
+1 on the kayak being more user friendly, esp for or with the little ones. Ever get to Maine? Old Town Canoe has a scratch and dent sale every spring, that's where I've gotten our two kayaks and canoe. I have an single cockpit kayak that can be used either as a single or tandem, very handy. We got an "Otter" yak for my daughter's birthday one year, was going to be a bear to wrap so we snuck it into her room while she was sleeping for the birthday morning wake up surprise. Here she is first trip out.
While I was living in Maine, I hit the Old Town sale. I bought my penobscot 17 canoe there for a smoking deal. It had an errantly drilled hole in the aluminum gunwhale, that was it. I forget exactly what I paid for it, but I know I made money on it when did it a few years back. That was a fun canoe, very fast and nimble. I used to hit up many rivers on it. Sadly as it was fast and maneuverable, it was not super stabile. My wife hated using it with me, so, I put it on cl. She's used to lake canoes. That canoe was featherweight. Royalex canoes are not cheap now.
We used to have a Bell Drifter made of Royalex. We told the salesman we wanted a very stable canoe...he didn't deliver. The canoe was good quality and can't say bad about it just that we were guided to a style we didn't want. Sold it in 5 years breaking even. Got 2 sit on kayaks and never regretted it. So much more stable and mama bear likes she can carry it to the water by herself.
