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.

I purchased an inflatable Sevylor kayak. Takes about 5 minutes to inflate, holds two people and a bunch of equipment. Can be paddled like a canoe or a kayak. When deflated it rolls up pretty small and weighs about 40lbs. Despite what you may fear, it is very tough and I haven't had any leaks thus far. There are several air chambers so even if one does deflate the others will keep you going.

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.

Thank you both for the useful information.

We had wondered if those inflatables were safe if they developed an air leak...especially since we'd like to paddle around some of the spots in FL which might have the occasional gator here and there.

The kayak being a bit harder to get in and out of is something we had not yet thought of, but indeed that will be a consideration due to CKS (creaky knees syndrom ).

Thanks again!

DW and I just picked up 2 Kayaks, have the Thule carriers for our Tacoma, worked well on our first camping trip. Were casual kayakers, so we like the idea where we can explore small rivers & lakes.

Mike

I have done both, canoe and kayake. I think it is a personal preference which a person should get.
We curently have two kayaks. A two seat for when we both want to go, and my single seat for when just I want to go.
Both have good storage. Both are good handling and light weight.
A canoe will hold more gear, and may be more comfortable depending on the user and what it is used for.
I would suggest you find someone in your area that rents them. Try both then make your decision.

Goose Creek makes a very good suggestion. Try out a couple options.

Many years ago I did a canoe trip in the boundry waters area. We were out for weeks, and our two canoes carried a nice load of gear for the four of us. But those puppies were cumbersome to maneuver: portaging, loading, unloading onto the vehicles.
In all fairness, those were aluminum rentals. They DO make MUCH lighter weight versions.

More recently, we rented a 2-seater, sit-on-top-style, kayak. (No skirts)
Toured around Astoria waterways for a day.

Good heavens: no comparison.
Those plastic kayaks were SO much easier to load/unload from river to car rack. Perfect for a casual day of exploring, in relatively calm waters, with limited gear.

I would NOT, however try to explore/live in the outback of northern Minnesota for a month, with a plastic, sit-on-top verson of a kayak.

See the thing is it is fun to do both... I really like kayaks though because generally they are less weight.

Yep, have been doing that. Our most recent trip was to the self-proclaimed "Canoe Capitol of Virginia".

We've visited outfitters that carry the usual rental stuff and the local sporting good stores, of course. But really, they don't necessarily have what's easy to travel with, such as the inflatables and collapsables noted above.