There has been a fair amount of discussion about solo canoes in the thread at https://www.canoetripping.net/threads/127975/ and it seemed like a quick look at their history might be appropriate. I thought it would be better to start a new thread here rather than hijack that one.
The concept of a “solo canoe” is a bit vague. I have personally paddled and poled a 24-foot canoe solo on occasion. I’ve also had two people in a 12-foot canoe at other times. I suspect that most paddlers would probably agree that any canoe less than 16 feet long is best used as a solo canoe.
The oldest dugout, bark, and skin canoes appear to have been intended for solo use. It is not unusual to start small when experimenting with a new concept. The limitations of only having trees and animals as the available raw materials with sharp rocks and fire as the primary tools were probably other contributing factors.
John MacGregor is generally credited with starting the interest in recreational canoes during the mid-1800s. His Rob Roy series of canoes were all solo boats. George Washington Sears also wrote a great deal about canoeing in the late 1800s under the pen name of Nessmuk. Henry Rushton made his canoes and they were all for solo use.
The first Indian Old Town Canoe company catalog from 1901 listed two examples of 15-foot-long canoes available as either H.W. or I.F. (a.k.a. Guide) models. The 15-foot-long Fifty Pound model was added in 1910. The 11-foot and 13-foot versions of this model were added in the 1926 catalog. This model was also known as the Lightweight, Featherweight, and Trapper with various different coverings over the years.
Other builders had their own versions of solo canoes. Chestnut showed a "One-Man Canoe" Model number 1921 in their 1922 catalog, but it was 15 feet long. A 13-foot version appeared in their 1934 catalog. Kennebec first listed a 12 foot long "One Man" model in their 1922 catalog. This was renamed the "Junior" model in their 1923 and later catalogs. St. Lawrence Boat Works is also known to have made at least one 11-foot-long canoe that shipped to Abercrombie & Fitch in 1922. See https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/18220/ for more on this topic.
Bart Hauthaway adapted the design of a wooden Rushton canoe to fiberglass for Old Town in the early 1970s. It weighed 18.5 pounds and was 10 feet long. This was based on a example that was similar to the ones made for Nessmuk. See https://adirondack.pastperfectonline.com/library/A77E2243-11AB-4960-9B73-964173002267 for an original brochure.
The current interest in FreeStyle canoeing and other factors have generated a whole new generation of solo canoes. There are many others that I have skipped over but this should provide a broad outline. Feel free to add more here if you feel that I have missed something important.
Benson
The concept of a “solo canoe” is a bit vague. I have personally paddled and poled a 24-foot canoe solo on occasion. I’ve also had two people in a 12-foot canoe at other times. I suspect that most paddlers would probably agree that any canoe less than 16 feet long is best used as a solo canoe.
The oldest dugout, bark, and skin canoes appear to have been intended for solo use. It is not unusual to start small when experimenting with a new concept. The limitations of only having trees and animals as the available raw materials with sharp rocks and fire as the primary tools were probably other contributing factors.
John MacGregor is generally credited with starting the interest in recreational canoes during the mid-1800s. His Rob Roy series of canoes were all solo boats. George Washington Sears also wrote a great deal about canoeing in the late 1800s under the pen name of Nessmuk. Henry Rushton made his canoes and they were all for solo use.
The first Indian Old Town Canoe company catalog from 1901 listed two examples of 15-foot-long canoes available as either H.W. or I.F. (a.k.a. Guide) models. The 15-foot-long Fifty Pound model was added in 1910. The 11-foot and 13-foot versions of this model were added in the 1926 catalog. This model was also known as the Lightweight, Featherweight, and Trapper with various different coverings over the years.
Other builders had their own versions of solo canoes. Chestnut showed a "One-Man Canoe" Model number 1921 in their 1922 catalog, but it was 15 feet long. A 13-foot version appeared in their 1934 catalog. Kennebec first listed a 12 foot long "One Man" model in their 1922 catalog. This was renamed the "Junior" model in their 1923 and later catalogs. St. Lawrence Boat Works is also known to have made at least one 11-foot-long canoe that shipped to Abercrombie & Fitch in 1922. See https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/18220/ for more on this topic.
Bart Hauthaway adapted the design of a wooden Rushton canoe to fiberglass for Old Town in the early 1970s. It weighed 18.5 pounds and was 10 feet long. This was based on a example that was similar to the ones made for Nessmuk. See https://adirondack.pastperfectonline.com/library/A77E2243-11AB-4960-9B73-964173002267 for an original brochure.
The current interest in FreeStyle canoeing and other factors have generated a whole new generation of solo canoes. There are many others that I have skipped over but this should provide a broad outline. Feel free to add more here if you feel that I have missed something important.
Benson
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