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

Have had a Wenonah boats. Still have my Prism after 30 years. Picked up an Encounter a few years ago. Latest and not used yet is the 20 pound 12.5 foot ADK. This because it can slip inside an Otter floatplane. I keep a Pakcanoe 165 for the same reason. Only two canoes on the outside of an Otter float plane so allows more paddlers on the same flight. We get by with 5 in the plane and squeak by on weight. If we had to we could be more efficient and haul 6 paddlers.
 
Glenn MacGrady said:
Not tandem canoes, not kayaks, not SUPs, not rowboats, not sailboats.

The topic is to get an idea of what dedicated solo canoes members here are currently paddling and what you think of them.

I have four dedicated whitewater solo canoes: a Millbrook ME (Kevlar/glass, 3 seat combi canoe), Perception Gyramax (poly decked C1), Whitesell Piranha (Royalex), and Dagger Encore (Royalex). They all have different handling characteristics and virtues. Overall, I like the ME best for its combination of slalom speed and acceleratability, highly rockered turnability, wave-spanning 15-2 length, and light weight.

I have five dedicated flatwater-ish CanAm open solo canoes: a Lotus BJX (Kevlar/glass), Lotus Caper (Kevlar/glass), Hemlock SRT (Kevlar/glass), Bell Wildfire (Kevlar/carbon), and a Rollin Thurlow reproduction of a wood/canvas B.N. Morris. Again, very different handling characteristics for different purposes. The one I like least now is the fastest and least turnable, the BJX, because I'm no longer into straight ahead speed. My favorite for lake or river, or lake and river, extended tripping is the SRT. It's deep, capacious, fast enough and very seaworthy in whitewater and waves. For short trips with little gear, or lots of portages, or just to play around with freestyle, I like the Wildfire because it's lightweight and turnable. The Caper used to be my favorite for day tripping, but I've now grown a bit too heavy for it to heel-spin effectively. The wood/canvas Morris makes me feel traditional, elegant, 1890-ish and proud, but it's too heavy at my age to be a practical tripping or portaging canoe.

I also have one specialized "open" canoe: a Huki V1-B Hawaiian outrigger canoe. Even at 22', it's probably my lightest canoe. It's my ocean canoe, fastest canoe, best canoe for paddling upstream, and the easiest by far to self-rescue. I haven't paddled it in a few years, but I'm not sure why. Probably because of my age and loss of interest in ocean and speed paddling.

I paddle everything and all conditions with a single blade. In whitewater, I use straight wood Mitchell paddles. In flat water, I mostly paddle with a variety of carbon and wood bent shaft paddles on lakes, and shorter-than-whitewater straight carbon and wood paddles on twisty rivers.
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Right now, I have a Northstar Northwind solo, in Blacklite and an Esquif Echo.
I would say the Northwind is better at whitewater but slower on the flats than I thought it would be.
The Echo would be everything I thought it would be except it's low freeboard rules it out for anything more than the lower end of class II.
I think my ideal two boat solo quiver would be a Northstar Magic and Phoenix.
 
Those echos are pretty cool. i bet it would do good on the NFCT, in the sense it would take a beating, but maybe not as good on big choppy lakes. I have a hemlock kestrel and enjoy it, but need more time in the seat.
 
Me too, the wood rails are nice. And durability vs weight is not to bad, with the aide of some wheels. but after reading a recent post I wonder how tformx is in the cold as for as storage. Also i have heard of people narrowing them, for different effects. A little higher sides would be nice! Cool boat.
 
Ripple said:
Me too, the wood rails are nice. And durability vs weight is not to bad, with the aide of some wheels. but after reading a recent post I wonder how tformx is in the cold as for as storage. Also i have heard of people narrowing them, for different effects. A little higher sides would be nice! Cool boat.
Click to expand...
Pulling in an Echo has been on my mind - it has enough rocker so that it should be possible without much negative impact on maneuverability. I think there were some Royalex Echos made early in their run - that would be a cool boat to find and experiment with!
 
