boat advice: solo canoe for 1-2 week river trips?

[Magnus919]

I've been quietly nerding out on the possibilities here without having good access to actually test paddle many boats beyond the venerable Old Town Discovery and the new Next.

What I'm working up towards is being able to make a trip down the Neuse River of North Carolina from just downstream of the dam at Falls Lake in Raleigh to where it meets salt water in New Bern. If I'm feeling particularly confident, I may go further to complete the Mountains to Sea Trail which is about 216 miles of paddling.

I'm 6'1" and around 250 lbs but shrinking. I'll be under 200 lbs easily by the time I make this trip, with good heart health (doctor is stunned!). I am, however, 40-something with a bad back and bad knees, so I'll happily dig a little deeper for a boat that's no more than 50-60 lbs.

Whether I actually do the full MST run or not is sort of moot. The real point is, I'd like to start doing some multi-day river trips around the eastern half of North Carolina. And I'd like to love the boat that I take with me for that purpose.

 

[Will Derness]

Hard to say what is the perfect boat for you; a lot of factors come into play - carry load, types of water you intend to paddle, etc. But you couldn't go too wrong with an Old Town 16 ' Penobscot in Royalex with aluminum gunnels (58 lbs). It is a tandem boat but flipped around and paddled out of the bow seat it is a nice cruiser with ample storage for camping.

I've got one which I really enjoy, Mike McCrea has one as well and we are both big guys.. Handles up to Class II WW and is reasonably fast on the flats.

I saw one for sale (they are not made any more) in the Wash DC area. I'll try to include a link at the bottom of this message.

I've paddled some of the Neuse. Cliff of the Neuse State Park.is a nice stop over; camping is on the bluffs above the river.

 

[Magnus919]

For giggles, the one I seem to come back to a lot is the Nova Craft Prospector 15. My old river boat was a Mad River St. Croix 14' and it seemed to have plenty of room for gear when paddled solo (just weighed as much as 2 canoes its size should).

The Wenonah Argosy has some appeal along those lines... though I've never been away for long so I do wonder if it might be a case of "not enough boat".

 

[Magnus919]

Here's a bit more about the paddle trail itself...

 

[GreenFrog]

Mad river guide on craigslist in ny.
https://newyork.craigslist.org/stn/bod/5880504734.html

 

[yellowcanoe]

Need Royalex? or poly?

50-60 is tough in a solo in either layup. I have a Swift Raven in RX but its a thick layup and so heavy(65lbs).. A high volume river boat along the lines of the MR Guide.(57 lbs)
Argosy is a tender little canoe . Sitters find it squirrely. Its got a Wenonah flask hull shape.

Composites up the money but down the weight Hemlock SRT and Colden DragonFly

Dave Curtis has a lot of good solos for sale http://www.hemlockcanoe.com/used--demo-canoes.html

Eaglet is a tandem solo combi

I have a Nomad , A high volume tripper

See some of the good buys from the old times. Boats in very good condition like the OT Northern Light and the MR Courier

 

[Nodrama43]

Northstar Polaris. 43 pounds at 16'9". For lots of gear, long trip, moving water I think it would be a good option. I need to get the solo seat installed in mine and get it wet.

 

[memaquay]

Nova craft Super Nova http://www.novacraft.com/canoes/supernova-14-10/

 

[charlie wilson]

There are several solo boats that will cart enough gear for two weeks, but because you want to sit we need err towards wider ones. DragonFly and SRT are narrow with rounder bottoms and Supernova also has a round bottom, not exactly what sitters feel most comfortable in. Wilderness, Northstar Solo and Phoenix come to mind but the first two exhibit significantly less rocker than cataloged. Swift's Shearwater, Clipper's Caribou and Merrimack's Baboosic should do the job. I've a comprehensive list of solo canoes that may prove helpful. email charliewilson77@gmail.com for electronic copy.

 

[frozentripper]

Magnus, since the American greenback is worth quite a bit more than the Canadian loonie right now, you might find some good deals up here in the Canadian frozen north after it thaws out early May... both Novacraft and Swift make 15" Prospectors since you mentioned it and could be compared by test-paddling against Swift's Shearwater (this would be my choice for something roomy and comfortable but I'm hesitant to rec anything since canoe choice is pretty subjective).

