Materials Used in Canoe Construction

The most widespread canoe construction materials at the present time are aluminum, fibreglass, Kevlar and polyethylene. Polyethylene is becoming more and more common for canoe construction as it is bendable, lightweight and not as costly as some of the others.

Aluminum Canoes

Aluminum has been, until the last few years, the most popular option for material to use in canoe construction but it has recently been overtaken by polyethylene. Even though aluminum is extremely tough and resilient, and is one of the lighter metals, it is much heavier than polyethylene. It will stand up to being dragged on the bottom and will not be damaged by exposure to the sun’s rays as polyethylene can be.  Aluminum canoes will need buoyancy chambers and they can often be tough to control especially for unskilled paddlers. Additionally they are often heavy to portage and dent when impacted with enough force. Repairing damage is also hard and is hard to cover up.

Locations Where You Can Use an Aluminum Canoe?

For level rivers and lakes and recreational use a canoe made from aluminum will be perfect, particularly if you do not have to move it far yourself. For people who lack room for storage inside, a canoe constructed from aluminum could be more suitable than polyethylene since it will not suffer damage from the sun’s rays or suffer deterioration from bad weather.

Where Shouldn’t You Use your Aluminum Canoe

Aluminum canoes aren’t appropriate for white water or for rivers with many sharp rocks and are not recommended to be used if you may be on an extended tour and would need to portage your canoe.

Aluminum Alloy Construction

Canoes made of aluminum alloy are usually lighter and more durable than purely aluminum and many are lighter even than polyethylene. However, take care that you ascertain the actual weight of an aluminum canoe as they often differ noticeably.

Polyethylene Canoe Construction

Polyethylene is lightweight and bendable, is robust and is one of the most common materials used in canoe construction. It is relatively straightforward to patch and inexpensive although it is vulnerable to damage from jagged edges like branches, rocks etc. However, it’s elasticity does present a problem so measures must be used to make the canoe more rigid. One way is to use aluminum which provides a rigid frame and this is the type of construction seen in canoes made by Coleman and trademarked as Ram-X.

An alternative way to provide a rigid frame is by means of a thick layer of foam between two layers of the polyethylene construction material. This is the means of construction employed by Old Town Canoes and is trade marked as CrossLink 3. The foam provides buoyancy and it is better able to stand up to damage from abrasion than pure polyethylene.

Polyethylene is not always ideal though. It is not very buoyant so most canoes made from polyethylene need buoyancy chambers. It is very vulnerable to damage by abrasion which is the most widespread cause for a canoe being irreparably damaged. Canoes made from polyethylene are by and large fairly cheap and you might be able to pay even less by choosing a model you can assemble yourself.

Where Should You Use a Polyethylene Canoe?

For level water and water with no jagged rocks, a polyethylene canoe constructed with a rigid aluminum skeleton as in Coleman canoes is probably an excellent option. For more extreme conditions a Crosslink 3 construction is recommended as it will be more durable and can endure abrasion and sharp edges much better.

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