: :It think with a double bladed paddle I will still be

: **********************************************

: I hope it is going to be a proper canoe paddle with a blade at one
: end and a handle at the other. :-)

: I am not convinced that you will be any faster in a canoe using a
: double paddle than a single bladed paddle. For a start, your
: paddle strokes with a double will be further from the side of
: the canoe. That makes them less efficient. With a single paddle,
: it is much easier to do efficient power and turning strokes
: close to the canoe. It is also easier to control a canoe with a
: single paddle.

: My experience has been that the speed of the canoe and the distance
: it can cover in a day is determined more by the paddler than by
: the paddle. The limiting factor seems to be the strength and
: energy reserves of the paddler, not the number of blades on the
: paddle.

: I have also found that fishing from a canoe, it is more convenient
: to have a short single paddle to deal with rather than a long
: kayak paddle.

: It is possible that your technique, your fishing gear, your local
: conditions or some other factor will lead you to a different
: conclusion but I don't think you should automatically assume
: that a double bladed paddle is faster than a single.

: I like the shape of the canoe. The ends remind me a lot of a canoe
: that my brother and I used to race a lot including a couple of
: 111km overnight races and a couple of 120km races. We also
: paddled it several times on a fast flowing river where the water
: flowed at something like 10km/h. It had a much flatter hull than
: yours and no tumblehome. Our seats were level with the gunwales.
: It was called a Yankee Marathon Canoe and was specifically
: designed for marathon races. Your is probably a better shape for
: a general purpose/fishing canoe.

I use a kayak paddle on my canoe when I want to get somewhere in a hurry, it's alot faster than a canoe paddle. The canoe paddle is just more fun :)

I can comfortably keep up with most casual sea kayakers in my Argosy, if they want to outrun me though they are gone. I got it though for two reasons, I missed paddling a canoe and for shallow streams, not white water. I can step down to the shore from the canoe, instead of hoisting myself up out of the kayak when I ground out which happens fairly frequently, specially mid to late summer around here as the water levels fall. Also nice that it's Royalex so I can not worry about frequent groundings.

Bill H.