To Canoe or to Kayak
In areas like Lake Bemidji, which the Mississippi
River passes through, the wind can get so
bad that canoes have to land and wait it out
before continuing. It does not take a lot of
wind to affect people on the water. Carpenter
explained that 15 to 20 mile-per-hour winds
can really cause problems, including potentially
swamping a canoe.
On more narrow bodies of water, however,
such as most rivers, the effect of wind is not
as dramatic. If all other things are equal, the
canoe is more stable and better for beginners,
Carpenter said. “The kayaks are plenty stable,
but there is more of a learning curve. In the
canoe if you sit down and don’t stand up, you
know you tell the kids that, you’re pretty good.”
By Tyler Jensen
F
or those looking to get on the water
when they take a trip up north, there is
always the option of launching a canoe
or kayak. But the question remains, which one
is best to take out on the lake or river, the canoe
or kayak?
For John Carpenter, owner of Shirley Mae’s
Outfitters in Little Falls, the answer depends on
the situation and the person’s preferences. “For
starters, I think the biggest thing is how many
people do you have,” Carpenter said.
For those traveling alone, the kayak checks
off boxes that canoes don’t. A kayak keeps
everything inside the craft using hatches and
containers meaning nothing is easy to get out,
Carpenter explained. “If you can portage with all
of your stuff in the kayak that’s one thing, but
if you have a lot of stuff, that makes it kind of
hard,” Carpenter said. On the other hand, if your
kayak flips you won’t lose gear, while most of
your stuff could fall out of your canoe if it goes
belly up.
If someone is traveling with younger children,
however, traveling by canoe may be preferable.
The canoe allows parents to keep children with
28 destinationupnorth.com
them in the same boat and it is also more stable
Carpenter said. “Loading and unloading a canoe
is also easier than with a kayak,” he said. “If you’re
going to have a lot of portages, canoeing is
preferable.” Portaging forces a traveler to get out
of the water and transport their boat to another
water access point by land to avoid a hazard,
such as a dam.
A kayak can be flipped over inadvertently if the
pilot shifts around, Carpenter warned. Not all
kayaks are created equal though. There are sit-
on kayaks, where an individual just sits on the
deck and is not enclosed, or sit-in kayaks where
an individual has their legs in the kayak’s hull.
While Carpenter says the sit-on kayaks can be
more stable and easier for beginners, they can’t
handle making the maneuvers sit-ins can and
they lack things like adjustable seats. “I don’t
consider them real kayaks,” Carpenter said. “They
don’t protect you from the sun, the rain or the
wind. It’s like sitting on a sheet of plywood.”
Sit-in kayaks have different sized openings
depending on the person and the purpose,
Carpenter said. Most kayaks available for rental
have large openings so if the boat flips, the pilot
will fall out of the opening.
A touring or sea kayak, where the pilot is
wearing a skirt and the opening is smaller, can
“FOR STARTERS, I THINK THE BIGGEST
THING IS HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU
HAVE.”
—JOHN CARPENTER
However, a canoe has the disadvantage when
it comes to large bodies of water. On a lake or
a wide section of river, the wind can affect it
dramatically. “The canoe can act like a big sail
on a big body of water if the wind comes up,”
Carpenter said, going on to explain that if there
are waves, water can also slop over the side
and get into the canoe, whereas some kayaks
would allow water to flow over it. The kayak has
a lower profile, so the wind will not affect it as
much, Carpenter said.
Photo by Shirley Mae