IIRC the Shearwater is lighter, about 36 pounds in expedition kevlar making it easier on the back while still being tough enough to take some hard knocks on the inevitable rocks. Rentals on trips through Algonquin park might also be possible.

http://www.swiftoutside.com/rentals

 

[UPpaddler]

Charlie Wilson mentioned the Wenonah Wilderness. I agree, it doesn't have much rocker, but for your physical size, it is worth considering, I think. It has taken me a few years to finally figure out how to paddle it well, but now that I have it figured out, it is a reasonably maneuverable canoe, seaworthy, and can carry a substantial load. It's certainly not a whitewater boat by any stretch of the imagination, but it isn't too bad in class II waters. It will spin 180 degrees with a Duffek stroke in flat water, even when going slowly. It sideslips nicely, especially drawing sideslip (but that might just be my poor prying sideslip skills).

If you are going to be down on the Piedmont a lot and lesser on fast, technical water, it is a pretty good boat at an affordable price.

 

[yellowcanoe]

We might change the topic to a Solo River boat that you can get....

Around here we see no Nova Craft and no Wenonahs..

If you want to go to Connecticut keep an eye out for Collinsville Canoe and Kayaks spring paddling event..

http://www.collinsvillecanoe.com/canoes

 

[UPpaddler]

The OP is in North Carolina. There are plenty of Wenonah dealers there. Old Town dealers, too.

 

[Grandpa Paddler]

Charlie Wilson mentioned the Wenonah Wilderness. I agree, it doesn't have much rocker, but for your physical size, it is worth considering, I think. It has taken me a few years to finally figure out how to paddle it well, but now that I have it figured out, it is a reasonably maneuverable canoe, seaworthy, and can carry a substantial load. It's certainly not a whitewater boat by any stretch of the imagination, but it isn't too bad in class II waters. It will spin 180 degrees with a Duffek stroke in flat water, even when going slowly. It sideslips nicely, especially drawing sideslip (but that might just be my poor prying sideslip skills).

If you are going to be down on the Piedmont a lot and lesser on fast, technical water, it is a pretty good boat at an affordable price.

Magnus, I'm close to your size, 6' 235#'s and I paddle a Wenonah Wilderness in Royalex. Generally I trip scratchy rivers that are sometimes "quick" (max class II) and it handles well even with food and gear in excess of 75#'s. I'm a sitter and after 2 trips, lowered the seat. I'm seriously considering moving the seat sternward 3 or 4". It's not a speed demon but with a doubleblade. I can generally keep up.

 

[yellowcanoe]

the trick is that though there are many Wenonah Dealers listed in NC. I looked at their websites and they are all kayak.. Not a canoe to be found Wenonah or otherwise.

Thats the trouble with professed dealers.. Solo stock is a hellion to find.

Appomattox River Co in VA is a dealer no boats listed. I am not sure it is still around . Mike would know. It used to have a rep as a very good paddlesport store with canoes.

 

[JoeO]

I almost bought a shearwater this past spring I weigh 270 plus with gear It felt like I was sitting on top of a cork I had a lot of freeboard strong wind would have blown me over I then tried a wilderness it was better but still very tippy I was using a canoe paddle maybe a kayak paddle would have been better. I was a cold day and I did not want to go swimming even with a drysuit

 

[BWCA66]

Since Charlie Wilson mentioned it I would love to build you a Merrimack Baboosic.

 

[yellowcanoe]

But the Baboosic like the Prospector is a bit of handling.. Not a straight line boat but a good river boat. Babs and Prospectors have symmetrical rocker and if there is a stern wind she will broach.. In tidelands with wind exposure this could matter.

The FreeStyle Nationals were won by a paddler in a Baboosic.

Lots of freeboatd is a good thing safety wise.. Likely it wasn't that much more than six inches.. Paddlers tip.. not boats.. Just Saying.. Nerves don't help though When you get tense you forget to breathe and your muscles actually tremble leading to that unsteady feeling. The Shearwater is a big boat and very steady .. in warmer conditons you might have liked it. its funny how our minds play games with us...!

 

[Magnus919]

So much for me to digest... I did just google the Baboosic after having it mentioned twice. OMG what a beautiful boat!

I already have the big flat water family picnic boat (Old Town Camper 16) so "a good river boat" is fine. And our rivers down east tend to be gentle with some class I/II level thrills peppered in.

BWCA66 am I to understand correctly that you're with Merrimack?

-M

 

[BWCA66]

So much for me to digest... I did just google the Baboosic after having it mentioned twice. OMG what a beautiful boat!

BWCA66 am I to understand correctly that you're with Merrimack?

-M

Yeah, my son and nephew own and run the Sanborn Canoe CO that makes paddles and we bought the Merrimack company last spring and moved it to MN. It had been dormant for over a year.