A player paddles in a "Waka" canoe. This animation has since been removed from RuneScape.
A Canoe is a boat that can be made to access faster transportation on the River Lum. This is the only boat that a player can design. They require the Woodcutting skill. At every canoe station there is an NPC to teach you how to make a canoe.
Canoes were added in an update on 7 March 2006.[1] Free-to-play players were given access to canoes on 15 February 2011.
How to make Canoes
A player creates a waka canoe.
Take a Hatchet to a canoe station at one of the below stations (excluding Wilderness) and then find a canoe tree. If you do not have a hatchet, the NPC will now lend you one, but the speed of cutting is quite slow. These trees can be found at canoe stations, and appear larger and leafless compared to regular trees. These stations are located in the following places.
- Lumbridge: On the west side of the river to the east of the furnace. Barfy Bill is at this canoe station. The coding of the canoes was re-worked (through a patch) on the 12 October 2010.[2] This resulted in the Lumbridge canoeing station moving from being on the east side of the river a bit south of the house where goblins respawn, to where it currently is.
- Champions' Guild: On the east side of the river west of the wheat field. Tarquin is at this canoe station.
- Gunnarsgrunn: South of the eastern bridge on the east side of the river. Sigurd is at this canoe station.
- Edgeville: On the east side of the river near the guard post and the grand exchange shortcut. Hari is at this canoe station.
- Level 35 Wilderness: At the lake south of the moss giants. To go back, run south-west until you run past the north-west entrance to the Wilderness Volcano, then go south past Bandit Camp until you reach level 20 wilderness. If you have a teleport of some sort, use it. If you do not, run south-east until you reach the wilderness border and jump over it. Players cannot return by canoe from this station, as there is no canoe tree. You cannot teleport from here, due to its depth in the wilderness. Upon choosing the wilderness pool, you will be given the wilderness warning message. Beware of player killers when using canoes to enter the Wilderness.
When the player has found a canoe tree at one of these stations they must cut the tree down. The player has to click on the fallen tree and select what type of canoe they want to make. When they have made the canoe they want, they can click on the canoe to push it in the river. When in the river, the player can click on the canoe and select where they want to go. You cannot take a canoe if you have a familiar.
Canoes can only go to a certain number of stations away, before sinking (Note that this only happens when players exit a canoe, and not while they are sitting in it). When you have travelled to a station, 'A Sinking Canoe' appears and when examined it, it will say, "Glug, glug, glug."
Higher level canoes can go farther than lower level canoes. It is recommended that players make the highest canoe they can make, as this helps train Woodcutting. An uncommon but efficient way of training woodcutting is by making wakas and travelling back and forth. (For maximum experience profit, use an Inferno Adze or Dragon Hatchet.)
Previously, an animation was used, but it has since been removed. When going to most locations, grassy shores with bullrushes would be seen. While going to the Wilderness pond, the cut-scene would show the canoe paddle into a cave.
Paddles were originally needed to use canoes, but this idea was later scrapped. The player did appear to use a paddle in the canoe animation before it was updated, and "Paddle" still appears as an item in Quickchat. Some NPCs near canoe stations are still holding one.
There is a glitch were if having an Inferno Adze in your inventory and then using the canoe station, the Inferno Adze will appear as a Dragon Hatchet.
Canoe types
| Canoe | Picture | Level | Experience | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Log | 
|
12 | 30 | It can travel to one station away from where the player made it. It cannot enter the wilderness. |
| Dugout | 
|
27 | 60 | It can travel up to two stations away from where the player made it. It cannot enter the wilderness. |
| Stable dugout | 
|
42 | 90 | It can travel to any station except the wilderness. |
| Waka | 
|
57 | 150 | It can travel to every station. Because the Waka canoe is the only canoe that can travel into the Wilderness, it is useful for accessing certain Treasure Trail locations. |
Trivia
- The chopping sounds when making the canoe are the old woodcutting sounds, which were used prior to a sound update.
- Although the quest Gunnar's Ground changed the name of Barbarian Village to said title, the canoeing map doesn't reflect this change.
- When you borrow a hatchet from an instructor to use to make a canoe, it appears to be an Iron hatchet. But, when returned to the instructor, it becomes a Bronze hatchet, this has been fixed.
- Waka means Canoe in Māori.