Even a small canoe can be a pain in the ass to paddle by yourself on a windy day, especially when unladen. A kayak is easier to handle since it lacks the high gunwales.

The good news is that if you lurk Craigslist or drive through upper middle-class burbs in the spring or fall you might find used ones for cheap. Sometimes free.

Either one makes for awesome day-camping though, Get yourself an ENO hammock and straps, paddle out to a inlet or peninsula and enjoy a good book.

>>19375

I would do this every fucking weekend if I lived near the ocean. Landlockedfag, FML.

>>19377
Kayaking and canoeing is fun on rivers and lakes as well. Especially kayaking down rapids, but be careful rolling when over rocks in a shallow river.

- Daniel W. Schnurrenberger at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

And don't roll your kayak when transporting dogs or unprepared friends. Unless it would be funny, then go ahead.

Inuit kayak (Alaska) - Arctic Museum
Collection of the Arktikum in Rovaniemi, Finland. This kayak appears to be built in the Nunivak Island style.

Captain Edward Augustus Inglefield - National Maritime Museum - Inuit man with a kayak, 1854.

Eskimo man seated in a kayak prepares to throw spear (harpoon), 1927.
Seal and whale hunting from a kayak is a gutsy move as the little kayak can be swamped or dragged far.

Beautiful sunset taken in a kayak on Lake Ahquabi State Park just south of Des Moines, Iowa.

Apparently there are pedal-powered kayaks.

Kayaks are harder to tip and sink.

Don't get me wrong, I love canoes, but go for a two seater kayak. Canoes can be a pain when your friends shift their weight wrong and drown you and your gear. And having dragged both a canoe and kayak underwater, it's not fun. As for portage, I've carried 12 footers over obstacles down sandy hills all by my lonesome.

What's your budget? I may be able to help.

  >>19386
But kayaks roll like a Jeep with a piano strapped to the roof. But better than canoes, kayaks are designed to roll and quickly roll upright.

Rolling a Kayak with Ken Whiting-White Water https://youtu.be/GnvrBZKsFGI

>>19377

I live in Central PA brah. Got a river and a few good-sized lakes nearby though.

In the summer months I am a notorious river-pirate, infamous for slitting throats and stealing wine-coolers aboard unsuspecting pontoon boats. When it's 110° and 100% humidity outside there's nothing so pleasant as to park your ass in a hammock at the mouth of a stream coming down out of a mountain hollow where the air and water are cooler, read a book and laugh at the drunken shenanigans of people on pontoon boats.(Which seemingly exist only for drunken shenanigans.)

>>19387
I've fished standing up in a kayak. I will never do that in a canoe.

It really depends on the type of kayak you get. Some will tip on a dime, others require work to tip.

I'd suggest a two person sit on top kayak for OP. The best thing about sit on top kayaks is unless you puncture the hull or lose a cap, they're impossible to sink. If you have a sit in kayak or canoe, if you tip it, you have to push it to shore to right it or you're going to let in water and sink it trying to right it in the water (ask me how I know that). Unless you have that gasket white water kayakers use, but those are hot and uncomfortable for recreational use.

Plus, sit on tops are more comfortable and stable for just chillaxing on the river/lake or fishing, plus it's easier to stand up on if you're so inclined.

Also, portage is easier with a kayak. They are considerably lighter than canoes, because most canoes are fiberglass and kayaks are plastic. I've had to move quite a few of both professionally and recreationally. Guess which one I prefer to move. Even with two people, canoes are a pain to move.

OP gimme your budget so I can give you options for kayaks and canoes.

>>19387
This is kind of my thing against kayaks, they recover from a roll, but they seem much more prone to it.

I've been in a few canoes but never a kayak, and am a bit partial to canoes.

Is going solo in a tandem kayak a problem?

>>19393
Was also considering a sit on top kayak.

>>19394
Budget isn't much of an issue so long as I'm happy with it. Would prefer to keep it around $1500, considering buying used as it tends to be cost effective, I could do 2500+ if I wanted. Maybe even drive to FL...

Been eyeing Wenonah canoes for a long time. Especially the Spirit II

Considerations for hull material? I want something durable as I'll likely hit a lot of submerged rocks, trees, cars, bodies? in these scummy local lakes.

