Well get your beer and your popcorn ready cause here it comes! I will portage and paddle my 42lb kevlar canoe any day over a kayak. You are not going to find a sea kayak less than that. So let's portage our gear and boats on the Duncan-Tobin portage and see how your kayak portage rack works out for ya.
or how about the portage from Lake Richie to Moskey Basin(2.1 miles)? Or even the portage from Chippewa Harbor to Lake Richie ?(1.2 miles)? Or how about the portage from Chippewa Harbor to Lake Whittlesey? (that is nice and rocky for over a half mile). If you have portaged your kayak on any of the above portages with a kayak, I would love to hear about it. Portaging from Malone Bay to Siskiwit Lake does not count. My grandma could do that little portage.
With a canoe you can portage much easier for access to a variety of inland lakes and harbors. With a kayak you are much more limited to the outer parts of the island or big Siskiwit Lake. Kayaks are better for base camping and the choppy waters of the big open waters. In a canoe you get deep in the island and the opportunity to paddle on the interior lakes that are just gems to paddle on. The waters here have a much more isolated feel and are much more intimate than the big open water. I am not against base camping but if given a choice I would rather be moving each day so I can paddle and see as many lakes and as much of the island as possible on a given trip.
So go ahead and enjoy your kayak out in the big open water
Serious canoeists are smart enough not to paddle in 35mph winds. I will just lay in my hammock and enjoy the serenity of the inland lakes and bays while reading a book. Enjoy sharing a campsite with the power boaters reving up thier engines while I am on Lake Whittlesey listening to the peace of the loons.
It is a proven fact that kayakers just are not that bright.
For instance, in this example, the kayaker is really having a tough time here by a lack of common sense.
It is also pretty easy for a kayaker to paddle in 35 mph winds in this example. You can't really get turned around here now can ya? Get some training wheels for that thing will ya?
There are many more advantages of a canoe over a kayak as well. Let's look at a few shall we?
You can carry so much more gear in a canoe, like a nice comfy camp chair or how about a TV for some relaxation when getting to camp.
or carrying your favorite adult beverage in an adventure growler to enjoy while at camp. Plenty of room in a canoe for these, not so much in a kayak.
It is also much easier to rinse off your laptop in a canoe. It just would not be safe in a kayak.
And if you choose to bring your wife or girlfriend with you for a nice romantic wilderness trip to Isle Royale, you sure can't do this in a kayak!
But if you can't bring your significant other, it is much easier to call her from a canoe than a kayak to let her know that you are ok.
And the last and final reason canoes are better than kayaks is that chicks just dig the canoe more than a kayak.
Ok OK.... I had to do it. In all seriousness, I just love to paddle. I own both a canoe and a sea kayak. I have paddled my kayak on Lake Superior in the Two Harbors area of MN. I loved it and I would love to bring my kayak to Isle Royale to explore the outer parts of the island. With that said my first love of paddling is and always be in a canoe.
To think how the voyageurs of years ago made a living transporting goods for hundreds of miles in a canoe will always have my upmost respect. They were amazing people. The history of the kayak just does not go back like the canoe does and I love history and try to imagine what life was like in that era when I am camped and relaxed at a campsite.
So let's recap..... canoes....good..... kayaks.....not so much....
