Canoeing is a fun and excellent activity for you and your family. As a buyer, you might be concerned about the canoe, whether they are safe or dangerous than other boats, so let’s see statistically, whether canoeing is safe or dangerous?
Canoeing can be a dangerous activity, but the statistics form the last decade (2010 – 2019) show that canoeing is 17.974 times safer than boating and 1.497 times safer than kayaking. Making a few changes to the way you ride can dramatically reduce the risk of injury, and you can make it a safe sport.
Any sport or activity has its risks and dangers, but those risks or threats shouldn’t concern you from doing those activities. By doing it the right way and the correct way will give you a lot of fun and thrill (by making you no need to worry about the risk of injuries or dangers due to that activity).
So, doing a few changes to the way you ride the canoe (canoeing) will dramatically reduce the risk of injuries and dangers. Canoeing is an enjoyable activity, and it is a safe activity if you do it the right way.
The real question you should be asking yourself is not canoeing safe or not. Of course, it is. The real question you should ask yourself is how to prevent that. That being said, let’s see the statistics of the injuries and accidents due to canoeing. And lastly, some safety measures to take along with it as well.
Related post – Check my article on Is boating safe? (links opens in a new tab) to know statistically whether boating is safe or dangerous.
Interesting Statistics on canoe accidents
The statistics below can be an excellent resource for understanding the significant causes of canoe accidents. And by knowing the causes, you can avoid them by making slight changes in the way you ride, which can immensely reduce your risk of serious injury.
- Drowning is a vital cause of canoeing deaths, and responsible for 75% – 80% of canoeing deaths(source), despite the fact that life jackets are most common among canoeing.
- Capsizing is one of the major accident types related to canoeing and responsible for more than 40% – 60% of canoe accidents. That can be prevented by avoiding overloading the canoe (although you can’t carry much weight in a canoe).
- Falling overboard is the second most accident type related to canoeing, and responsible for more than 25% – 40% of canoe accidents. That can be prevented by loading the weight on the canoe evenly.
- Flooding/swamping is the third most accident type related to canoeing, and responsible for more than 10% – 30% of canoe accidents. That can be prevented by avoiding rough or choppy waters.
- Canoes are good (perfect) for calm waters and may not perform (suit) well in rough or choppy waters. So, better try to avoid rough or choppy waters in prior.
- From 2010 to 2019, a total of 43,058 boating accidents occurred (source). Out of which 940 are related to canoeing, 16,895 are related to motorboats (open and cabin motorboats).
- With that, we can tell that canoes are a lot safer than other boats, especially motorized boats (both open and cabin boats) such as jet boats, personal watercraft, Bayliner, Pontoon boats, Jon boats, etc.
- From 2010 to 2019, a total of 1417 kayak accidents occurred, which is less than canoe accidents 940. With that, we can tell canoeing is safer than kayaking.
- From 2010 to 2019, a total of 6,482 deaths related to boating has occurred, among which 597 deaths are related to canoes, which is significantly less compared to motorboat deaths that are 3,428.
- However, there is a steady decrease in canoe accidents and injuries from 2010 – 2019, which is a good sign that many people are becoming knowledgeable.
- However, there is a steady decrease in canoe deaths from 2010 – 2019, which is a good sign that many people are becoming knowledgeable.
Related post – To know whether kayaks are safe or not? (link opens in a new tab) Check my article on that to known statistically whether kayaking is safe or dangerous?
Canoe, kayak, motorboat, and PWC accidents are given below in the table. By looking into the statistics, you will get to know the distinctions between canoe accidents and other boat accidents.
| Year | Canoe | Kayak | Open and closed motorboats | PWC |
| 2010 (source) | 120 | 92 | 1942 | 1221 |
| 2011 (source) | 108 | 128 | 1887 | 1158 |
| 2012 (source) | 100 | 100 | 1825 | 1111 |
| 2013 (source) | 108 | 113 | 1603 | 954 |
| 2014 (source) | 111 | 131 | 1645 | 891 |
| 2015 (source) | 88 | 133 | 1642 | 1023 |
| 2016 (source) | 93 | 182 | 1800 | 1072 |
| 2017 (source) | 74 | 182 | 1587 | 1028 |
| 2018 (source) | 72 | 177 | 1470 | 1055 |
| 2019 (source) | 66 | 179 | 1494 | 1062 |
You can see the accidents, injuries, and deaths related to the canoe in the table below. By looking into the statistics, you will get to know how many accidents, injuries, and deaths occur in the past years and their trends.
