The answer? Yes. Without Question. In fact, I weigh 385 now and canoe pretty regularly (I live on a lake). I was able to canoe at 450 as well. There are some things you need to know however, before you start.
Over the years of canoeing, I’ve picked up quite a few things I wish I knew before I had started. Here are the top 7 things I think everyone (that’s larger) should know before they head out to canoe.
#1 Be aware of weight distribution
If you’re going to ride with someone else, you need to put yourself in the middle. In general, I don’t think that it’s a great idea anyways for larger people to ride with more than one person……but if you absolutely must then make sure you sit in the middle.
#2 It’s best for larger riders to go solo
To be frank, most of us are top heavy……and don’t have the best of balance. I’ve been canoeing for years, and still opt to just go by myself. Two or three people together in a canoe is very difficult. More difficult than kayaking even. Almost every accident I’ve had has involved more than one person in the canoe at once. It’s simply hard to balance. Plus, this combined with the fact that larger people don’t have the best balance anyways…….just leads to disaster.
#3 You’re not getting back in without going to shore.
Even smaller people have EXTREMELY hard times getting back into kayaks in the water…….if you’re larger……getting back into a canoe is basically impossible if you fall off.
Keep this in mind because if you decide to canoe in an area where shore is hard to get to……it’s best to make absolutely sure you’re not going to fall in if you can. Or, better yet try and always stay in areas where you can easily pull yourself to shore to get back in.
#4 The Canoe is going to be able to hold you no problem
I used to be worried, especially when I was closer to 500 pounds if my canoe would hold me. If you’re worried about this at all……just know that there’s absolutely no reason to be. There are canoes that hold HUGE amounts of weight. Many canoes can carry 1,000+ pounds easily. Of course, you should always check the weight limit of your canoe before you ride……but most should be able to carry you no problem at all.
#5 You can change your seat.
This is INCREDIBLY helpful for us larger people. You can change your seat to be lower, which results in a lower center of gravity that makes it so much easier to balance when you ride….and for larger periods of time. You can also get seats with backbeats as well which is really helpful for those with a bad back.
Some canoes come standard with seats that are lower. But if yours doesn’t, getting new seats is not expensive or hard to install.
#6 Going on your knees makes it even easier to balance
This might sound strange, but it does really help. If you have bad knees like mine you can also buy knee pads.
The reason this helps is because just like lowering the seats, this puts your center of gravity much lower. Personally, I don’t enjoy this very much because it’s not the most comfortable, but if you’re going through a really tough area this will help you get through it easier.
Some people actually prefer to ride like this most of the time when they canoe.
#7 There are training wheels for canoes
So turns out that canoes actually have what are called “canoe stabilizer kits” these things literally make your canoe stay upright and make it SUPER easy to balance. Honestly, even if you don’t think you need these…….consider them. After an hour or two of canoeing you’ll wish you had them. They just make everything more relaxing.
Note: You can make these yourself if you want! It’s pretty simple actually, all you have to do is cut some pvc pipe and tape on those dollar float things you find at the store around summer and bam! You made yourself one. I’ve never tried this myself, but online a lot of people say theirs worked great.
#8 Canoeing burns a lot of calories, you will be SORE.
When I first started canoeing, I didn’t really think this was possible……but trust me if you canoe for an hour or two, your blood will be pumping and your arms, chest, and shoulders will HURT. Not saying this is a bad thing by any means…..but you should be aware before you go.
Online I’ve seen it say that you can burn up to 500 calories per hour canoeing……but personally I bet for us bigger people it’s a lot more.
#9 if you’re nervous about being able to balance don’t be.
This was my number one fear, ESPECIALLY when I first started. Even the first few minutes I felt like for sure there was no way I wouldn’t topple over.
But, your body adapts much faster than you’d think to canoeing. In fact, your first five minutes will feel ENTIRELY different than your next ten. By the end of an hour of canoeing, I promise you you will feel INCREDIBLY confident.
#10 Learn how to row properly.
Man, I really really wish I had learned this before my first few trips.
Every single time after my first few trips my back would ache HORRIBLY and so would my shoulders and arms. Not in a you just worked out type of way, but more in a you did something wrong to your body type of way.
Thankfully, learning to row properly is honestly really easy.
Plus rowing properly makes it super easy to go extremely fast. Which is a TON of fun being able to shoot around other more physically fit people who don’t row properly.
Check out this video below if you want to learn to row correctly.
#11 what to do if you feel like you’re about to tip over
If you’re ever in the position where you feel like you’re about to tip over, what you have to do is get your head centered back over the canoe. You can achieve this by a technique called “the brace”.
Honestly, this is a REALLY hard technique in the high position……..and for me personally, I’ve never been able to get it right.
The low position however, I was shocked to find out that it’s SUPER easy. In fact, you can practice this technique with ease and you’ll find that even for us larger people it’s generally not to hard. This video below gives a great demonstration of the technique.
Conclusion:
I hope you enjoyed this article!!!! Canoeing is an awesome sport, that you’ll absolutely love to do. Wether for leisure, or to get someplace in the water. It’s honestly one of my favorite ways to exercise, and it’s seriously a blast.
It does help to do some research before you go canoeing. I’ve been doing it for awhile, and the first time I ever went I really just thought there wouldn’t be much to learn. Turns out, there’s quite a bit more to canoeing than I ever expected.
One of the greatest things about canoeing is the sense of freedom you get. It’s hard to describe how great it feels to do something so active as a larger person, when so many activities are harder for us to do.
Whatever you do, don’t feel like you can do it. It might be harder for us larger people to do things…..but I promise that canoeing is one of those things many of us can do. Plus you can learn quickly. It really doesn’t take long at all to get the balance down. MUCH faster than other activities like riding a bike or skiing or something similar. You can get canoeing and feel comfortable in a span of ten twenty minutes easily.
Thanks again for reading this article!!! Hope you enjoy!!!