What are your current solo canoes and how do you like them?

yknpdlr said:

Turns out, at least for canoes i have paddled, that if you want to turn left, it is made easier and aslmost automatic if you heal (lean) to the right. it has to do with the shape the underhull presents to the water. AS CEW would tell you, it is the shape of a banana that makes the hull carve a turn opposte the lean. Quite unlike the lean of a bicycle in a banked turn.

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I have the general idea from reading but it isn’t something that’s natural.

Eta: now I think about it I didn’t try paddling on my left… I better try that. I’m sure paddling on the right biases my weight that way

I paddle a Wenonah Encounter. it’s made of Kevlar but has the gelcoat finish and wood trim which makes it a whopping 49 pounds. It is a beast of a solo canoe!
It’s designed to carry a whole lotta’ gear and when that’s what I’m doing, it’s fantastic. With all the gear it sets well in the water and is great to paddle.
On the portage Trail, not so much fun.
This will probably be my last season using it. I plan to go much lighter by next year.

Woodpuppy said:

I have 2 dedicated solos, a mid-90s kevlar Wenonah Prism and a Northstar Phoenix in IXP layup. Very different boats, both fantastic, both will remind you to keep your head between the gunwales! However, my most often used at this point is a Northstar Polaris that I paddle from a center seat with kids fore and aft. Aside from some occasional paddle dipping by the kiddos, I’m paddling it solo. I love this boat!

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How much weight do you generally have in that Polaris? I’m considering one as primarily a solo boat for me (at 270 pounds) with occasionally a dog or nephew in it.

New England Waterman said:

How much weight do you generally have in that Polaris? I’m considering one as primarily a solo boat for me (at 270 pounds) with occasionally a dog or nephew in it.

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We rented one set up as a solo last year for a 10-day trip and found it very versatile. My son is 6', 210 and it was great with him and his gear. I am 6'3", 290 and it was also great for me and my gear. That trip put the Polaris on my very short list of boats I would buy new. Very stable, but not flat and unresponsive. Just a really nice feeling boat.

I will say that I do not care for northstar's seat heights. Sitting is set to low and kneeling is set too high. An easy fix though.

New England Waterman said:

How much weight do you generally have in that Polaris? I’m considering one as primarily a solo boat for me (at 270 pounds) with occasionally a dog or nephew in it.

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I’m about 240, and normally have 2 kids (up to 94-lb @ depending on which of the 4 go), a bucket with mushroom anchor, plus a cooler and a dry bag @ for lunch and personal junk. We could easily take more, I wouldn’t hesitate to load up camping gear for the 3 of us. I also paddle it solo with just a dry bag, the only downside here is I get pushed around by the wind. In such light trim though she draws very little water. I easily clear obstacles my friends in rec yaks hit.

Agree with @Tryin' the Polaris is very versatile and very stable.

New England Waterman said:

How much weight do you generally have in that Polaris? I’m considering one as primarily a solo boat for me (at 270 pounds) with occasionally a dog or nephew in it.

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Have you guys looked at the Wenonah Encounter?
Their highest capacity solo. Holds a ton. Very stable. Pretty fast.
The only thing I didn't like about it was it took some effort to turn.
I would consider buying another one. I liked it a lot.

Idiot Savant said:

Have you guys looked at the Wenonah Encounter?
Their highest capacity solo. Holds a ton. Very stable. Pretty fast.
The only thing I didn't like about it was it took some effort to turn.
I would consider buying another one. I liked it a lot.

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It's a LLOOOOONNGG boat with no rocker, must be a bear to maneuver without heeling (and with sitting on the bucket seat I imagine that can be kind of interesting). Guessing it is optomized for paddling with a spray deck on large water. I think if I were going to paddle accross the Great Lakes or in the ocean the Encounter would be a good boat to consider...

My latest is a 12 foot Northstar Adk at 20 pounds. We fly in and base camp and this fits inside an Otter with 2 tandems on the floats. It is the favorite all those that took it out for a paddle around the lake. Excellent for fishing too and extremely stable. Checked with my GPS it likes to cruise at 3.8 mph compared to the Prism at 3.3.

An Encounter is my favorite solo for tripping.

Crossing miles across a lake the tailwind got fierce. I was in an Encounter and took on a little water. If in my prism it would have been a long float in a semi sunken canoe. Paddling up narrow streams the Encounter exceeded as I could kneel in the front and maneuver the twist easily.

I a

Marten said:

An Encounter is my favorite solo for tripping.

Crossing miles across a lake the tailwind got fierce. I was in an Encounter and took on a little water. If in my prism it would have been a long float in a semi sunken canoe. Paddling up narrow streams the Encounter exceeded as I could kneel in the front and maneuver the twist easily.

