I've been on a few canoe trips, one of them an overnighter, and I'm warming up to the idea of maybe buying my own. I'm usually out with 4 other people, so I'm thinking if I had one that could haul 2 or 3, that'd be nice. The canoeing around here is on small lakes or on the Shenandoah River. There are small whitewater areas, but nothing to write home about. I'm not competing, I'm not racing, I'm just floating down a slow (often shallow) river with some friends, from late Spring to early Fall.
I don't know what I don't know about canoeing. I see these different brands listed, and I don't know what's what quality-wise. I'm probably going to be buying used, spending $500 or less...preferably half that. I know there are awesome wooden super canoes out there, but much like expensive watches -- that's just not my thing.
Could somebody here who's somewhat of an SME on things that get paddled on the river give me sort of a rundown on what features I want, what features I don't want...talk to me about paddles, seats, life jackets, whatever in the wide world of canoes that comes to your mind. Aluminum and fiberglass seem to be the 2 materials I see in most ads. Besides the $3k wooden canoes of NoVA.
Oh yeah, for transport I have an '04 Outback stationwagon with the factory cross-bars on the racks. From my work, I've got tons of small ratchet straps and bungees already. Advice on anything else I'd need is more than welcome too.
I know it's not canoe-forum, but I also know there are SME's about almost anything here. When you get a chance, love to hear what you have to say on this subject.