I'll agree with Jay about the fact that a canoe can be a beast. While I do not have a kayak, I have paddled a few, and they are much easier to control than my canoe.

I own and use a canoe because it can carry more people. I have a housefull of kids (6 at last count), and I've had as many as 4 of them in it with me on several occasions. But it works best when I control the canoe and the kids fish. Keeping a canoe under control can be a full time job, and it's hard enough to use a spinning rod in one, not to mention a fly rod.

As for transport, I would highly recommend that you get something that either fits on top of or inside of your vehicle. If you have to hook up a trailer, worry about being able to back out of a tight spot, and have the extra maintenance associated with more axles, you're just not going to use that watercraft as much as you would if you can just throw it on the roof and be off. But of course, you have to get something light enough that you can lift, so when you shop, pay attention to the weights of the models you're looking at.

My family minivan has a factory roof rack that lets me carry the canoe easily with no modification to the vehicle. I bought some foam pads that grip on the gunwales of my canoe to pad the roof, and I've used those on each of my other vehicles several times. They make similar pads designed for kayaks. I would get some ratchet straps to replace the straps that come with the pads though, commercial ratchet straps are very easy to use and very secure.

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