Ice

I have a canoe made out of plastic. Does cold water and ice cause the plastic to get brittle and crack, if one should hit a rock? My canoe is a Rogueriver 14. I would like to keep paddling into the winter. I have stopped going to the river in September .There is a lot of open water in Pennsylvania all winter long. I can not see any reason not to paddle into the winter if the Susquahanna river is not frozen. This river is usually rated novice water. It has some rapids but nothing out of a novice range.

The water on the river will be at or above 0 C 32 F Not realy very cold. I would worry about ice strainers and hypothermia. I paddle in the Atlantic all year. I was out yesterday. Air temp was -10 C when I left the house. Water temp was sub zero It was salt water and had a skim of ice. It was thick enough to support a seal at one point. We got fairly close to him before he vanished under the surface. Take care of your safety and the boat will be fine. All the best Alex.