Any canoeists on here?

[Chris71]

I've been toying with the idea of taking up canoeing in some form for ages and decided to finally do something about it!

One of the main things is I'd like to get my girlfriend (who's a bit nervous on water) involved, and over the weekend I managed to coax her into a (hired) Canadian canoe for a few hours. The aim initially is to find somewhere we could get some training and have a bit of fun touring around in an open canoe (maybe explore a few local rivers and so on) and then maybe try kayaking later on.

So, can anyone give us any tips?

We're in North London and there seem to be a couple of clubs in the South Herts area, but mainly orientated more towards the white water side (which I'm quite keen to have a go at, but can't see the OH being keen!)

Also, looking ahead a little, and bearing in mind this is a car forum, how easy is it to transport the various types of canoe? I suppose a one-man kayak can be transported on top of virtually anything, but presumably a 2+ person Canadian canoe needs a fairly lofty estate?

[metro lover]

they're all pretending to be dead

[Chris71]

metro lover said:

they're all pretending to be dead

I get the distinct impression that's a reference to something I don't know about (not an uncommon feeling to be fair).

[anonymous-user]

i believe its a reference to the bloke who faked his death and went off to panama with his wife and screwed the life insurance company.

not a canoeist myself, but i really fancy the idea of a sea kayak holiday, there were dpozens of them in the adriatic when we went to croatia last year and it looked like such a good way of island touring. maybe somethihng of the west coast of scotland is easy to achieve but the adriatic was so nice!...

[Chris71]

pablo said:

i believe its a reference to the bloke who faked his death and went off to panama with his wife and screwed the life insurance company.

not a canoeist myself, but i really fancy the idea of a sea kayak holiday, there were dpozens of them in the adriatic when we went to croatia last year and it looked like such a good way of island touring. maybe somethihng of the west coast of scotland is easy to achieve but the adriatic was so nice!...

Doh! That'd be it.

For me I quite like the idea of touring rivers. I know the rights of access make it easier said than done, but I think it would be quite fun paddling along the waterways of England. White water looks fun to, but there's no way I could persuade the missus along for that one!

[Chris_w666]

Hi there if you were up North I could help out a little more but this will help you track down all of the registered canoe clubs in your area. Most will have qualified coaches that are keeping their hours up by training beginners to a good standard but I can't recommend any in the South East.

Kayaks are the more friendly boat to get into white water paddling in but a canoe is much more civilised and friendly for a nervous paddler, unless you go for touring/sea kayaks that are fast and practical once you get the hang of not falling out and turning them. Canoes are also great fun to take down white water once you get the hang of it.

Carrying them is down to what you feel comfortable with but most cars with decent roof bars and a bit of care can take most boats on their roof if you are prepared to put up with it blocking light out from your windscreen. A colleague uses a Citroen C2 as his main going paddling car and often carries a 16ft Canoe on it, though he is a tad strange. One thing to consider is that some boats can be exceptionally heavy and pretty dodgy to try carrying on your own without knowing how to lift them (or being a musclebound monster) as with cars the more lightness you add to a canoe or kayak the more they cost, also pretty much every boat handles in a unique manner some designed for speed with no stabilty, some are stable but hard to get anywhere in, and some just feel wrong.

Once you get into a club you should find most are friendly and will help you out with everything you need, just beware of the guy who offers to sell you what you need the week after you join as it will be inevitable he made the wrong choice and needs a newbie to take it off his hands.

[Semi hemi]

www.songofthepaddle.co.uk forum a good source of info on open canadian canoes

[mcdjl]

To what Chris said.
I think the nearest white water to you is the Nene course near Northampton (when they get ound to it the olympic course will be handy for you) but you have to be a reasonable standard before they let you on so find a local club and get some experience with them first. They'll also more than likely run trips up to places like that (and better ones) and will advise as to when you're ready- nothing will put you off quicker than scaring yourself on something you shouldn't be on.
Open (canadian) canoes are great fun for a chilled paddle but on anything more than just bobbly they can be a handfull (i saw some paddlers doing their best to destroy one at HPP near nottingham last night). They can be carried on small cars (i've seen a huge 3 man canadian on a mini) but do look a bit odd- and don't expect the car to be great.
Sea kayaks are quite different beasts to white water boats (up to twice the length) but are similar to touring kayaks (which can handle some rough stuff). Don't go off out to sea without knowing what you're doing- waves which look firendly and small look a lot bigger when you're in them.

[Chris_w666]

Semi hemi said:

www.songofthepaddle.co.uk forum a good source of info on open canadian canoes

http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/

Is also a good forum, very busy, like the PH for small plastic boaty people.

[DBSV8]

I'm near Poole Harbour when in the UK

have two canoes , we built them ourselves in the 70s ( Snipes )would reccommend joining a canoeing session in a swimming pool, you would learn the basics of righting yourself and using the paddle to stop you from capsizing , spray decks all worth practicing before you do it for real on a river or lake ,

My advice on rivers avoid locations that have a lot of weed ,


heres a few links I see you are in London I would contact Chiswick canoe club , they do pool sessions and training on the lakes

http://www.chiswickcanoeclub.co.uk/Asp/home.asp

http://www.southwatersports.co.uk/03_web_docs/find...

http://www.robinwood.co.uk/courses_for_adults/cano...

enjoy

[JPJ]

There's a canoe centre on the Thames at Hurley village, although I can't remember the name off the top of my head. There may also be stuff at Longridge Scout Centre at Marlow.

[Stu R]

Chris_w666 said:

Hi there if you were up North I could help out a little more ...*snip*

Hi chris, apologies for dragging this topic back up but would it be OK if I drop you a quick email about kayak stuff in the NE area?

[Chris_w666]

Stu R said:

Chris_w666 said:

Hi there if you were up North I could help out a little more ...*snip*

Hi chris, apologies for dragging this topic back up but would it be OK if I drop you a quick email about kayak stuff in the NE area?

No problem fire away.