Points to be Considered
The particular shape, combined with the dimensions, of the canoe is commonly called the model, and since many canoe builders offer several different models it is a comparatively easy matter to find a craft which fully meets one’s ideas of a canoe. Canoes can be had as small as 10 ft. long and weighing as little as 18 lb., while others are built all the way up to 35 ft. and ranging around 50 in. wide. For all-around use, that is for cruising, hunting, and fishing, the 16-ft. length, with 32-in. beam, 12 in. deep amidships, and weighing about 60 lb., will meet the approval of the experienced canoeist. In a good canoe of this size a flat floor, medium-high ends, and a fair amount of tumble home—to add stability and keep the water from shooting inboard—may be reckoned the “earmarks” of a general-purpose craft. For exclusive river work, where many rapids are encountered, a lightly rounded bottom, a trifle lower in the center than at the ends, will be easier to handle in white water, while comparatively narrow ends will give more speed under the paddle.
All canvas-covered canoes are provided with brass bang plates, or irons, at stern and bow, and if wanted, an outside keel may be furnished. In most cases this is not essential, but when the canoe is largely used in rocky rivers a broad keel of ¹⁄₂-in. oak, or ash, 2¹⁄₂ in. wide in the center and tapered at both ends to fit the brass bang irons, will protect the bottom from hard knocks. The narrow 1-in. keel is an out-and-out nuisance, making the canoe slow to turn and furnishing but scant protection for the bottom. Any keel adds to the weight of the craft, and weight is a factor that must be considered when much portaging is done. So far as capacity is concerned, a canoe, 16 ft. long, 32-in. beam, and 12-in. amidship depth, will accommodate two men and the usual amount of camp duffle, weighing from 350 to 400 lb. On short trips, a 15-ft. canoe may be made to accommodate two men, while on very long cruises, where a larger amount of duffle must be taken along, an 18-ft. canoe may be needed. For three persons, the 17 or 18-ft. canoe, of 34-in. beam, is about right, but for a party of four it is better to use two 16-ft. canoes than one large craft. In fact, canoes longer than 18 ft. are more properly regarded as freight craft and only used on special trips.
Moccasins, or rubber-soled footwear, are most suitable for the canoeist’s wear, but since heavy-heeled shoes are often worn, it is a good plan to protect the thin planking by running a slatted floor, 8 or 10 in. wide, in the center of the canoe. Provide this grating with brass buttons, and it will be held firmly in place, but removable at any time. For convenience in towing, a small but flexible rope—braided cotton is always soft and pliable—about 20 ft. long, should be tied at both bow and stern. The ordinary “painter eye,” which fastens with a bolt screwed to the under side of the breast hooks, is good, but a small hole, through which the rope is securely knotted, will serve as well.