Why am I the only one in a Canoe?

For most of my life a canoe was always 16' plus tandem that required technique and a partner to manage effectively, especially in the wind. Then came along the rotomolded kayaks including SOT'S that were more affordable, often with a foot controlled rudder and were not wind catchers like an open canoe.
When we started having children there were used tandem kayaks that made it easy for my wife and I to each paddle with a child in the bow. Eventually as the children grew up and I was not getting any younger, my interest in paddling reverted to curiosity about solo canoes with the intent that 2 solos would be easier to manage than a 90lb tandem. After finding my first used solo canoe I was pleased with this new style of craft.
I think the plethora of affordable used rotomolded kayaks and commonly available inflatable paddleboards have made the sport more accessible to the masses at the right price point along with ease of transport.

If I were not a paddle enthusiast, I might just own one small indestructible rotomolded kayak and be fine with it, but I am fortunately or unfortunately slightly obsessed with the details of paddling.

So I wonder....who is more likely to take an interest in solo canoes? A young single twenty-something, a mid-lifer with teens, or an empty nester? Or is it completely random?

Steve in Idaho said:

So I wonder....who is more likely to take an interest in solo canoes? A young single twenty-something, a mid-lifer with teens, or an empty nester? Or is it completely random?

Click to expand...

I can't remember the last time I saw someone under 50 in a solo canoe except for whitewater. I'm sure there are younger people who would take to it if they had a chance to try it.

Punkinhead said:

I can't remember the last time I saw someone under 50 in a solo canoe except for whitewater. I'm sure there are younger people who would take to it if they had a chance to try it.

Click to expand...

In the past two years I’ve met 6 people under 50 that paddle solo canoes, not even counting myself. If you extrapolate that to the whole country there has to be at least a dozen of us

tketcham said:

We canoeists should keep in mind that the potential market for new recruits realistically doesn't include the buyers of $300 'yaks from the chain stores. It's the Pungo kayakers that show an interest in our canoes at the put-in. It's the first time or returning buyers of watercraft that have limited or no choice in what to purchase. Not without spending way more than they're willing to spend on a boat.

Click to expand...

I kept hoping that someone would start making the Mohawk solo models in T-formex. The Mohawk Solo13, Solo14, and Odyssey were popular canoes around here and it used to be not too hard for a paddler wanting to get into solo canoeing to find one used for a reasonable price. My first solo canoe was a Mohawk Challenger, then at a freestyle symposium twenty something years ago I bought a Solo13. I later sold the Challenger and Solo13 and bought a Mohawk Odyssey which I still have, though more often I paddle composite canoes now.

Besides the availability of affordable solo canoes, paddlers need exposure to people paddling solo canoes. If a new paddler were at a demo day and tried out a Pungo and a Mohawk Solo13 without any instruction they would probably conclude that the Pungo was a better choice. Several times when I've been paddling with a group of kayakers someone has expressed amazement that I am going in a straight line without switching paddle sides. People just aren't aware of the possibilities with a solo canoe. If people in entry level kayaks see solo canoes out on the water then as tketcham says, they start to see the advantages.

PaddlingPika said:

Besides the availability of affordable solo canoes, paddlers need exposure to people paddling solo canoes....

Click to expand...

PaddlingPika said:

Several times when I've been paddling with a group of kayakers someone has expressed amazement that I am going in a straight line without switching paddle sides. People just aren't aware of the possibilities with a solo canoe.

Click to expand...

I've been thinking lately that I should buy a double-blade paddle and occasionally use it with our Swift Prospector 13 at a popular local lake, just so people can see that canoes can be paddled that way. It'd be even better if I learn to do a heeled 180 degree axle or wedge with that "kayak" paddle.