fat newbe question . a canoe as a kayak ?

[thunderbutt]

i just picked up a grummman eagle 17 ft canoe it has the long keel thing on the bottom i have no idea what a shoe keel is . now i have not been in a canoe for over 50 years back when i was a boy scout. that was only one time. now i'm just too fat about 280 lbs would i be better off l sitting in the front seat looking at the stern and paddle or get one of the lower boat chairs put it in the middle of the canoe and get a kayak paddle ? it will be used for fishing calm waters. i was just at yellville today seen Crooked creek for the first time. i just moved to AR in july 2008 i fell in love with it. seemed pretty slow current seen some sand and gravel bars so i was thinking that crooked creek might be a good place to start to learn. an i right ? oh with sitting in the middle of the canoe it would be about as stable as it's going to get in a canoe and easier to get over some shallow spots. so i sure would like your opinions. i'm also kind of a klutz at times thats also why i'm leaning toward sitting in the middle. i started to do some walking and some dieting want to lose
at least 40 lbs.

[Cowper]

A shoe keel is just a keel that is wider, and not quite so deep. This definition refers to a wooden keel boat, but gives you the general idea:
KEEL: The keel is the wooden strip that runs lengthwise down the middle of the hull on the outside. ‘ ‘shoe keel’ is a flat, wide keel, generally about 2" wide and about 3/8" thick. ‘ ‘standard’ keel is generally deeper than it is wide and, typically, could measure an inch or so deep and 7/8' wide.
In the aluminum boats, the regular keel would be more like 1" deep, maybe 1/8 to 3/16" wide. The shoe keel, I'm guessing from a 30 year old memory, probably 1/2" deep, maybe 1" wide. The shoe keel is slightly better for whitewater, but, the difference between these two keels on an aluminum boat is not that much, while the difference between an aluminum canoe with a keel and an ABS boat with no keel is more of a "night and day" type of difference with the ABS (/plastic) boats being much more enjoyable on shallow or rocky rivers because they slide over the rocks, while aluminum sticks.
On using a kayak paddle - some do; in Texas even more do; here in Arkansas is not the local custom so folks may look at you a little funny. Sounds like you may be like me - you've been around the block a few times, you know exactly how important it is to not have anyone look at you funny. (just guessing, but don't care anymore, right?)
I personally don't like using a kayak paddle in a canoe partly just because it takes a pretty long paddle, so it is heavy. But if you like using the double blade, then go for it.

On Crooked Creek as a learning place - I've got extremely limited experience on that creek, only paddled the lower 8 miles, at pretty good water. There were several places where getting a 17 foot aluminum canoe around the willow trees and through the shoals without crashing and burning would have been a pretty good challenge, so I wouldn't recommend it as a place to learn, especially if on a fishing-type trip where maybe you're the only boat with nobody to help you if you pin on a tree. At much lower water, it would probably be a pretty good fishing experience, but expect to wade the boat past the shoals and shallows.

On positioning yourself near the middle - you're right on track with that. If you want to get fancy, then I would suggest a saddle of some type, basically a foam pedestal that allows you to sit up near the gunwale level for the pools, but then briefly kneel straddling the saddle when going through shoals. If you don't want to mess with the trouble of installing a saddle, then do what you said first - just sit on the front seat, facing the rear. Given that an aluminum canoe is mostly going to be used on easier rivers, I probably wouldn't bother with the saddle thing - I'd use that front seat.

I hope some of this rambling helped...