The Miami Herald July 13, 1985 Saturday FINAL EDITION PADDLE YOUR OWN BYLINE: JOHN SHERWOOD

Herald Staff Writer SECTION: LIVING TODAY; D; Pg. 1 LENGTH: 916 words

The easiest, least expensive way to get out on South Florida's waterways on your own (other than by swimming, tubing or air mattressing) is by canoe. Sure, canoes are "tippy," but it's a sport worth a try and may even open a whole new way of life if you find nature, tranquility and the water all to your liking. Messing about in canoes, one must exercise a degree of caution, even starting out in "flat" water, as opposed to "white" water. Canoeing in urban Southeast Florida is quite safe and is done mostly on small lakes and canals. The best canoeing, on rivers, is in the middle and northern parts of the state, as described in the Florida Department of Natural Resources free canoeing pamphlet, "Guide to Florida Canoe Trails." But before you start shopping, outfitting and adapting your life to canoeing, it might be wise to try renting a canoe because, after all, there are people who soon discover they cannot stomach boats of any kind. In Dade County parks, aluminum canoes are available at Amelia Earhart Park, 401 E. 65th St., near Hialeah, at $4 an hour. Canoeing here is on a small open lake and on some canoe trails. Also in Dade, canoes are rented at $5 an hour at Larry and Penny Thompson Park, 12401 SW 184th St., South Dade. The popular Mohawk Blazer canoes, made in Longwood, Fla., are used in lakes and canals in Broward parks and can be rented for $4.50 an hour at West Lake Park, 1200 Sheridan St., Hollywood; Markham Park, State Road 84 near Bonaventure; Quiet Waters Park on Power Line Road in Pompano Beach, and at Tradewinds Park on Sample Road in Coconut Creek. In South Broward's park district, Mohawk canoes are rented for $4 an hour at T.Y. Park at North Park Road and Sheridan Street in Hollywood, C.B. Smith Park at Hollywood Boulevard and Flamingo Road in Pembroke Pines also rents Blazers for $4 an hour. Once you've decided canoeing is actually enjoyable, a step up the canoeing ladder might be to consider John Judy's "Gourmet Canoe Trips" that leave around 6 p.m. July 23 from The Rustic Inn on the Dania Cut-Off Canal near Griffin Road (call 761-5385 for reservations).

Judy, an experienced canoeist who also tosses in free lessons, charges $10 a person for an hour's guided tour, canoeing from The Sea Fare Whiskey Creek Restaurant on Aug. 20 and 27 and from Tugboat Annie's on Sept. 10 and 24. This does not include any gourmet food, however. That's up to you. If the canoeing bug is beginning to take hold, it's time for the next step: something with a ring of adventure to it. Judy, who will be white-water rafting in Alaska in August, also leads two-day overnight wilderness canoe trips starting in early autumn. His "Florida Adventures" in Plantation provides transportation, canoes, tents and meals (everything but sleeping bags) at rates beginning at $45 a person (call 584-7669 for reservations). Another possibility is Canoe Outfitters of Florida, in Jupiter, located on the Loxahatchee River at Palm Beach County's Riverbend Park on State Road 706 west of Florida Turnpike Exit 48. Rentals are $3.50 an hour (3-person capacity), with a 2- hour minimum. All-day rentals, at $15, are for a 9-mile downriver trip that includes bus transportation back to your car. Reservations must be made by calling 746-7053 (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). The more adventurous can step up to Everglades Canoe Outfitters at 39801 Ingraham Highway in Homestead (246-1530) operating in the Flamingo area of the Everglades National Park. Guides are available, although the 100-mile backcountry wilderness waterway is well marked for those who travel without a guide. Overnight camping and outfitting is also available. Canoe rentals start at $10 per person for a half-day, 4-hour rental. In the Lower Keys, naturalist Stan Becker, using 17-foot Blazers out of the Big Pine Key area, leads all-day (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) nature tours for as many as 15 people. The $45 a person fee includes lunch. Call 872-2620. Be sure to ask about the mosquitoes. If the bugs are too bad, the trips may be canceled or re-routed. The final step, obviously, is buying your own canoe. The advantage of shopping at a canoe store, or at a wilderness outfitter, is in consulting with experienced outdoors people. They also have free pamphlets dealing with tips in choosing a canoe, and they can probably steer you to canoeing activities through canoeing enthusiasts. There are more than 100 canoe manufacturers, with many making 10 or more models at prices ranging from $150 to more than $2,500, so there are some decisions to be made. The $299 Mohawk Blazer, say experts such as Bud Heath, of Campers Paradise, 9735 NW 27th Ave., Miami, is one of the most popular all-around canoes in South Florida. Well-crafted and designed, the 16-foot fiberglass canoe weighs only 68 pounds and has a 700-lb. capacity. "Aluminum canoes," he says, "are hotter, more expensive, noisier in the water and heavier for portaging and cartopping."

Those already hooked on canoeing find an almost perverse delight in hooking others onto their sport, so be forewarned: It can be a consuming activity and there is much to be discussed as to the most suitable canoe for your individual purposes, which may change as your interests develop. There are also the questions of proper paddles, life preservers, seat cushions, racks, camping equipment, and a whole range of other new things to think about. But look at it this way: You are finally out canoeing, which is where you've wanted to be all along, only you just didn't know it until now.

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