I was look in at solo last year but I did not like the feel of them I tried a swift shearwater felt like I was sitting on top of a cork I could not even sit in it I would have went right over I was 275 at the time. I tried a Wenonah Wilderness it was a little better I could sit in it but still tippy. I was going to try a northwind solo and see it there is any difference. I am six feet tall all my height is the waist up I have Outrage X and a Caption setup solo I run class 3/4 rivers in the Caption I do not think I would try that in Outrage X I also have a blackfly Octane1 that is narrow but it it like a bathtub hard to tip. Anyway I saw a bell morningstar same length as the northwind solo but little wider I wonder if that would be better as a solo. I have plenty of big tandem boats but I would like something lighter and shorter than my Quetico 17 if I have to portage
Small Tandem or real Solo
- Thread starter JoeO
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I'm 6'2" and 230, and I really like a 16 foot tripping canoe for a solo, depending if you are looking for flat water only and tripping, or tripping on rivers that will bring you into some class II-III rapids... But I think that a Prospector style canoe 15-16 feet long would do great in all these conditions... A lot of people here like the Pal as a solo small tandem, I think you can get a composite one by Novacraft....
I'm looking at a Swift Prospector 16 for that dual gap in my fleet.
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G
Guest
Guest
On flat-water, my Novacraft pal is a sweet supersize solo.
Turtle
Turtle
I was looking for something more for pond/lake hopping I have and OT Appalachian and a Caption I want to do river running I can and have run both solo and they are both only about 50lb I am looking at weight more than anything I can always paddle the Quetico 17 solo before dropping another 2-3 k on another 45-50 lb boat. I can get the morning star for 1400 like new going to try it see how it is Sunday it like new. I thought of Hornbeck and Lake Placid but whenever I use kayak paddle it bothers my shoulders
It takes water time. You are not too big for the Shearwater.
But you are tense and tense muscles transmit unsteadiness to the boat
I have several friends taller and bigger than you who paddle Shearwaters and smaller boats
But in the end it's paddlers who tip and mindset does come into play
A Hemlock Eaglet is a lake boat. It's a small tandem/big solo
But you are tense and tense muscles transmit unsteadiness to the boat
I have several friends taller and bigger than you who paddle Shearwaters and smaller boats
But in the end it's paddlers who tip and mindset does come into play
A Hemlock Eaglet is a lake boat. It's a small tandem/big solo
I tried it last April after driving 5 hour then it was only in the low 30s and very windy so I was not relaxed probably. No local dealers near me but I have been looking at northwind solo only 28 lb and 15'6" and holds 700lb and the seat is lot lower and local
I'd give a dedicated solo another whack JoeO. For sure you had challenging conditions. If you are used to a small boat that is fine. I recommend folks try in some iffy conditions. But if you haven't paddled a solo its natural that you would hardly feel comfy. I have a couple of moments when swopping between soloing a big tandem and soloing my 13 foot Nakoma which is 26 inches wide.
Lets talk seats. They are not written in stone. If the Shearwater is a boat whose volume you might be comfortable with, you can have the seat lowered or do it yourself. ( I take it you are not a kneeler. The boat may have been set up for a kneeler, Those folk like higher seats)
and weight. Ted is good at not stating Capacity 700 lbs. He states 6 inch freeboard with 700 lbs. Most of us solo like something more in the freeboard department and stop at a total of 400 lbs.
I don't know where you are but we have a Southwest Pennsylvania Canoe Solo Canoe Rendezvous coming up and solo canoes of all sizes will be present. The event is free and has its own website.. Camping fees are really cheap.
http://www.wpascr.org/
Lets talk seats. They are not written in stone. If the Shearwater is a boat whose volume you might be comfortable with, you can have the seat lowered or do it yourself. ( I take it you are not a kneeler. The boat may have been set up for a kneeler, Those folk like higher seats)
and weight. Ted is good at not stating Capacity 700 lbs. He states 6 inch freeboard with 700 lbs. Most of us solo like something more in the freeboard department and stop at a total of 400 lbs.
I don't know where you are but we have a Southwest Pennsylvania Canoe Solo Canoe Rendezvous coming up and solo canoes of all sizes will be present. The event is free and has its own website.. Camping fees are really cheap.
http://www.wpascr.org/
When I tried the shearwater I was kneeling no way would i sit. I paddle white water solo all the time but am very active doing it I paddle class 3/4 with the caption I am still getting use to the blackfly http://www.blackflycanoes.com/canoes/octane-91/ got my foot trapped in outfitting I need to move the lacing and take out the foot braces foot got trapped couple times last week. I kneel most of the time even flat water but I like I sit some time to rest.
Problem is not many solo to try around me Bell dealer has some or I have to drive to NY. I have 3 white water solo's All my other canoe I bought by spec and reviews and learned to use them. I went from a Mohawk XL 13 to and Outrage X boy did I swim alot Then I had bought a caption for wife and I she hated it so I made it solo Lot of fun in that boat. I just got the blackfly last year only used it twice no water last year. Used it last week swam 3x The third time I had to go under a log then hit another log had not strength from the swim and long walk. I am thinking I am going to have to buy from spec and learn to use it
Then I am at a loss why you felt uncomfortable in the Shearwater. Its not a tippy canoe once you are in it. You can heel it to the rail and it holds. It doesnt have a flat bottom though so it has less primary stability..
Some folks just don't like some canoes. I hate the Argosy. Others love it.
Some folks just don't like some canoes. I hate the Argosy. Others love it.
