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

[Woodpuppy]

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.

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

 

[David D]

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.

 

[New England Waterman]

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!

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.

 

[Tryin']

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.

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.

 

[Woodpuppy]

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.

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.

 

[Idiot Savant]

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.

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.

 

[NikonF5user]

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.

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...

 

[Marten]

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.

 

[Marten]

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.

 

[David D]

I a

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 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!

 

[Idiot Savant]

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...

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.