>>19397
For that price range?

http://www.klepper.com/en

Don't look back.

>>19397
As for durable hull material, plastic. It has give, fiberglass is heavy and sensitive.You can repair plastic with a heat gun.

That said, the skin Klepper uses is incredibly durable. They're my ideal kayak really. I swear, if you buy one you won't regret it at all, it's a time tested design that has crossed oceans.

>>19400
These lousy know-it-all kids today with their plastic kayaks. Back in my day, I went hunting seals while wearing seal skins and rowing a kayak also made out of seal skins all sewn together over a wooden frame. The LOOKS on those seals faces when they realized just what was coming for them... PRICELESS!

http://t.basspro.com/Boating-Kayaks-Canoes-Paddles-Oars-Accessories-Kayaks-Canoes/_/N-1z0uepa?ddnv=FlyOBO_KykCan

Also, let me know if anything catches your fancy. I know from experience that Ascend kayaks and canoes are bretty damn gud.

I like a single seat kayak a lot better for one person shenanigans. Always felt easier to maneuver to me. That said, if I'm going camping with others I'll take a canoe unless we're gonna be on the ocean. I feel comfortable standing and casting in a canoe solo or with another person who isn't a 'tard. Kayaks it depends on the kayak.

>>19402
http://t.basspro.com/Ascend-H12-SitInside-Hybrid-Kayak/product/9992248508/

How's this hybrid?

>>19409
I don't know from first hand experience, it's a new design and we haven't gotten a single one in the store for display.

Looking at the pictures, though, it looks like it has addressed a lot of issues I have with both sit in and sit on top kayaks. I actually like the design quite a bit and looks as easy to move as an FS12.

What state are you located in? If you're intredasted in a couple of those, I might be able to hook you up with a 40% discount.

>>19413
Oklahoma. I really like the design, my hang up is that it's 76 lbs. Which seems a bit heavy for a 12' 1 person craft. It did get me looking at this Native Watercraft Ultimate FX15 tandem. Which seems pretty legit.

>>19414
They're slightly heavier than a lot of the competition, but more robust, a lot stronger and able to withstand hitting shit and being dragged everywhere.

That said, the way the weight is distributed, they're very easy to move around. I've carried them across the store at work (unfortunately to get chopped up in three pieces because they had minor damage that could be repaired with a heat gun), down sandy hills and dense foliage in my spare time (so, about a year ago considering how little spare time I've had).

That Native is cool, I like that a lot.

If you're interested in an Ascend, just let me know and I can have it shipped to a store near you as a gift. I just did this for WarPlanRed with a backpack.

>>19399
Looks perfect to me!

http://www.klepper.com/en/securityen.html

>>19420
Klepper is indeed perfect.

They're by far my favorite kayak design, they're well thought out and use good material.

However, they are well out of my price range and have to wait.

Once I get a truck, I'm going to get a small rigid kayak like an Ascend A10 or D10 to make do until I can afford better. Unless I'm no longer working at Bass Pro at the time, then I'll be looking at other things in my price range.

  >>19422
I just meant this.

>>19397
>This is kind of my thing against kayaks, they recover from a roll, but they seem much more prone to it.

>I've been in a few canoes but never a kayak, and am a bit partial to canoes.

My thoughts exactly. (Pic is me standing up in a canoe)

The modern kind of kayaks on the market right now are just for fun. They aren't really designed for real work, but even a real kayak is fairly specialized for long distance seal hunting.

All the canoes on the market are for real work, they can all carry a load and multiple passengers.

>>19834
I will say though, a kayak is easier for newbies. Some modern kayaks have pedals which control a rudder, so turning is real easy.

>>19834
I have a smallist canoe and a larger aluminum one that is a fucking indestructible beast. Every spring I go and pick fiddleheads on river islands, about a hundred pounds or so every trip, ever with around 300 pounds they truck on just fine.

>>19965
You can get $4.50/$5.00 a pound for them. They normally grow in wet spots, and along river banks. The key to picking out the right ferns is that Fiddleheads have a copper colored chaff while other ferns have a hairy covering.

The Fiddlehead or Ostrich Fern has a lot of tannins and other shit in them so they need to be boiled first to remove those. They taste like asparagus. They should be showing up in 2 months or so along with the Ramps.