Frazz by Jef Mallett for October 20, 2019

Or if they had had more firepower than the European settlers, or more virulent diseases.

I went to the Kittery Trading Post in Kittery, Maine some years ago. The building had three levels, and at that time they were installing an indoor water course so people could try out the kayaks before buying—and the course had a slope of at least 45 degrees.

I can row a boat. Canoe?

OK, you can’t put two canoes on a car; but you can put two people in a canoe.

The kid needs to learn that the kayak was in use by the Inuit, Yup’ik, and Aleut peoples before Europeans reached the Americas. Those are also Native American groups.

Indigenous Alaskans had kayaks.

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts (HW Longfellow, 1858)

What about canoes vrs kayaks?

One huge advantage to a kayak: back support.

Not very often Frazz doesn’t get to squeeze a word in edgewise… Kid forgot to take his Ritalin?

Kayaks return 100% of the effort of the individual in them. Canoes with more than one person always have someone not paddling as hard and not following directions. An overnight camping trip in a canoe is a great marriage compatibility test.

Kayaks can be controlled by 1 person. Canoes usually require 2, 1 up front steering, and 1 in back providing power… Canoes require people to work together and it seems we just don’t do that very well anymore. We’re too independent.

Before 1492, the Swiss didn’t have chocolate, the Turks didn’t have tobacco, the Irish didn’t have potatoes, the Italians didn’t have tomato sauce, the Spanish didn’t have peanuts, none of them had canoes or kayaks, and the Amerinds had to get by without starlings, rum, or smallpox.

Canoes are harder to lift on top of a car. Ours has been gathering dust in the garage.

The simple explanation is that canoes require rack bars longer than their beam (width). That usually means rack bars at least 1.2 m (4 ft) long, straps or clamps to fasten it to the bars, plus bow and stern straps to keep the wind from ripping the whole thing off the car at 100-110 km/hr (62-68 mph). Canoes also weigh more then kayaks of similar length, although they can carry more people and/or cargo than a kayak.

Considering that both canoes and kayaks originated from Native American watercraft.

Have both – had the canoe first and loved it. Then tried the kayak – so much easier. Have wondered why I didn’t try it sooner.

There are more places to rent canoes than kayaks. Also the people I know who Kayak do so frequently. The people I know who canoe do so rarely.

Best drawn comic strip since Calvin and Hobbes!!

Kayaks are also an indigenous invention, just from a different part of the world. One with more waves!