FIND FREEDOM IN A CANOE

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Fiberglass is one of the most popular canoe materials, because of its reasonable price, attractiveness, and low maintenance requirements. However, fiberglass craft can range in quality from poor to excellent, so you'll want to examine any prospective purchase closely. Avoid the "chopper gun" models, which are made by shooting shredded fiberglass matting into a liquid resin, resulting in a heavy but weak hull. The hand-layup method, in which sheets of fiberglass cloth are wetted down with a high-quality resin and placed by hand on the canoe, is a far superior construction technique. When buying a fiberglass canoe, you'll get what you pay for... so be leery of "bargains", and always look for the cloth weave on the inside of the craft.

A newer material called Kevlar (it's a fiberglass polyamide) is woven into sheets and hand-laid in much the same way as is fiberglass, although the Kevlar process is considerably more costly and sophisticated. This synthetic is substantially lighter and sturdier than fiberglass, too, and these qualities are reflected in a typically higher cost.

The most recently developed canoe-body substance is ABS (it stands for acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) plastic, marketed under such trade names as Royalex and Oltonar. A typical ABS "sandwich" consists of expanded buoyant plastic foam encased in layers of ABS and covered with a tough vinyl skin. This unusually durable material has the unique ability to snap back into shape after a collision. Plastic canoes are relatively maintenance-free as well as being rugged, and—not surprisingly—frequently command hefty prices.

PADDLE CHOICES
Finding a canoe, of course, is only part of the outfitting process . . . you'll still need something with which to propel it! Paddles are made from almost every material used in canoe manufacturing, and the advantages and disadvantages of each substance are similar, as well. Wooden paddles are generally heavier and require periodic sanding and varnishing, while the synthetics and metal need little or no upkeep. If you choose wood, you'll find that a laminate is sturdier and lighter than a solid piece. If, on the other hand, you prefer a paddle honed from a single plank, be sure to select one no wider than 6-1/2", as a broader blade will tend to split.

Like canoes, paddles come in a variety of designs, and again your choice will depend on the type of canoeing you'll be doing. The common "beavertail" blade, for example, has a rounded tip... as opposed to the square blade popular with white-water canoeists. You'll also have to select either the long-established "pear" grip or the newer "T" handhold.

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