I did test paddle an Echo - 2019 paddle fest in Old Forge - and liked it a lot. Albeit, calm flat water. The weight was the only negative, and still may be a factor. 45 lbs vs my current 29 and 34.
 
Unlike some folks, I have room for 3 canoes ... that means 2 solos and a tandem.

Currently I have a modified Freedom Solo 16'3"

DSC00690.JPG

and a 15' stretched copy of a Keywadin 14

IMG_2476.jpg

Love the Freedom Solo, but it is 39#, but built for heavier paddler.

The stretched KeyWadin 15" is a really nice design (31#). I am used to the extra room of the 16 footer, but it has taken me out for a week without too much squeezing for space. There will be a 17' stretch underway, as soon as I can get the shop free of the current projects. I would like a bit more water line and a bit less draft.

Brian
 
Alan Gage said:
I currently have 5 solo canoes, none of which get regular use anymore but all of which I still hope to use a lot in the future.

My favorite to grab for quick local day paddles is a Winters' designed Barracuda. It's 17'+ long and has very low volume. Despite that stability feels really good and the low shear and narrow gunwales make it a pleasure to paddle either aggressively or leisurely. It has enough rocker to make turns something you don't have to plan well in advance. It weighs just under 30 pounds in cedar strip.

Barracuda Build

Figured I might as well start a thread. Maybe that will help keep me motivated. Plans have arrived. Found a source for the cedar lumber. Trying to get the shop cleaned up and some other projects moved out to make room. Built the strongback last night. Maybe this weekend I'll start cutting out...
www.canoetripping.net

Next is an 18.5' fitness/racing canoe of my own design. I was disappointed with the speed of the Barracuda and I wanted something that was closer to the speed of a J boat but with better stability and more volume (so I could bring the dog along on training paddles). For me this boat strikes a perfect balance. The dog and I both have a lot of comfortable miles in this boat and speeds were pretty close when comparing to the J boats I owned at the time. Just under 30 pounds in cedar strip.

X canoe build

I don't know what to call it yet. I might call it a POS once it hits the water. Trying my hand at designing my own canoe. It's meant to be a workout/racing boat and not much else but more user friendly than something like C1 marathon. Oh yeah, and the dog will be able to fit in the bow as well...
www.canoetripping.net

A 14.5' solo that was made to fill the roll of a more nimble boat for larger moving water and for smaller waters where maneuverability was important. This was cedar strip construction as well but I used carbon instead of fiberglass as the inside layer for more impact resistance. I haven't done a lot of paddling since completing this boat, and it hasn't seen serious use, but I've been happy with the day paddles I've done with it. Final weight unknown.

Solo 14

I've been wanting something more maneuverable for moving water day trips so decided to build another canoe (imagine that). 14'x30" with something like 1.5" rocker and pretty soft stems. Fairly high volume carried to the stems to give Sadie more room and hopefully provide a drier ride in rapids...
www.canoetripping.net

A 16.5' solo canoe designed and built for a 30 day expedition down and back up the Bloodvein river. This is actually version 2.0 of this boat. Version 1.0 was cedar strip and made the Bloodvein trip and version 2.0 is full composite and incorporated some slight design changes (mostly stem shape) that made it a bit friendlier to paddle in moving water, especially when traveling upstream. The end goal was flatwater speed balanced with moving water handling up to CII. I think it fits this role perfectly for me and my paddling style. Version 2.0 did a 43 day trip in larger waters the following year where I realized I needed more volume if I wanted to do an equally long yet more remote trip in the barrens. This hull is great for day paddles as well. Weight is 43 pounds.

Composite Bloodvein build

Version 1.0 was a success so V2.0 will be a carbon/kevlar version. Best case scenario is cutting 10 pounds, from 48 to 38. I think 7 or 8 pounds will be more realistic though. Made a couple very minor changes to the hull. The entry and exit lines were pretty hollow on V1 which made it a little...
www.canoetripping.net

A 16' high volume solo with more rocker meant for a long expedition trip to the barrens. Built with very thin strips (5/32") but laminated with kevlar and S-glass for strength. Weight in the low-50's. Limited mileage on this hull so far. Only local flatwater trips. Someday....

