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Don't try a Hobie Pedal drive kayak.  It will ruin you for life on all other kayaks.  I now own 2 Hobie PA14s, a Hobie Revo 13 and Revo 16, and a Wilderness Systems Radar 115 w/ pedal drive.  The Hobies are amazing.

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They have...fins?

I was looking at a HooDoo. Those have actual propellers vs fins. Is one drive system superior or is it the overall package that makes the Hobie superior?

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There is defiantly a place in the world for 16-20' canoes.  They are drying to paddle, if designed right can hold a shitload of camping gear.  There is a reason they are the premier paddle based camping tool of choice.  They just require a skill set to be used successfully.  You have to paddle as a team.  You have to know what to do, and communicate.  They are a true joy when you can work together as a team.  Starting out - avoid them like the fucking plague. That said, if I could get my wife to take classes with me - could easily be my boat of choice.

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Slow rivers

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Okay, several people have tried to steer me away from 2-person kayaks. The one we used yesterday seemed just fine. What is the drawback to having a two person kayak?

The rental we used had two seats in it and adjustable foot rests. The space between us was open which was perfect for our backpack or maybe a cooler

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In Missouri, we paddle canoes from birth. With thousands of miles of clear-flowing Ozarks streams, a lot of us have spent countless hours and days on float trips. For years the ubiquitous 17-foot aluminium Grumann or Osage canoe was all you saw. A lot of the liveries switched to plastic Old Towns, etc but you still see a lot of aluminium. Nowadays kayaks are popular but “float trip” still equals canoe for most folks.

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They have...fins?

I was looking at a HooDoo. Those have actual propellers vs fins. Is one drive system superior or is it the overall package that makes the Hobie superior?

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Including many who do the mr340.

https://rivermiles.com/mr340/

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Summary of stuff I learned about this:

- go up wind first
- check weather forecast
- get fisherman's real time data on water temp, memorize the water temp survival chart, if you can't self rescue at this temp, don't go
- get some wheels to strap on your boat so you aren't dragging it through 100 yards of goose shit at the park that looked easy on the internet map
- floatation device needs to be worn, and it needs to not interfere with paddling
- no matter how tired you are, the hardest part of the day is getting that big wet heavy fucker back on the roof, leave some strength for that (see goose shit drag comment above)
- wrap your paddle with drip guards
- check vehicle user manual for actual proper tie down points, do not skimp on tie downs

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Those folks are insane. I know several people who have done it, and I tell them so.

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Twice... it's a state of mind.

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Kayaking is a bunch of separate hobbies rolled into one name.  Each one has different design goals, and then within each one are many interpretations on how to achieve those goals.  Will see how much I type before I give up...

Physics.  It is the first place to start.  Kayaks are displacement hulls.  When a object moves in the water it creates a wake.  The wake is in all directions - like a stone hitting the water.  As the Kayak moves, the wake (or if you are more digital, wakes) are continually created.  Since you are moving in one direction, the wakes in the front get closer together,  the sine wave shape of the "wakes" combine and add together.  Then you start to see a tell tale wake.  The speed of the wakes is directly related to the length of the hull.  As you approach the speed of the wake, the combinations of the "wakes" get more in phase, the wake becomes more vertical.  A displacement hull does not have the energy to climb over this vertical wall of "wakes".  Long story short - long hulls are possible to paddle faster than short ones.  They also tend to track better (abet may be more prone to weathercocking).  They are harder to turn, and don't spin worth a damn.  They often have rudders - to deal with the weathercocking and be a crutch to help paddle strait.  Shorter boats can be more playful, but are a pain in the ass to paddle miles on flat water.

Stability is in your mind.  But yes, the lower you can seat yourself the more stable the individual hull will be.  Wide hulls have more initial stability (but more drag, same with long boats), The trade off is once you learn how to paddle, the secondary stability of wide boats suck.  As you learn to paddle and as you learn how to control your own stability, by and large you find high initial stability to be like wearing a leg brace - it prevents you from doing what you should be able to do.  Most sit on top kayakers never get to this point...

Kayaking can be a pain in the ass.  Literally.  If you lack flexibility and have/or have anterior pelvic tilt you are going to have a harder time to sit upright.  Sitting upright is the key to the normal forward stroke - it comes from your core, twisting your upper body.  A taller seat helps get you upright, but hurts stability, it also makes the kayak stroke less efficient - and that is why canoeist use single bladed paddles (single blade is more efficient when you are sitting higher).  I paddled kayaks thousands of hours over several years - I have anterior pelvic tilt.  When I paddled 3 days a week, I could generally work out the nerve deafness in about 5 minutes then paddle the rest of the day.  (if your hips are tilted back, you will be putting pressure on a nerve).  Now I am less flexible and understand it would probably take me hundreds of hours in a boat to be able to sit correctly and not have my legs go constantly numb.  A canoe is not really a problem, but a kayak simply hurts.

