Do I remember correctly that in some places (maybe the Pacific coast of Canada) they use the term canoe for what the rest of us call a kayak?
Regarding 'canoe' canoes, I think canoes require a greater level of skill to handle, but if you have that skill they are pretty stable (in flat water anyway.) I also think that people who love canoes are 'boat' lovers as well as outdoors people. Those of us content with the kayaks tend to have a more purely utilitarian regard for boats.
Have any of you ever read John McPhee's Survival of the Bark Canoe?