I was reading on the news this morning about a couple that was rescued from a lake close to Minneapolis, by hunters.
According to the story the water in the lake got rough and their canoe sink.

When I go to BWCA, I am concern about capsizing but never considered the possibility that the canoe can sink.

Sorry if I am too naive, but, can a conoe sink?>.. has someone in this forum had this problem before??.

The old Grumman Aluminum canoes had flotation tanks built in. Some of the newer ones have smaller floatation built in and some none at all. Also demends what you have in it.

I have no idea.

When I was a kid, some other kids at camp attempted to sink their canoe so they could use it like a sub and walk on the bottom. The flotation tank on one end had a hole in it, so only one end sank. It took them a long time to bring that canoe back in.

Some years back a member of a Madison paddling club took his canoe - the canoe he had removed the flotation tanks from to save weight - out onto a local lake. During a thunderstorm. Without a PFD.
You guessed it - the canoe swamped and sank.
Some pro-lifers decided he should remain in the gene pool and rescued him.
That was not the only dumb stunt in this guy's resume.

I dumped in 1998 with my wife in North Bay. The old alumacraft floated like a champ. Water temp was 55 degrees. It was cold.....
I thought she was done with the canoe trips. We went again in 99 and she still loves it better than boat and motor.Can't wait till next year.

Depends on canoe and materials.

First thing done in my new canoes is purposely capsize, so I can know what to expect. I have paddled part way across a lake while sitting in a submerged canoe with almost nothing above the waterline, and yet it didn't sink.

Have two plastic kayaks too - no air tank, seemingly nothing to keep them afloat and they do the same thing - you can paddle them while they are almost submerged.

This one found a way to sink

Back when my kids were little, maybe 5 and 10, we were camped on a lake up in da yoop. I took them out in my old MichiCraft aluminum canoe and we intentionally flipped it, then filled it with water. It would float with just the gunnels out of the water. If we stood up it would sink to where we were knee deep, and float at the level.

quote Chilly: " This one found a way to sink"

Which river/rapid was this? I've done the same to my dad's canoe many years ago. It's surprising how incredibly difficult it is to extract a submerged canoe from the rapids.

quote Chilly: " This one found a way to sink"

So did this one (Halfbreed Rapids, Tomahawk River, Wisconsin)

They dont tend to sink on lakes as much as rivers as the rushing water fills em up and the weight sinks em.
On a lake they tip over and many times flip upside down and the flotation and air trapped underneath keeps them a float.
In Scouts for the canoeing merit badge we had to take canoes out (Aluminum) tip em and then with the flip em back over and rescue the canoe.
SunCatcher

quote Woodtick: "

quote Chilly: " This one found a way to sink"

Which river/rapid was this? I've done the same to my dad's canoe many years ago. It's surprising how incredibly difficult it is to extract a submerged canoe from the rapids."

Burntwood Creek, more commonly known as bois brule river, just below Mays Ledges. I always convert the french names into American.

Great name for those rapids, Koda. Does that mean you're a halfbreed if you attempt those rapids, or you're a halfbreed if you fail? lol

ill never forget the time i was on a flaot trip in southern missouri, we came around the bend and i seen these guys in the distance sitting on the shore no boat in site. we paddled over to them and asked them if their boat got away from them. they pointed in the water about 5 feet off shore and said no we parked it right there. sure enough there was a canoe sitting on the bottom of the river. before that day I was always under the impression myself that canoes would not sink.

Some old aluminum canoes had styrofoam flotation in the flotation chambers that would dissolve in contact with gasoline...not very effective. The manufacturers converted it to better stuff. Kevlar has to have a flotation chamber built into it, but a 7 layer material like Old Town uses has the flotation built right into it (brain fart...name of material won't come). The canoe will sink to the gunnels, and with weight in it plus water, even deeper. A cubic foot of fresh water weights about 62.5 lbs., so imagine how much weight a canoe is supporting when it is full of water. Then if the cnoe is also pinned in the rapids with moving water, it can be impossible to move. I left my 17' Alumacraft in Horsetail Rapids back in about 1990...we had an 8' prybar (log) under it, and 4 teenagers leaning on it, and we couldn't break it loose. I reported it to the Forest Service, and in lower water someone got it out of the rapids.

Canoes can sink in calm lakes. A lot of the composite canoes depend on those air tanks at the stems of the canoe. if the plug leaks or the tank is compromised the buoyancy will be reduced.
Check those little rubber plugs to see that they are in place. Also you should test to see just how high you canoe floats when the canoe is filled fully in a lake. Mine is nearly neutral in the water.

This Mad River took it in the shorts 7x on this trip filled with water every time....the pain was bailing her out.
It was colder then heck, raining, and FUN...just not when I was bailing.

quote DanCooke: "Canoes can sink in calm lakes. A lot of the composite canoes depend on those air tanks at the stems of the canoe. if the plug leaks or the tank is compromised the buoyancy will be reduced.
Check those little rubber plugs to see that they are in place. Also you should test to see just how high you canoe floats when the canoe is filled fully in a lake. Mine is nearly neutral in the water."

OK is this another one of those things I should know about? Do my SRs have a plug somewhere for the air tanks? I was examining mine today and surely didn't see one...?

quote BWPaddler: "OK is this another one of those things I should know about? Do my SRs have a plug somewhere for the air tanks? I was examining mine today and surely didn't see one...?"

Shake the boat. If it sloshes you have a problem.

LOL!

Also, are you thinking of polylink (7 layer Old Town material), Koda? It might be what my canoe is made out of.

Root river 10-19-2010

At least Vickie had the good sense to save our beers;-) LOL

IF you shoot enough holes in it..Yes, it will sink.

quote TuscaroraBorealis: "Root river 10-19-2010

At least Vickie had the good sense to save our beers;-) LOL"

Oh my! Nice way to spend a Tuesday... sort of... hope you had somewhere warm to go afterwards!

quote BWPaddler: "

quote TuscaroraBorealis: "Root river 10-19-2010


At least Vickie had the good sense to save our beers;-) LOL"

Oh my! Nice way to spend a Tuesday... sort of... hope you had somewhere warm to go afterwards!"

Beautiful day & we had dry clothes waiting down river so it wasn't so bad. What we thought was a rock we would just bounce off of turned out to be a buried log! Sucked us right under. It was less than knee deep water so, no worries. Actually we had a good laugh about it.

But yes the canoe sunk! And that right quick. lol

I sank a 17’ aluminum canoe and all my gear for the week in a whirlpool. However it was buoyant enough to float, when it came out of the center of the whirlpool. It took me nearly an hour to get out of the water. Then had to go back in the whirlpool with an empty canoe and rescue my gear that was still out in it. Yes they will sink, just depends on the situation.