It was the ultra light model I was not even sinking it the guy said I had a lot of free board left. I usually sink boats I could not sit in it I had to kneel in it. It had the sliding seat I was kneeling high and forward could not get feet under the seat. My usual problem is I sink boats and push a lot of water because of the weight. I have even paddle my OT tripper Canadian style in the flat. When I paddle flat I will kneel sitting on the seat 75 to 95 percent of the time It the 2 labs are in the boat 100% of the time and wife is sitting in front. Then she says what you talking about only reason we are up right is I correct when the dogs go from one side of the boat to the other!
Northstar Polaris. I have one and it is a nice fit for a big solo that will carry 3 months worth of rations. I might use it to do the 400 mile river trip I am planning for 2018.
If you are relatively top-heavy I think you are going to have to try paddling any canoe you are thinking of buying, rather than depending on other people's impressions of stability, even those of similar body weight.
The Blackfly Octane 91, Dagger/Mad River Caption, and Mohawk XL13 are all exceedingly stable boats. And they are all dedicated whitewater boats with a lot of depth. The Mad River Outrage X is somewhat narrow for a whitewater canoe which is probably what makes it feel less stable for you. The Octane 91 is often outfitted as a tandem (as the Octane 92) and the Caption was usually set up as a tandem. 275 pounds would be quite light for a tandem team so there is little wonder that those boats feel stable for you.
The Blackfly Octane 91, Dagger/Mad River Caption, and Mohawk XL13 are all exceedingly stable boats. And they are all dedicated whitewater boats with a lot of depth. The Mad River Outrage X is somewhat narrow for a whitewater canoe which is probably what makes it feel less stable for you. The Octane 91 is often outfitted as a tandem (as the Octane 92) and the Caption was usually set up as a tandem. 275 pounds would be quite light for a tandem team so there is little wonder that those boats feel stable for you.
G
Guest
Guest
I am surprised that the Wilderness felt “tippy”. Even with my preference for initial stability and seated paddling the Wilderness doesn’t have me on edge. I know that the factory seat placement on the Wilderness is too far forward for many big boy sitters, and absurd for kneeling.
Joe, I had the exact same reaction when I (briefly) paddled a Shearwater. Unloaded except for me, at about your same weight, on a mildly windy and choppy lake. I am principally a sitter, quickly went to my knees and still wasn’t confident comfortable when I needed to turn broadside to the lake waves. “Like a cork”.
By spec the Shearwater is very close to what I prefer in a big boy solo; a bit of rocker, 16+ feet and 30 inch max beam, with my weight and typical tripping load that 30 inch max would be close to the waterline width. I do not remember, but I expect that the Shearwater has an elliptical or roundish bottom, which is always disconcerting for this heavyweight sitter.
Could I grow to like an elliptically bottomed canoe? I doubt it. I had a kevlar OT Northern Light solo, only a bit shorter and a bit narrower than my (then much skinnier) preferences. It had a round-ish bottom and when loaded with gear weight and sunk to near max beam it was a pleasure to paddle. And I managed to unexpectedly swim out of it on several inopportune empty boat day explores.
I could stay upright in it, but it took constant attention and an always ready brace, which is contraindicated by my lazy style. Nope, that’s not gonna work, and someone got a steal at $500. (I got the Northern Light in trade for a Sawyer Saber I paid $125 for, so $500 was as much as I could ask without feeling guilty. It was another used boat sale where the buyer strapped it on his racks and drove away like he stole it)
I have a couple of deal breakers in canoe selection and bottom shape is a big one. I prefer a tripping canoe that I can also comfortably day paddle empty, if only for lake base-camping/layover days, and I know I prefer a shallow arch or shallow vee bottom. I want at least 16 feet long to accommodate big loads below the gunwale line. I want something that can handle moderate wind and wave on a lake and non-whitewater downriver travel equally well (a compromise to be sure).
Two personal peccadillo in-boat tests tell me most of what I immediately need to know about my comfort and the bottom shape. Can I turn my head and torso to look 180 degrees behind me while seated without having an instant brace ready? Can I reach behind the seat, grab a dry bag or box and bring it forward, swung out over the gunwales and up between my legs without counting fish?
I am not a fan of Prospector hulls for solo lake work, especially unloaded. A solo-ized MorningStar might work, or for my tripping load a NorthStar might be a better choice.
My favorite big boy tripper would be a beastly shoulder-full of Royalex for Adirondack pond hopping; a soloized OT Penobscot with a contour seat place well back of center, custom placed thwarts and the gunwales drawn in an inch +. Those same specs and hull shape done in composite would be my dream tripper, but I haven’t found that hull (at least not used and abused cheap). I’m not even sure what canoe model that is.
Joe, I’ll be curious about your short list or final selection.
I saw a good deal last week on a wenonah encounter Ultralight Kevlar it was cheap enough that if I did not like it I could sell probably for more because nothing like that around here. The guy had a wedding to go to in Cooperstown NY which knocked 2 hour of one way. So I drove to CoopersTown (nothing there but the ugly building for the baseball Hall of fame and the hotel). It took little over 4 hours to get there 10 hours total round trip waiting for him to show and lunch. Any way I tried it tonight and loved it I just pushed the seat all the way back. I needed no extra ballast and the trim is pretty even. I was little nervous getting in but once I got in it was fine and had no problem paddling around. Little wind on the water and it cut right through. Little more twitchy not bad I will have to test it oneday when the water is warm I did not feel like going for a swim tonight,
I originally ask about one of these and everyone I called wanted to put me in a wilderness or shearwater (they were instock)
I love it and it was exactly what I need have to see what it is like with a load but with no load I had no problem paddling around with it
I originally ask about one of these and everyone I called wanted to put me in a wilderness or shearwater (they were instock)
I love it and it was exactly what I need have to see what it is like with a load but with no load I had no problem paddling around with it
I got the Encounter it is solo love it 17' long but light.
