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Suggest you look at a Northstar Polaris, equipped with a center seat and foot bar. A narrow tandem nearly 17 feet long, with kneeling drops on the center seat you can sit or kneel. Enough volume overnighting is possible, taking the bow and stern seats out gets you below 40 lbs.

When the occasion arises that has me paddling rocky gravel bed streams my usual choice is the Swift Raven. This past spring here I am in the teal Raven on the Jacks Fork River in Missouri.

I have not paddled the Pearl, but looking at the specs I noticed the Pearl is 2 inches wider at the waterline. The Polaris would be the faster canoe.

Just finished reading “Madhouse at the End of the Earth”. Very well researched and written story of the voyage of the Belgica, one of the early explorations of the Antarctic. The Belgica becomes frozen in the sea ice over the winter and endures a very difficult time. Not yet famous, Roald...

Update. The fabric handle on this cup neatly folds up to allow it to slide into the cup holder I built for it.

You could consider the Wenonah Wilderness a solo canoe whose hull shape is similar to the Vagabond but longer and deeper. I have one in the ultralight layup and it’s a very pretty efficient paddling canoe as you are seated in a good paddling position. It was my every day boat for the coastal...

Each the canoes you mentioned are considerably narrower at the waterline than your Vagabond which will make them feel less stable than your Vagabond. I’m using a Northstar Polaris with a center seat as a solo canoe, only 1 inch wider at the waterline than the Vagabond. As a solo the Polaris...

You make a pretty seat.

My pfd is also the pull over your head type which is tightened on both sides with 3 buckles. Very comfortable and not hot to wear as the front flotation panel floats slightly away from your torso. I had a pfd zipper failure on a 10 day sea kayak camping trip,. The finger tab that is used to...

Most of my experience in solo canoeing has been in short tandems (15-16 feet) and only later in my years did I acquire dedicated solos to use. The dedicated solos paddle more efficiently and are faster due to their narrower beam but don’t offer the roomy stability of a tandem. About 3 years...

Black Creek is in a remote area, it flows many miles through DeSoto National Forest so leaving vehicles unattended could be risky. However campsites abound on the white sand bars on the inside of bends. Our original plan was to take Black Creek to the Pascagoula and take out shortly below...

Peel ply applied on top of the epoxy will stay put, roll or squeegee until peel ply is completely saturated with epoxy. One time use. Make dynel your last layer, fiberglass underneath is fine and has the advantage of being sandable if you are fairing the hull. Vinyl layer peeling. Pictures...

Missouri Ozarks. The cicadas choir kept us company along the way. Canoe in the lower left of the bluff.

My boat collection includes 2 Winters solos. Both were purchased used and they’ve come to be among my favorites to paddle. Swift Raven canoe and Swift Labrador Sea touring sea kayak.

When I expect to kneel frequently I use neoprene wrestling knee pads, which has some extra cushioning on the knee. Eliminates trying to figure out where to attach a pad to the hull. Also gives me some protection from falls on wet rocks. The wrestling knee pads were standard equipment for me...

I’ve been using a Thermarest pillow sleeve and a down vest as a pillow for years. The combination is very light weight and compact and in the morning I have a nice warm garment to put on when I get out of the bag...

Yes, but can it be easily tied in the pitch dark night? Here is a nice video showing 3 ways to tie a bowline in the dark. I like the slip knot version, seems simpler.

Thanks for the heads up on the bowline. Fortunately I don’t climb. However, your observation has me reviewing and adjusting how I tie the knot so the tagline finishes inside the loop.

Agreed. This technique is quite effective and easy to deploy. I will install a guy line on every tie off the tent or tarp has and not worry about the ones that only get used infrequently.

I use a package of elastic pony tail loops to secure the line in a tight bundle. Placing one of them inside the bowline loop that ties the guyline to the tent it is readily available to wrap around the folded up line.