A canoe is a light, narrow vessel, usually pointed at both ends and open at the top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling oarsmen with a single blade paddle, facing the direction of travel.

In British English, the word "canoe" can also refer to kayak, which is also called Canadian canoe to distinguish it from kayak.

Canoes are widely used for racing and entertainment, such as racing, Riptide, travel and camping, freestyle and general leisure. Since 1936, canoeing has become part of the Olympic Games. The use of kayak determines its hull shape, length and building materials. Historically, canoes were made from canoes on wooden sheds or bark, but building materials evolved into canvas on wooden frames and then into aluminum. Most modern canoes are made of molded plastics or composites such as fiberglass.

Canoes are developed by cultures around the world, including some designed for sails or cantilevers. Until the mid-1800s, canoes were an important means of transport for exploration and trade, and in some places they were still used, perhaps with the addition of outboard engines. In the north of the United States, where canoes have played a key role in history, Canada and New Zealand remain important themes in popular culture.

Hull design must meet different requirements (usually conflicting) for speed, load capacity, maneuverability and stability. The resistance and Propulsion Principle of the boat can be used to calculate the speed of the canoe.

Length: the manufacturer usually represents it as the total length of the boat, but from a performance point of view, the most important is the length of the waterline, especially the value relative to the displacement of the canoe. Displacement refers to the amount of water discharged by the ship. It is equal to the total weight of the ship and its contents, because the floating body displaces its own weight in the water. When canoes paddle in the water, it takes a lot of effort to push all the displaced water away. Canoes are draught hulls: the longer the waterline, the faster the rowing speed. In general, 5.2 m (17 ft) in length can achieve a good balance between capacity and cruising speed. Too big a canoe will only mean extra rowing at cruising speed.

Width (beam): a wider shape provides greater stability at the expense of speed. The canoe passes through the water like a wedge, and shorter boats need a narrower beam of light to reduce the angle at which the wedge passes through the water.

Freeboard: the boat on the higher side is kept dry in the rough water. The cost of high side is extra weight, extra wind resistance and increased sensitivity to crosswind.

Stability and submerged bottom shape: can be optimized for the initial stability of the hull (feel stable when the ship is flat on the water) or the final stability (resistance to rolling and overturning). The hull with a flat bottom has a higher initial stability, while the cross section of a round or V-shaped hull has a higher final stability. The fastest non racing canoes have sharp V-shaped bottoms to cut through the water, but they are difficult to turn and have deep draughts, so they are not suitable for shoals. Canoes with flat bottoms are the most popular among leisure kayakers. At the cost of speed, they have shallow draughts, better turns, and more cargo space. The reason for the low ultimate stability of a flat bottom canoe is that the hull has to wrap a sharper angle between the bottom and sides of the hull than a more rounded bottom. However, the side of the canoe can be constructed to compress the pure line of the side to the inside of the keel line (rather than outward or outward from the keel line), resulting in rollover, which increases the ultimate stability (increased lateral degrees) and can roll before the ship's side is first submerged).

Keels: external keels allow the canoe to better track (keep its course) and stiffen the soft bottom, but they can get stuck on rocks and reduce the stability of the rapids.

The shape of the side of a canoe. The open side above the waterline deflects the water, but requires the paddler to extend the side of the canoe. If the width of the side is less than the width of the waterline (or the maximum width), the canoe is called a tumbler. This increases the ultimate hull stability.

Warpage: from the side of the canoe, the warpage is the number of bends in the hull, very similar to the bending of bananas. A straight keel canoe without a rocker is designed to cover a long distance in a straight line. The whole length of the hull is in the water, so it's well tracked and fast. With the increase of the rocker, the convenience of rotation increases, but at the cost of tracking. Birch bark canoes of Native Americans are usually characterized by extreme rockers.

Hull symmetry: from the top, the largest point of a symmetrical hull is in the center of the hull, and both ends are the same. Asymmetrical hulls usually have the widest section in the back half of the centerline, resulting in longer bows and increased speed.

Modern canoes are usually classified according to their intended use. Many modern kayak designs are hybrid (a combination of two or more designs that can be used for many purposes). The purpose of canoes is often to determine the materials used. Most canoes are designed for one person (solo) or two people (row), but some are designed for more than two people.