Deciding which canoe

[yknpdlr]

Other than my Hornbecks, each of my solo canoes was ordered with a 1.5" riser above the highest available stock high seat. All are paddled with a single blade paddle, single side. I had to argue with Joe Moore when he did not want to do it with my PB Shadow because he has had three previous customers return theirs with that modification because they couldn't keep their canoe upright. But it works fine for me and is sufficiently stable if I don't hold a heavy camera higher than my head while stationary.

 

[Canoewiia]

One question I have has to do with stability while quietly fishing in a non-moving canoe. My Bluewater kevlar canoe, which I used for many years to fish in, was 16'6", flat-bottom, and wide. I do not remember the width at the gunwale but very stable. Never an issue.

A Swift Prospector 13' is only 27" at the gunwale and waterline. but a maximum width of 30".

Is 27" wide enough to comfortably fish (baitcasting) on flat water? How would the stability be when the the canoe is not moving yet I'm casting, reaching for lures, and reeling in lunker bass?

 

[Alan Gage]

One question I have has to do with stability while quietly fishing in a non-moving canoe. My Bluewater kevlar canoe, which I used for many years to fish in, was 16'6", flat-bottom, and wide. I do not remember the width at the gunwale but very stable. Never an issue.

A Swift Prospector 13' is only 27" at the gunwale and waterline. but a maximum width of 30".

Is 27" wide enough to comfortably fish (baitcasting) on flat water? How would the stability be when the the canoe is not moving yet I'm casting, reaching for lures, and reeling in lunker bass?

That will be very dependent on the person paddling and the seat height. It will also depend on the actual shape of the hull (two canoes with the same specs on paper might feel quite different in terms of stability on the water). I did plenty of fishing from a Bell/Northstar Magic, which is on the tippier side of solo tripping canoes, with no issues. But I spent a lot of time in that boat and was very comfortable in it.

I don't remember if you mentioned it earlier in the thread but were you otherwise happy with the Bluewater other than weight? If you had no complaints about its performance but know it was stable and comfortable for you then I would lean towards something similar in size and shape.

It doesn't sound like you're looking for a performance canoe nor to necessarily build your paddling skills. Just something to fish out of on flat water on smaller water. That is not what 95% of people on this forum are using their canoes for so some recommendations are likely to be biased away from your use case. I know nothing about the Swift Prospector 13, it might be great for you, but keep it in mind.

If you don't need the shorter length a longer canoe should, all else being equal, feel more stable.

Alan