Barrens build

'Tis the season for building. A high volume solo for big loads and big water. This is, I hope, the boat I should have had on my last trip. 16'x32" with 21" shear in the bow, 14" in the center, and 18" (or maybe it was 19") in the stern. Lots of flare in the bow. Couple inches of rocker in bow...
www.canoetripping.net

Alan
Click to expand...

As an aside Allan, thank you for a) the build posts b) posting the Baracuda build

I was rereading this post and I always wondered about how the Baracuda would handle, almost made that the first boat .... when I read that build threat it answered something else that has been nagging me since I started planning my next boat.
You built a narrow 17' boat with 4 oz cloth, without extra layers ... and apparently the world didn't end. To save weight, I am planning on using 4 oz cloth on the next build and was having second thoughts about it being strong enough and was going to add some extra layers, even though I am using S glass ..... now I think maybe I'll just stay with the original plan and not overthink it.

So thank you for taking the time to post that build


Brian
 
Cruiser said:
You built a narrow 17' boat with 4 oz cloth, without extra layers ... and apparently the world didn't end.

Brian
Click to expand...

I'm glad you found the build Barracuda build useful. I'm as guilty as anyone when it comes to adding extra layers and trying to make things stronger but it almost feels, anymore, that people are leery of even building with a single layer of 6oz. glass when that was the standard for years.

I remember finding some old threads before I built the Barracuda of boats being built with 4oz cloth and 3/16" strips and then being used on trips. I knew the Barracuda would never be used for anything other than workout paddles and maybe races and those threads gave me confidence to go for it.

Looking forward to seeing your next build!

Alan
 
I've got a fiberglass Mad River Independence. Quite like it for the most part. Wish there were a touch more room under the seat for my big feet, and my ankles can really get to hurting after a couple hours of kneeling and paddling, but it seems to be a great jack-of-most-trades boat.
 

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Man, I've really enjoyed looking at all the photos of solo canoes!
Some real eye candy.
I'd add one thing about my Echo. The low sides make it pretty ideal for paddling like a pack canoe, with double bladed paddle.
I really need to get some photos. It's a pretty sweet setup.
 
I have a Bell Yellowstone Solo in blackgold with gold Al gunwales. I use it mainly for exercise in a small flatwater river. I removed the seat and normally sit on a foam pedestal.

It works good, and I think it just looks gorgeous. But I think I'd rather have a longer, faster exercise boat. The Yellowstone hull probably makes the most sense in Royalex so it's more at home in mild whitewater.

I have a Old Town Appalachian 16 that is my solo whitewater canoe. It works pretty well for me. I like having a large boat that doesn't draw much water. If the river is too high or technical for the Appy I switch to the (gasp!) kayak. Bonus the Appy is a tandem.

I still paddle my fiberglass MR Explorer solo a few times a year. It's fine.

I can't decide whether I'd like a longer exercise boat or to upgrade the old Explorer to something in carbon Kevlar
 
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Idiot Savant said:
Man, I've really enjoyed looking at all the photos of solo canoes!
Some real eye candy.
I'd add one thing about my Echo. The low sides make it pretty ideal for paddling like a pack canoe, with double bladed paddle.
I really need to get some photos. It's a pretty sweet setup.
Click to expand...
I love the Echo looks wise. Never paddled one.
 
adkjoe said:
I love the Echo looks wise. Never paddled one.
Click to expand...
This is a boat I'd like to experiment with - pull in the sides a bit to see if it could get a bit deeper and narrowed. But every one I have seen used for sale is too new and too expensive to alter at the moment! 😂🤣
 
NikonF5user said:
This is a boat I'd like to experiment with - pull in the sides a bit to see if it could get a bit deeper and narrowed. But every one I have seen used for sale is too new and too expensive to alter at the moment! 😂🤣
Click to expand...
I just scrolled up and realized I made this same exact post almost about a month ago! I guess if nothing else I am consistent! 😂🤣
 
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