I wear rain bibs in my solo canoe when I'm out in colder weather. And wear wool. While I acknowledge that neoprene waders have some buoyancy, I've swum in 'gumby suits' before, and it's much easier said than done. It's tough to climb back into a boat with full waders, somewhat less difficult if the water can drain out your cuffs while attempting to self-rescue.
I'd say that a SOT kayak is easiest to learn, with pirogue at the opposite end. Conversely, I'd say that singlehanding a pirogue (or 2-person canoe) is the safest and most versatile, but requires the most technique to operate. With a SOT kayak, you will get wet. That's the idea, to splash around at the cabin in the summer, catch some fish, and if you fall off (unlikely) you can get back on easily enough. Learning to paddle a straight course in a pirogue or tandem canoe takes technique, and practice, but once you master it there are few things you can't do with it. I've seen canoe guides in the BWCA with a canoe full of gear, sometimes towing/pushing another canoe, to aid stranded clients, on more than one occasion - and they move faster and more nimbly than the tourists on the water with them. But that's the result of hours on the water.
If you get a 15ish' canoe on Craigslist, with conventional bench seats, sit in the 'front' seat, facing backwards. Put a weight - cinderblock, rock, 5 gallon bucket of water, your pack, whatever, in the 'bow', as far 'forward' as it will go, to counterbalance your body weight. Take this setup fishing all summer. By the time hunting season rolls around you'll know whether or not it's a good idea to take this same rig hunting, and you'll also have a good idea on how to pack your gear, deer, etc inside.