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I agree Marten. This is my second season using an encounter and I really going to appreciate this boat. Yeah it’s big but I do tend to take a lot of gear and it’s just perfect for me. Plus it gets a lot of compliments!

NikonF5user said:

It's a LLOOOOONNGG boat with no rocker, must be a bear to maneuver without heeling (and with sitting on the bucket seat I imagine that can be kind of interesting). Guessing it is optomized for paddling with a spray deck on large water. I think if I were going to paddle accross the Great Lakes or in the ocean the Encounter would be a good boat to consider...

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As I said, it takes some effort to turn. I paddled mine down Stillwater Canyon and didn't have a problem, but I was young and strong then.
It's pretty deep, so it would take some pretty rough stuff before water came in. The downside of that is it has a lot of windage.
One plus for a long boat with no rocker is you can paddle sit-n-switch, which is a very efficient way to paddle.
Crazy as it sounds, I did the Dirty Devil River, Utah, with this boat. Actually did as much dragging as paddling. At the end of the trip we had to paddle a few miles across Lake Powell to Hite (don't remember exactly how far that is) and it did great.
If I were going on a really long Boundary Waters trip, or I was taking my dog along, this would be a good boat.

Currently, I have four solo canoes. The Clipper Solitude, Mohawk Solo 14, Esquif Vertige, and Bell Wildfire. I sold the MR Guide to make room for the Wildfire.

I loved the royalex Guide for all-around river tripping, but I'm approaching the age where its weight makes me think twice about how bad I want to use it. Definitely wouldn't want to portage it far. But that canoe handles excellent in up to class 2+ with a tripping load. I have no complaints about it other than the weight.

I haven't paddled the Wildfire enough to comment on it other than it seems to handle about like the Guide, but more responsive, a bit less effected by wind, and much lighter, of course. I'm still in the process of outfitting it to my preference, so we'll see. But I think I know enough now about what makes canoes do what they do to reasonably expect that I will love the Wildfire.

The Vertige replaced a Mohawk Probe. The Probe is a more responsive hull, but the Vertige is far more forgiving and with a little more capacity. It's a perfect boat for me at my skill level on the local whitewater rivers. Heavy, with its battery powered bilge pump - but there's always someone younger than me along on the trip who can help move it to and from the water. I would readily give it up if I get a chance at one of Kaz's composite solo creations.

The Solitude is kind of an odd thing. It's a little heavier than most comparable kevlar canoes, but still well under 50lbs. Seems to be more robust than what a zero rocker cruiser should need to be. But it works for me because of where and how I use it. It's super stable - I even pole it some - and makes a great fishing platform. I've had plans to do some long flat river trips with it, but have only done day trips so far. At 15.5', it has plenty of volume. I can cover the miles faster in it than any other canoe I've had, but I suspect a Magic or Prism would be faster. Even so, I think the Solitude may be a bit more versatile for me, so I'd really hesitate to part with it.

Another one that isn't particularly special but I would not want to part with is the Solo 14. It isn't great at anything, but isn't bad at anything either. It's not excessively heavy (royalite). It handles better in rough water than its flat bottom would suggest. It's not a pig on the flats. It tracks well enough and turns well enough. It has surprised me just how much I can get away with in it. It's not boring, but it's also easy for beginners to quickly get comfortable in it (which was the initial reason I got it, and another reason I keep it). I can't see ever parting with it.

Oh yeah....the Dagger Sojourn....
I do miss that canoe sometimes. I let it go when it became apparent to me that the Solitude did everything the Sojourn did and more. But something about the compactness of that canoe and the simple efficiency of it gives me the fondest memories. It never asked for special treatment, but always delivered the goods. Maybe it's just a bias about that first solo canoe..... I'm hoping the Wildfire will help me get over the regret.

I recently sold my Wenonah Advantage and Valley Skerray kayak. I was thinking about just buying a Prism but now am considering replacing them with a Caribous S and an Encounter. I live in northwest Washington State, so Clipper is a close by, and their pricing is pretty fantastic in USD.

Zissou Intern said:

I recently sold my Wenonah Advantage and Valley Skerray kayak. I was thinking about just buying a Prism but now am considering replacing them with a Caribous S anld an Encounter. I live in northwest Washington State, so Clipper is a close by, and their pricing is pretty fantastic in USD.

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Welcome! I currently live in central Washington State and will be relocating to Southwest Washington.

Since you live in Northwest Washington, I assume you have paddled Diablo, Ross, and Gorge Lakes?

Zissou Intern said:

I recently sold my Wenonah Advantage and Valley Skerray kayak. I was thinking about just buying a Prism but now am considering replacing them with a Caribous S and an Encounter. I live in northwest Washington State, so Clipper is a close by, and their pricing is pretty fantastic in USD.

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