Anatomy of a Canoe: Detailed Diagrams and Key Parts Explained

Canoe Bow vs Stern

The easiest way to tell bow (front) from stern (back) at a glance is which side would have more leg room. Other hints for direction include the painter and yoke.

Canoe Yoke

The yoke is not always included, depending on the configuration of your boat, but it looks like a thwart or cross brace that has had a bite taken out of it. This curved section fits perfectly around the back of your neck if you’re brave enough to try portaging (carrying) it by yourself.
Fun fact: The yoke actually gets its namesake from oxen carts, where there’s a similar piece used to harness oxen to pull a wagon behind them!

Canoe Painter

Every rope or “line” on any kind of boat that has a specific job will have a name. This is especially prevalent in sailing. Canoes luckily only have one rope (which occasionally isn’t included at all) and this is called a painter. The painter is always at the front of the canoe and is used to tie it off to shore or a dock to keep it from floating away.

Canoe Gunwales

Gunwales (pronounced gunnels) are usually wood, plastic or aluminium strips covering the top edges of the hull of the canoe. The main purpose of these is durability and extending the life of the least protected edge of your boat.

Historically, gunwales were used on sailing warships on the “gun deck” to protect from artillery firing having too much wear on the boat. In the front and back corners of the canoe, the gunwale will sometimes extend into the boat in a triangle shape called a deck plate.

Canoe Deck Plates

These are most commonly found on fibreglass canoes that have an air pocket called a floatation chamber in both ends, used for extra buoyancy. Deck plates reinforce the canoe and help it keep its shape.

Canoe Skid Plate

Another way that you can introduce durability to your canoe is by adding a skid plate.
Skid plates can be attached using an adhesive and are placed on the very front and back bottom corners of the canoe, on the outside of the hull. This is your first point of contact when you run aground and can certainly take a beating over the years.

Canoe Hulls

Stability in a canoe can be really important. Canoes come in all shapes and sizes. The form of the hull on any particular canoe will determine what kind of paddling terrain you’re meant to take on.

Some canoes are smooth and round on the bottom and they are more manoeuvrable. These ones are a better choice on rivers so that you can turn corners faster. Other canoes will have a keel on the bottom.

Canoe Keels

Looking at the outside of your canoe, a keel will look like a raised line that runs the length of the boat down the centre. Keels assist in the tracking of a boat and keeping them straight.

These are favourable on flatwater lakes where you’re wanting to get from point A to point B in a straight line. Keels can also protect the bottom of your canoe’s hull from getting damaged if you happen to run into any obstacles.

Canoe Freeboard and Draft

The section of the side of the canoe that stays above the water is called the freeboard and the section below water level is the draft. This is really only going to be important when you’re considering running rivers and you need to tell how weighed down your boat is. Canoes that naturally have shallower freeboard are usually a bit less stable as well.

Canoe Stability

One way to increase your stability in a canoe is to bring your centre of balance lower in the boat. Kneeling in the bottom spreads out your centre of balance and gives you multiple points of contact. This isn’t the most comfortable thing for everyone, so you can get knee pads to ease your time spent on the water in this position.