Do You Canoe? Or Kayak? Options

[GandJ]

We're considering the addition of a small personal watercraft to our outdoor gear, but are having a tough time deciding between kayaks or a canoe. Does anyone have personal experience, preferences or dislikes of either or both?

Whatever we get (two kayaks or one canoe?), it will have to travel well on our Explorer's roof rack and be fairly light since I'm old and weak and not exactly overly tall.

All information, advice, horror stories and opinions on the subject will be most welcome.

[Texasrvers]

We bought a collapsible, two person kayak by Folbot several years ago. It has an aluminum frame, and the hull is made of canvass. When it is folded up, it fits into two bags which will fit into the back of our Jeep. Unfortunately we have not used it as much as we would like. First, it is a little more time consuming to put it together than we had anticipated, but the main problem (and I hate to admit this), is that I have a lot of trouble getting out of it. Because the seat is flat on the bottom, I cannot get my feet/legs underneath me so that I can stand up. I probably just need more practice, but as of yet I have not made the effort. I think I would like a canoe much better since the seats are raised. Maybe you would not have this problem, but for me it is a consideration.