Gnarly wrote:
I would like to get advice on my next canoe. Here are some details. I want to solo trip three to five days, mostly on rivers, with some sections of class I rapids. I’m an experienced tripper and light traveller. I also want to use this boat to practice moving water with the intention of dusting off old skills. I was once comfortable in class II rapids but find my confidence lacking the last few years. I would like something that can withstand the impact of hitting a rock or two from time to time, be dragged over a beaver dam loaded, etc. That is, I don’t want to baby it. Part of the decision is whether or not to get a solo canoe, a tandem or both and then how to outfit it/them. I often find I’m renting a canoe for family and it would be nice to have an additional tandem for those trips. And then I also usually do a few day trips on Class I and II rivers with a buddy in the spring. So there’s that too.
I’m 200 lbs, 5’ 5”, in my late 50s, and kneel only when running whitewater or on rough water. I live in central Ontario. I would consider the higher priced lighter canoes.
Wow, there is a lot to digest there. So, solo, 3-5 day trips, class 1, light packer, “impact resistant” and beaver dam-a-drag-able without babying.
The solo or tandem or both question is easily answerable. Both, eventually.
You want to solo trip, so that is a designated solo canoe. 5’ 5” rules out “soloizing”most tandems, so you are looking at a designed solo canoe with a gunwale width your wingspan will accommodate.
Buying a family canoe (instead of renting) is another matter, and I would recommend against some 3 or 4 seater Titanic, or any shorter overloaded tandem.
daypaddler wrote:
Hey Gnarly, YOU NEED A SOLO CANOE.
I absolutely agree with that. Find a solo canoe first. When you eventually pair that solo hull with the family tandem (rented or bought used) the possibilities of who-goes-where in which boat grows alongside your family.
A solo canoe, designed for the application, makes a huge difference. At 5’ 5”, presuming you don’t have ape arms, the gunwale width and tumblehome will matter. So will 200 lbs seated, even with a lightpacker gear load, so will the performance volume.
MartinG wrote:
Mohawk Odyssey 14 sounds like it could be a good fit. Or a Bell Yellowstone Solo. Good luck finding either in central Ontario. Something new and lighter would be a Northstar Phoenix in IXP. Fine for Class 1's and most 2's.
Therein lies the issue with solo canoe choices. We are blessed with many more solo canoes that ever before available. And they are all a little, or a lot, different.
The Yellowstone Solo was too narrow even for my day big boy day tripping purposes, to say nothing of carrying a load of camping comfort gear.
The Mohawk Odyssey is one of my favorite class 1, low 2 downriver daytripper (our is fully bagged out). If it is shallow water I will still pick the Odyssey 14 off the racks over the MRC Solo Plus (another great RX solo, MRC Guide and Courier too) or Wenonah Wilderness.
The flattish (very) shallow arch bottom of the Odyssey will float across a dewy lawn, the vee bottom of the MRC hulls less so, and the Wilderness has too little rocker for small twisty rivers. But all of those are too small for my bulky tripping load and bulky me.
Same lack of volume with the Phoenix, although the composite weights are alluring. At 14’ 6”, with an “optimal load” of 200-300 lbs, as a tripping canoe I would sink it below best performance. As a day paddling canoe it might work, but we beat the low water holy hell out of our day paddling boats, and I am happier with scraped and dented Royalex than damage to composites (either of which I can repair).
There is such a range of solo canoes available, from stubby 10 foot pack canoes to narrow 18 foot water rockets. The proven reliable adage is “Buy a canoe for what you honestly plan to do most of the time”.
It is harder to pick out one Best-Fit design niche with a solo. That’s why we ended up with several.
Er, an even dozen, all different.