Good solo boat for my local Tennessee River reservoirs?

Id prefer to buy used to save $s even if I have to make a days drive to get it. For those familiar, Im talking about Guntersville, Wheeler, Wilson, & Pickwick.


They can range from 1/4 mi wide with some significant current below the dams to up to 2+ miles across of open water, even 5mi or more of open water up or down river. Theres power boats of all types plus barge traffic. Waves can reach 3' in a sudden thunderstorm if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, but Id be dealing with 5-15 mph winds on a normal day. Id be mostly day touring, maybe an occasional one nighter with minimal gear. Im 5'7", around 175lb, and 68 yrs old with some rheumatoid arthritis induced mobility issues. But I still like to get out there even tho I have to push myself sometimes. Wind is the main factor/obstacle to deal with. Id like to be able to put in 10-15 mi a day without total exhaustion.
So something with minimal rocker that tracks/glides well, isn't a sail, and dry enough to be able to handle whitecaps if necc are the main considerations besides weight. 50lb is about my absolute limit. So some combination of glass/kevlar/carbon, altho Royalex or equal could be acceptable as long as weight is in the 50lb and under range. I won't be portaging but I dont want to lift more than that on and off of my tall 4Runner. The longer the better for tracking/speed up to 16' or so. Im just not at all familiar with canoes designed for this kind of use especially of the solo variety. Ive always paddled smaller rivers, whitewater, and sheltered creeks but I want something for my local "big water" mainly because it's close by and convenient and I need the exercise. Shuttles on flowing rivers ant always easy to arrange and the big river is a good place for out and back paddles. My Esquif Echo can handle it but its a bit too much effort. Its a bit too rockered and playful and doesn't have much glide, although I like its narrowness and tumblehome. I did 6 miles on Wheeler in a little over 2 hrs in the Echo the other day but I was pretty beat afterwards. It's much more of a playful river runner than an open water miles eater. Ive thought about a sea kayak but Im a canoe guy at heart and I like the weight, transport, and cargo advantages of a canoe vs a long skinny yak.
What models should I be looking out for?

There are many to consider. Hemlock Perigrine, Swift Keewaydin 15, Northstar Northwind solo are some I would start with for lake travel. If you intend miles wide crossings you might opt for something with a bit more depth to handle large boat wakes. Maybe a Prospector type hull? Swift makes a few lengths.

Others will have additional choices that might fulfill that depth spec. I would remain closer to shore when there is powerboat traffic…but that’s just me. Happy hunting, test paddle before you buy.

I'd recommend going as light as your budget allows. There's a good chance your 50 pound lifting limit will continue to decrease.

Alan

If you're interested in building, The 16' 3" version of the Freedom Solo from Bear Mountain might work well for you. I would be concerned in 3 foot swells (I'd, actually, probably be on shore waiting it out) but, otherwise, it should do what you'd like and mine (built from Aspen which is heavier than Cedar) weighs about 45 lbs.

The Raven that I recently finished would be a much better choice for 3 foot swells but it is a much larger (& deeper) hull and is tough to bring in under 50#

Sorry I can't advise you on commercially available hulls; the only commercial solo that I own (or have ever paddled) is a Sawyer Summersong which is likely to be difficult to find down there, weighs almost as much as my Freedom and doesn't play well with rough water any better than the stripper.

As Alan has suggested, go as light as you can if weight is already an issue (or if you'd like to prolong the period of time where it is not an issue) and let us know what you end up with.

Agree I need to go as light as possible.
I have no plans to be caught in 3 ft swells, but thunderstorms and big winds can come up fast. Ive experienced it myself trying to get back to the launch ahead of one in a 14 ft jonboat, not fun. But it's a real possibility to get caught in one if you arn't careful. Even if no crossing is involved the shallow backwaters are big and wide, winds can blow up or down river, and it can be difficult to find a good place to beach and wait a storm out.
But a boat for this isn't something Im gonna spend a lot of money on. It's something Id pull out mostly for a few hrs in the heat of the summer when the rivers are too low to run and my local TVA backwater creeks are too hot, humid, muggy, and buggy to really enjoy. At least on the bigger water there's a breeze and a few places you can go for a swim to cool down.
My plans are once I sell the fishing yak to just keep scouring Facebook groups and marketplace for a good deal. Theres always the option to of a mini vacation if something really nice turns up.
But as far as canoes go I doubt I'll find a suitable one that's affordable, and will prob wind up with a used sea kayak because they seem to be way more of them out there. Theres a 17' plastic Necky or sale right now for $800 about 30 min away, but its a bit on the heavy side at 55 lb.

If you can find one, a Mohawk Solo 14 in R84 sounds like it'd be the ticket. In the high hundreds but easily under a thousand used. It's roughly the same dimensions as your Echo, but a little flatter and a little lighter. But honestly - and I know what website I'm on - if I were looking at a five-mile open water crossing I would be in a sea kayak.
I would be watching 3 foot waves from shore; I've done it and it's not fun in an open solo boat.

+1 on the Solo 14. I've fought my way through some pretty big wind waves in mine.

And good luck finding one. People who have them tend to keep them.

Having said that, my mind goes to the decked canoes. Easy Rider TSL1, Clipper Sea 1, Mad River Monarch, and the expensive Kruger boats.

And that reminds me...the Wenonah Moccasin did well when I had it out in 20 mph wind the other day. I was glad I wasn't far from shore though.

You could go with one of the lower shear boats like my Clipper Solitude, with an added splash cover. Before I did that, I had a Dagger Sojourn with composite decks added, and I was able to run some class 2 wave trains without taking on much water in that. I also run a splash deck on the Solo 14 when big waves might be in play.