Pack boating, essentially backpacking with a special type of canoe, called a pack boat, is a great way to explore backcountry destinations that can only be reached by water. Pack boats, which blend the characteristics of canoes and kayaks, are designed for paddling on flat water ponds and lakes, unlike inflatable pack rafts, which are often used on rivers and streams.
A pack boat is a lightweight, open-top watercraft consisting of an open canoe hull paired with a low, kayak-style seat that is designed for use with double-bladed kayak paddles. They are ideal for wilderness travel and camping in areas with many lakes and ponds, such as New York’s two-million-acre Adirondack Park, river tripping in the forests of Maine, traveling the boundary waters of the Midwest, or the marshlands of the Southern United States.
Pack boats range from 10 to 14 feet in length and typically weigh between 18 and 30 pounds, making them easy to transport between bodies of water separated by small stretches of land. Their low weight also makes them easy for individuals to carry, and for this reason they are very popular among female paddlers. Many users report paddling more often because boats are much easier to load, unload, and transport than cars. They are lightweight because they are made of Kevlar, carbon fiber or other composites.
Like canoes, pack boats have an open layout, making it easy to pack camping gear, dogs or fishing equipment. The seats sit close to the bottom of the hull, providing high initial stability and enabling the use of kayak paddles. They have adjustable foot pedals to support your feet and legs in the boat. Their freeboard, the distance from the waterline to the upper edge of the hull (gunwale), is kept to a minimum to reduce wind resistance. However, they are unsuitable for the waves of large lakes or lakes with large motorboat wakes.
In addition to a boat, you need a double-bladed kayak paddle or a single-bladed canoe paddle, a PDF, a bailer or pump, a sponge, a whistle, and dry bags to keep camping gear and clothing dry. A roof rack and webbing straps are also essential for transporting your boat.
Popular pack boat brands include Hornbeck Boats, made in the Adirondacks of New York, Swift Canoe and Kayak from Ontario, and cool boat workIn Western New York. These boats range in price from about $2,000 on the low end to $4,500, depending on length and whether they are single or tandem.
I recently purchased a 12′ Hornbeck Classic (above), which is a really nice pack boat that tracks well and has a load capacity of 275 pounds. I plan to use it with my backpacking/camping gear in Vermont and the surrounding Adirondacks to get deeper into wilderness areas that are difficult to reach by vehicle or even on foot. The challenge is not in the paddling itself, but in learning how to plan a trip in very wet terrain far from civilization. I am in the process of networking in the VT/NY pack boating community to find mentors or like-minded adventurers with whom I can partner for these types of trips. The Adirondacks have more than 3,000 ponds and lakes and 20,000 miles of rivers and streams, so there’s plenty of adventure to explore,
