I felt I had enough time in the saddle to write up a review of a canoe that seems to get no love. No real mentions anywhere on the interwebz and one that is somewhat quirky enough to not fit into any one category.
A special shout out to a member here. I found a few pictures of this canoe online and traced them back to the owner on some social media and contacted him. I asked him if he could tell me a little about his. We now stay in contact and we talk all things canoeing, camping, families, businesses, etc. I found out we are also in a few of the same outdoor oriented forums. Thank you, Scott for being awesome. I hope to one day and have the honor of doing a trip with you.
Now for the review:
The BW solo is most compared to the likes of the NW Solo, Kewaydin 15 and Swift Prospector 14. These are all formidable craft with their own personalities. Similar in size and weight, the measurements at the waterline seem to be the biggest differences. The NW Solo has the most rocker. And that's where the initial differences end, because I feel the BW Solo doesn't really fit with the others mentioned. I would not put this up against the NW Solo especially for example, even though the NW does many things well like the BW. it's a little more performance inspired.
Wenonah has the BW Solo listed in their "recreation" boat catagory and that would be a correct fit. I feel it's not so much a performance boat, but a boat with some performance features. And that's not entirely a bad thing. It's your Dad's trusty old family vacation station wagon he loved. It gets you and your gear there and back.
I have put many hours and a trip in on the BW Solo. The latest paddling around lakes fishing in a 20 acre field of heavy lily pads at the end of a lake where, when moving through to run rubber frogs right through the living room of Mr. Largemouth, the telltale *FLOOOM!* of that bass exploding either on a frog or just to the side of the bow by getting too close to their lair would have had my heart stop and sent me over to the bottom of the lake had I been in my old Blackhawk Zephyr. It was after fishing stuff like this for a few days, with the bottom of the canoe littered with enough now legless and battle worn rubber frogs to look like a casting call for a post war Lt. Dan scene, did I decide it was time to give this canoe a write up.
As a platform to fish out of and spread around some gear, it works wonderfully. This is where the waterline width really shines.
I wanted something under 16 ft and this canoe comes in under at 15'7". So it tracks surprisingly well and responds to correction better than I thought it would with its 1" of rocker. It's not going to bomb down any fast class II, but wide rivers, the occasional riffles and even sparse rock gardens are no problem for this craft.
It's got a nice amount of tumblehome that makes different strokes, and those corrective strokes pleasant to perform. And if so inclined, like my wife using a double bladed paddle, there's enough there that the drip rings leave most of the lake's entire water column out of the canoe.
It glides....kind of. Let's face it, it's no Prism or Voyager. But it is quite easy to paddle and one can put in a very good day and not feel beat up by constantly having to correct a "wobble" on what I consider a "fat boat". I attribute much of the tracking ability to its length. However....She's a little chubby at best. But has a great personality.
I believe (and might be totally wrong) that the BW Solo was designed as a boat for outfitter rentals for people too afraid to let go of the dock when renting a Prism. it's a very user friendly platform. It's a canoe that forgives you for loading gear wrong or when you are trying to wet foot off some rocks and don't quite get your foot quite right but are already too committed and figure what the heck, looks like it's time for a quick swim. The BW Solo in its reassuringly smooth way calmly says, "It's ok Bro....I got you." and it does. It's a very confidence inspiring craft.
Wenonah is known for its centering of seats in its solo designs. Having taken this out on one really good trip so far. If the trip allows, I would do two smaller drybags split between the bow and stern. She is super stable under a load. But if you are using just one big pack, it's best to think about some gear organization to get some weight where it needs to be to even her out a little. One has to give this some thought to keep the canoe acting right under load. No different than any other canoe, but it's a fixed seat and you don't want to hinder any of the characteristics of what handling it has. because this is where it will affect it most notably. There's always a trade off.
So for me, it's kind of a "do it all" boat. I am now long past mega-mile days. I spent too much time as a young man looking at the map and how far I've gone and not enough time appreciating what I was doing. Same with my backpacking.
The BW Solo forces me to slow it down a little. I'll still make camp quite efficiently. I'm not paddling with a headlamp on scouring the shoreline for a site because I lost so much time.
It's a different canoe for me. I can still take this way out there on giant flowages and places like BWCA, drop my gear and go back out to hit a cove or the other side of the island for some fishing, even after a day's paddle. Or I can just go out anywhere and enjoy a day paddle in a package that feels as grounded as if I had 50lbs of gear in the bottom.
I'm pretty happy with this purchase of what I believe is a misunderstood but yet really functional craft. I tend to buy things that I can get more than a single type of use out of, which is what made me think of this canoe as my next. it's versatile. it does all things somewhat well. It's boringly reliable and predictable. It keeps my head in the clouds and my eyes looking around for moose, birds or just taking in the beauty instead of beating the water to a froth to make miles.
I always seem to come back with a smile on my ugly face and glad I took time out of my day to get a paddle in on this canoe. I really like it a lot.
