View topic - Potential New Canoe - Help!

Heck, I want an H2O Prospector 16.4 just from reading everyone's feedback! It says "moderate rocker" on their site and you can also tell just by looking at it that it is not a super high rocker Prospector. Swift's Prospector 16 is also a well-liked boat with "only" 2 inches of rocker at each end. Don't get a Swift P15.

I'm primarily a solo paddler and I have one 14 foot boat that is basically a Prospector design with rounded sides and 3 inches of rocker on each end. That boat actually gets spooky calm in standing waves that are big enough to almost sink it. You can cross fast eddy lines without feeling them. It always responds to the paddle. So for your priority of "safety in adverse conditions" it's hard to beat a Prospector design (even though my two tandems at asymmetric since that's my personal bias). Looks like the H2O has plenty of flat water capability too.

I have an Alchemist Prospector 16 which is made by H20 and I can tell you that initial stability is not very good when empty. About exactly a year ago right now I capsized in the Ottawa River because the teenager in the front shifted his weight suddenly. It is fine when loaded.

Light is good, especially if you plan some portaging. I do not like flat bottomed boats. Rocker can be your friend even on a lake boat. Fishing solo it makes them easier to manuever. When the wind comes up they are much easier to handle. For people that know their strokes, going straight is pretty easy.

I once owned a Wenonah Odyssey. It is an 181/2 foot canoe with almost a straight keel. It is billed as a down river boat, but I never liked paddling it. It was fast with a lot of room but did not want to turn.