No worries, AKSAR, we Water Rats know the quote by heart. And anybody who thinks this is a book for children needs to reset and restart. A copy resides in most of my kits. "The Water Rat was restless, and he did not exactly know why ... " -- this resonates with ever greater depth -- Tennyson echoes.

I confess I am a canoeist first. All my river memories are of canoes, well paddled, swirled in eddies, or buried in standing waves. (The latter is why you tie in your packs and Coleman cooler.) I have been looking over the Clipper line of sweet boats forever, and I think it's time. But there are many other fine boats out there, made by people who care about their craft; just please don't settle for some horrible drugstore POS that will dump you without hesitation and sour your perspective forever.

Despite my fidelity to the path of the (canoe) paddle, I must honestly confess to a wandering eye. If I am to travel solo, a sea kayak has many appealing traits. First and foremost is hull speed: on my local, fairly mild river, a solo kayaker can blast upstream quite effectively, working around the main current, camping on banks and small islands, and avoiding the horrors of the canoe shuttle.

So, I believe I need one of each. Life is short, and the rippling water calls.

Having previously owned 2 kayaks + 3 different canoes, nowadays I favor the canoe for the overall versatility in terms of being able to carry the weight of people(s) and a lot of extra gear that far exceeds anything that a kayak could carry.

That said, a kayak does have it's place and if I were to take any more trips up the Pacific coast, then I would definitively use a kayak as they handle ocean conditions much better.

Either way, it is up the individual user and before making a purchasing decision, you may want to look into renting both a canoe or kayak so that you get a firsthand impression on each of their unique handling capabilities etc.

Whatever you choose, there is nothing like enjoying a paddle on days like this...

Great photos in this thread....thanks! I'll have to throw in with the canoe crowd. I have never used a kayak, but on one spring trip into the BWCAW, I had to get to shore quick and flip my canoe over to form a shelter against golf-ball hail that was crashing down. I don't think I could have done that with a kayak.

I'll chip in from the kayak side, although I paddle whitewater instead of flatwater. Kayaks tend to be easier to learn the basics of paddling. Also, your center of gravity tends to be lower making the craft more stable. Since you're within a sealed hull (assuming you use a sprayskirt), you don't need to worry about a kayak getting swamped in waves.

On the other hand, storage space is limited and loading/unloading can be a bigger issue in a kayak. Most of your storage space is behind you, and virtually inaccessible without getting out of your boat. Some people also feel more claustrophobic in a kayak.

Either will work just fine for what it sounds like you want to do, so I'd say demo a couple of each and find out which you like more.