| Year | Deaths | Injuries | Accidents |
| 2010 | 89 | 62 | 120 |
| 2011 | 66 | 60 | 108 |
| 2012 | 52 | 89 | 100 |
| 2013 | 55 | 70 | 108 |
| 2014 | 75 | 52 | 111 |
| 2015 | 68 | 41 | 88 |
| 2016 | 63 | 45 | 93 |
| 2017 | 44 | 42 | 74 |
| 2018 | 44 | 43 | 72 |
| 2019 | 39 | 45 | 66 |
Related post – Check my article on Is Jet skiing safe? (links opens in a new tab) to know statistically whether jet skiing is safe or dangerous.
Some of the safety tips to be followed while canoeing
Now you got to know some of the significant causes of canoe accidents such as capsizing, falling overboard, flooding/swapping, etc. By making some changes to the way you ride, you can avoid some of them.
You can check one of my articles to know the Major causes of boating accidents (opens in a new tab) in a detailed way for each case (cause). Okay, we will now see some of the safety tips to take while canoeing.
Since canoes are small and slim boats, they can easily tilt and capsize if the weather is rough or choppy. That is only the dangerous thing related to canoeing; apart from that, they are good for calm water activities and relaxation purposes.
1. Don’t overload the canoe
- Capsizing is one of the significant causes of canoe accidents; improper loading or overloading or uneven loading causes a canoe to capsize. Especially canoes are very light and can capsize easily. By not overloading the canoe, you are 50% – 60% less likely to die or injure in a canoe accident.
- Although you can’t carry much weight on a canoe, if you are carrying fishing equipment or any gear, then spreading the weight evenly in the canoe and even spreading the bodyweight on the canoe will avoid the majority of canoeing accidents.
2. Better avoid rough waters
- canoes are very light, and they are very easy to get carried away by big waves or winds; it is good to avoid canoeing in rough or choppy waters to prevent flooding/swapping of the canoe. Since canoes are small and slim boats, they can easily tilt and capsize if you go in rough or choppy waters.
- canoes are very likely to get wrecked by the waves and bad weather since they are very light. So, by not using the canoe in rough waters, you can avoid many accidents, making you 40% – 50% less likely to die or injure in a canoe accident.
3. Wear a life jacket (PFD)
- Wearing a life jacket is crucial to do while boating, especially canoeing, because these boats can capsize and flood/swap very easily since they are very light. So, better be prepared by wearing a life jacket.
- Simply wearing a life jacket isn’t sufficient; it should fit you as well, and it should be approved by USCG as well. By wearing an appropriate life jacket that fits well for you while canoeing, you are 70% – 80% less likely to die or injure in a canoe accident (since people are drowning and falling overboard mostly).
4. Check the weather before starting the trip
- Weather is one of the things that concern many people when they think about boating. Like many people think (assume) that the weather is the only dangerous part when it comes to boating, but it is not entirely true; only to some extent.
- By checking the weather condition before starting the trip, you can avoid some percent of canoe accidents, which will make you 20% less likely to die or injure in a canoe (boating) accident. And especially canoes may not perform well in choppy waters.
Those are some of the safety tips to reduce the risks and dangers while canoeing. And some of the causes of canoeing accidents are simple causes, and most of them are easily preventable. Check my article on Boating safety tips (opens in a new tab) to know the essential safety tips in detail.
Still, there are many things to do to prevent canoe (boating) accidents. Check my article on How to avoid boating accidents (opens in a new tab) to know more info about the prevention tips.
Bottom line
Safety is going to be the first priority to anyone, and by taking some measures while boating (operating the boat), you can do that. After making some changes to the way you ride a canoe, you can prevent the majority of the canoe accidents.
Especially canoes may not perform well in rough waters. Other than that, statistics also show that canoes are a lot safer than other boats. Canoeing is a fun activity, and it is a safe activity until if you do something wrong or neglect the boating rules.