Renting A Canoe As A Plus-Size Person

We have been looking for new adventures now that travel restrictions have been lifted.

So when Peter said he wanted to try canoeing, I honestly don’t know where my mind went, but it was not excitement.

Let’s just put it this way, if you were ever a scout troop then you might have earned the canoeing merit badge. What you might not do, is use it as a reason to explain to your significant other that you know how to do something 25 years after earning it.

As someone who loves swimming, for some reason, lakes and ponds freak me out. Ok any open body of water that I can’t see the bottom of, just makes my heart pound. So I was not all too thrilled at the idea of canoeing.

As plus-size individuals, the fear was even more real. “What if the boat can’t hold us?” “What if we fall in, how do we get back in the boat?” “Do I have enough arm strength?”

Before we make a huge investment in the boat and equipment, I suggested we find a place to rent canoes first. You know, to see if we like it.

After a quick Google search, we found a local business that rented out kayaks and canoes by the hour and they had boats with higher weight limits available as well.

This brought us to our first experience and first mistake renting a canoe.

Requesting The Right Size Boat Can Get Embarrassing

Once we figured out the weight limit we decided to try again.

This time we decided to try a kayak & it didn’t go to plan.

Because of the weight limit math, we knew we would need a double kayak each. Thankfully the rental place had “convertible” kayaks. This meant they could remove one of the seats and move the other to the center.

Well upon this request we soon realized we need to check the configuration of the seats before getting in. That is because when renting a kayak or canoe many attendants are very busy trying to get other customers launched in their boats & mistakes like customizations can occur. 

Whether it be due to miscommunication or embarrassment or just lack of information. As the renter, your job is to ask questions for your own safety.

Peter learned this as his kayak soon took on water & started to sink.

After a terrifying 15 minutes, he was able to get to the shoreline with the half-sunk kayak.

He drained the boat & returned to the launch area just to learn that the seat was not in the right position.

Not wanting to be deterred we decided to try again. This last time, with the weight math & knowledge of where and how we should sit in the boat we requested a three-seat canoe.

The third time is a charm. We enjoyed a few hours on the water, even catching the close experience of watching a crane take flight (we are talking within 10 feet).