Canoe as a dinghy??

[TheWhiteRabbit]

Okay, okay ,okay…..i know this might sound silly to all you “old salts”, but this is an honest question…has anyone ever heard of using a canoe as a dinghy? I mean supposedly they can hold over a thousand pounds of load, if you paddle them correctly they are pretty darn stable (they are used for big rapids after all, can go down anything a kyak can...) and they are very efficient rowers. They only problem I can see really is they are pretty long….maybe it would be hard to find a place on deck to put it? Whata ya’ll think?

[mitiempo]

Maybe too big to put on deck depending on the boat. Probably hard to get into from the boat. Not that efficient a "rower" as a good hard dinghy. Don't lend themselves to the outboard everybody ends up getting. Probably not a good choice.

Was I too negative?

[sailingdog]

Canoes that can carry that kind of load are awfully LONG, and difficult to stow on a small sailboat. Not being able to stow the dinghy aboard is a huge safety problem, especially in heavy seas.

Mitiempo's points about outboards, difficulty in boarding the dinghy, etc., and the fact that canoes aren't really all that stable as craft go are things to consider as well.

[deniseO30]

Actually a 16ft canoe with modest beam of 32" can take 2 adults and camping gear and food .. close to 900 lbs. True they wouldn't stow well and don't tow well either. Also anyone that knows how to paddle a canoe can often do at least as well a single rower. And because a canoe is narrow. it's easier to step in .. again if the person is an experienced paddler..
The wooden canoe club I used to be in. on a river trip going by others our some of us would stand up and say to the "other" paddlers.. "never stand up in a canoe" Hint never sit in a canoe.. kneel.

[mitiempo]

I'd take a kayak over a canoe any day. Folding like a Feathercraft. But not as my main dinghy.

[Tree]

If you are sailing in a small lake and never see seas (waves) over a couple of feet..... Maybe.

But if you are thinking salt water no. .... not just no, ... but no no no!

Have you ever wondered why the Polynesian canoes had out riggers?

Well try to beach a "canoe" in any kind of surf. .... or get back out to your boat. You'll figure it out soon enough.

I have literally thousands of miles of experience in canoes. A worthy craft in the appropriate environment. But a good dingy with lateral stability will end up being the solution to a more broad list of potential uses.

[fordo]

Tree is correct. Also a canoe will not tow well at all. Crosswinds and waves will swamp a canoe; then you have to bring her aboard. I know, I tried it, once. I love canoes but not at sea.

[WanderingStar]

I used a 14' square stern canoe as a tender last season. It had a 40" width and oarlocks. It rowed fast and straight solo, a bit harder loaded. It towed fine. I replaced it because I have to store it atop a sandbank and it was hard to handle on the beach. While I found it easy to stand in, others did not. Now I have a shorter wider dinghy, easier on the beach, easier alongside. It also wandered astern at anchor, though most dinghies do. If you can get one cheaply, try it out, especially if you solo frequently. I'm not sorry I switched.

[lancelot9898]

Originally Posted by WanderingStar

I used a 14' square stern canoe as a tender last season. It had a 40" width and oarlocks. It rowed fast and straight solo, a bit harder loaded. It towed fine.

Just curious as to how you rigged the tow lines since I'm toying with the idea of replacing the 10 ft Achilles with a 16 ft Al fishing boat(290lbs) and just towing it behind a 37 ft Tayana here on the Cheaspeake.

[WanderingStar]

The canoe didn't have an eye, but I think I ran a line through a hole in the forward deck, then tied it off to the forward thwart.