To a large degree, you get what you pay for in a boat.  Better materials and better design make a stronger, more ridged, and lighter boat.  You will hate putting a heavy boat in/on your vehicle.  You will hate carrying it to the water.  As it flexes in the water (oil cans) it will rob power.  That said, everyone has to do their cost benefit analysis and not every hull is designed for every situation (most decent ones are all specialized).  Too light and too ridged - does not deal with rocks and mistakes as well.  My white water and surf boats generally weight 50-60lbs.  My flat water boats (which are mostly race boats) weight 20-30lbs.  Some of those are river boats - when you use them for white water running, understand they get torn up, need repairs, have a finite life.  But every racer will use them, the heavy more flexible hulls are dogs in the water.  I will admit this, when I tried to get back into kayaking/canoeing, I tested an unlimited class race boat.  OMG, -0- initial stability.  Without actively trained muscle memory-it was a workout to keep upright.  Even the hard core racers admit that a certain amount of energy always goes to keeping them upright.  I was not worthy anymore.

Generally my recommendation is to rent a few times - try a few different hull shapes.  Take a 6-8hr beginner class (the intro class is not a bad idea, but it is not nearly enough).  Consider renting a few more times after the class, see how the boats feel before and after the class.  Then figure out how you intend to use the boat and get one at least somewhat designed for that use.  I started out wanting to sea kayak, but my boat got destroyed in shipment so I got a poc tiny surf ski to play with.  If I had spent $200 more, I could have gotten a fairly nice sit on top that I would probably still use for the coast or fishing occasionally.  Most of my paddling was white water, slalom, and canoe polo (a sport created to train for slalom off season).  Still I loved getting into a decent sea kayak (there were tons of shitty ones) and just cranking out miles and watching the scenery.  After 30 years, I now have the sea kayak of my dreams - and it hurts too much to paddle it (I really need to start putting in those hours to get back into shape (flexibility) to enjoy it.  But I also have 2 white water boats, 5 or 6 sit on tops, 2 canoes, my old polo boat, and probably few others I am failing to count (such as the stand up paddle boards).

If you actually do get into the hobby, keep taking classes.  There are tons of skills to learn, and as you learn them you tend to be able to enjoy your time on the water more.  But perhaps that is just how I work.  I ended up getting my ACA Sea Kayaker Instructor certification - but never really taught classes.  But even the classes to get that were some of my most memorable times on the water.  Best classes I took were from slalom classes taught by an Olympic caliber canoeist.  I remember being pissed that I missed one of his classes because I was the trophey date at a wedding for a fiend with benefits.  We had a rain event that day (not at the wedding, but over the river system his class was on).  Everyone who attended had their vehicles totaled.  River went up 50' during the class - and it cut off the bridges out of the area first.  Honestly, a few vehicles might have marginally survived when they started off roading them and driving through fences. to escape the flood.
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Kayak joke.  What do you call a single person kayak - a K1.  What do you call a single person canoe - a C1.  What do you call a 2 person kayak - a K2.  What do you call a 2 person canoe - a divorce.  Canoes are harder to control than kayaks - absolutely definitely take classes if you go that route.  But in general - just don't get a tandem boat period.  Well, unless you are willing to absolutely willing learn how to tandem canoe.  There are actually advantages to tandem canoes - but damn they have a brutal learning curve.

Tandem Kayaks are heavy as fuck, long as fuck - and only have marginally better hull speed than a solo boat designed for distance.  My tandem was probably the worse money I ever spent kayaking.  I kept it because it does have a few very marginal usages.  It is barely easier to go out with kids.  My youngest is 10 now - she can paddle her own damn boat.  2 11' sit on tops will be much more relaxing and fun than a 14' tandem.  To really get an advantage out of a tandem - you probably want closer to a 20' boat.  By then you have all the fun of a brutal learning curve.

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Ex wife and I bought a set from Dick's Sporting Goods for a local lake we used them with. Stuffed them in the back of my truck to get them there. You know what, paddleing sucks. Get a motor as if I had to do it all over again a motor would have brought us both much fun.

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They have...fins?

I was looking at a HooDoo. Those have actual propellers vs fins. Is one drive system superior or is it the overall package that makes the Hobie superior?

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I have no knowledge to add, but I do have a friend that has a super nice one setup to go fishing in spots you can't take a boat. It has a trolling motor and everything. Pretty sweet. I'm not sure on the weight but the one time I helped him carry it I swear it weighs like 300 lbs loaded up with all his gear.

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/285899/kayak_jpeg-2416875.JPG

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how far from Madison Wisconsin are you?  check out these guys, even their website is a good source. At the store they will let you try out some models on the lake.

https://www.rutabagashop.com/

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Yeah, an insane state of mind . . .

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Wife and I usually rent a canoe but this time we went with a kayak and found it much easier so now we are looking to purchase one.  What should we look for?  What should we avoid?

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OP, you and the wife will be happier with 2 kayaks instead of a tandem.