Can't wait to get it out on another big trip.
A special shout out to a member here. I found a few pictures of this canoe online and traced them back to the owner on some social media and contacted him. I asked him if he could tell me a little about his. We now stay in contact and we talk all things canoeing, camping, families, businesses, etc. I found out we are also in a few of the same outdoor oriented forums. Thank you, Scott for being awesome. I hope to one day and have the honor of doing a trip with you.
Now for the review:
The BW solo is most compared to the likes of the NW Solo, Kewaydin 15 and Swift Prospector 14. These are all formidable craft with their own personalities. Similar in size and weight, the measurements at the waterline seem to be the biggest differences. The NW Solo has the most rocker. And that's where the initial differences end, because I feel the BW Solo doesn't really fit with the others mentioned. I would not put this up against the NW Solo especially for example, even though the NW does many things well like the BW. it's a little more performance inspired.
Wenonah has the BW Solo listed in their "recreation" boat catagory and that would be a correct fit. I feel it's not so much a performance boat, but a boat with some performance features. And that's not entirely a bad thing. It's your Dad's trusty old family vacation station wagon he loved. It gets you and your gear there and back.
I have put many hours and a trip in on the BW Solo. The latest paddling around lakes fishing in a 20 acre field of heavy lily pads at the end of a lake where, when moving through to run rubber frogs right through the living room of Mr. Largemouth, the telltale *FLOOOM!* of that bass exploding either on a frog or just to the side of the bow by getting too close to their lair would have had my heart stop and sent me over to the bottom of the lake had I been in my old Blackhawk Zephyr. It was after fishing stuff like this for a few days, with the bottom of the canoe littered with enough now legless and battle worn rubber frogs to look like a casting call for a post war Lt. Dan scene, did I decide it was time to give this canoe a write up.
As a platform to fish out of and spread around some gear, it works wonderfully. This is where the waterline width really shines.
I wanted something under 16 ft and this canoe comes in under at 15'7". So it tracks surprisingly well and responds to correction better than I thought it would with its 1" of rocker. It's not going to bomb down any fast class II, but wide rivers, the occasional riffles and even sparse rock gardens are no problem for this craft.
It's got a nice amount of tumblehome that makes different strokes, and those corrective strokes pleasant to perform. And if so inclined, like my wife using a double bladed paddle, there's enough there that the drip rings leave most of the lake's entire water column out of the canoe.
It glides....kind of. Let's face it, it's no Prism or Voyager. But it is quite easy to paddle and one can put in a very good day and not feel beat up by constantly having to correct a "wobble" on what I consider a "fat boat". I attribute much of the tracking ability to its length. However....She's a little chubby at best. But has a great personality.
I believe (and might be totally wrong) that the BW Solo was designed as a boat for outfitter rentals for people too afraid to let go of the dock when renting a Prism. it's a very user friendly platform. It's a canoe that forgives you for loading gear wrong or when you are trying to wet foot off some rocks and don't quite get your foot quite right but are already too committed and figure what the heck, looks like it's time for a quick swim. The BW Solo in its reassuringly smooth way calmly says, "It's ok Bro....I got you." and it does. It's a very confidence inspiring craft.
Wenonah is known for its centering of seats in its solo designs. Having taken this out on one really good trip so far. If the trip allows, I would do two smaller drybags split between the bow and stern. She is super stable under a load. But if you are using just one big pack, it's best to think about some gear organization to get some weight where it needs to be to even her out a little. One has to give this some thought to keep the canoe acting right under load. No different than any other canoe, but it's a fixed seat and you don't want to hinder any of the characteristics of what handling it has. because this is where it will affect it most notably. There's always a trade off.
So for me, it's kind of a "do it all" boat. I am now long past mega-mile days. I spent too much time as a young man looking at the map and how far I've gone and not enough time appreciating what I was doing. Same with my backpacking.
The BW Solo forces me to slow it down a little. I'll still make camp quite efficiently. I'm not paddling with a headlamp on scouring the shoreline for a site because I lost so much time.
It's a different canoe for me. I can still take this way out there on giant flowages and places like BWCA, drop my gear and go back out to hit a cove or the other side of the island for some fishing, even after a day's paddle. Or I can just go out anywhere and enjoy a day paddle in a package that feels as grounded as if I had 50lbs of gear in the bottom.
I'm pretty happy with this purchase of what I believe is a misunderstood but yet really functional craft. I tend to buy things that I can get more than a single type of use out of, which is what made me think of this canoe as my next. it's versatile. it does all things somewhat well. It's boringly reliable and predictable. It keeps my head in the clouds and my eyes looking around for moose, birds or just taking in the beauty instead of beating the water to a froth to make miles.
I always seem to come back with a smile on my ugly face and glad I took time out of my day to get a paddle in on this canoe. I really like it a lot.
Can't wait to get it out on another big trip.
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