Best all-around design?

[OxbowJay]

I have learned a lot about canoes in the past year. My first canoe was a 16' OT Camper, which is stable, great on ponds/flat water, but not very dynamic on moving water. About a year ago, I picked up an Esquif "Echo" and quickly learned that soloing is an entirely different experience from paddling a tandem. (I also learned not to wear waist-high waders while learning how to keep a solo upright on moving water.) Last month, I picked up a 17' MR Duck Hunter (Revelation hull), which I am looking forward to getting on the water, probably as a dedicated tandem.

In the past, I thought a 16' MR Explorer design was a practical design for a tandem to be paddled solo, but lately I have started to think that 16' Prospectors make a better all-around tandem for paddling solo on Michigan rivers and lakes. What do the experts say?

 

[Tryin']

You will find many, many reinforcing opinions on the suitability of 16' class "prospector" hulls for solo paddling, particularly with large paddlers and/or large loads. However, not all prospectors are Prospectors, and the individual hull characteristics vary widely within the class.

 

[Alan Gage]

@Gamma1214 is currently building the best ever all purpose hull designed for a mix of lakes and rivers. If anyone wants to refute that they can build one to test it out.

Alan's Bloodvein II

I've come to enjoy building canoes during the winter and experimenting with different wood combinations. The decision of what to build is normally tough but was made easy this time as the plans for my 2026 build are courtesy of @Alan Gage. Although this hull has been called other things, I'll...

www.canoetripping.net

 

[OxbowJay]

So what characteristics make a "Prospector" a Prospector?

 

[Benson Gray]

So what characteristics make a "Prospector" a Prospector?

There were a broad variety of Chestnut Prospectors models so the answer varies. The most obvious element is that they tended to be deeper than the similar pleasure models. The 1934 catalog page below may help.

Benson