View topic - Looking for advice on my first solo canoe

Ok
I said to myself I wasn't going to chime in on this thread and I almost didn't but...

I've read all the threads and followed the logic somewhat but there is a big piece that is missing.
Your definition of what you want to choose for a solo canoe seems to be predicated by what you don't want to carry.

And I don't get it.

I will out myself right now as the outlier, the Luddite amongst the Kevlar and carbon crowd.

I paddle Wood Canvas Canoes. Mostly Chestnuts, but i also have a well loved 15foot Langford

There, I've said it.

Choose your solo canoe by what you want to paddle; not for any other reason.

My first solo canoe was also my first tandem, a 16 foot Chestnut Pal.
The almost perfect combination of length, width and versatility- not sure what that quotient is Mike.
It remains my favourite "go to" canoe for both tripping and solo.

Paddling a cedar canvas is like nothing else. They are responsive, handle beautifully and are 'alive' on water; great secondary stability and they look good- if I'm spending 8 hours looking at the water ahead of me, the view through varnished cedar and ash is unmatched!

I've added to the fleet: the almost 60 lb Bobs Special is fun to play around with but it is solo only and not much more than a day trip. For a big trip, the Prospector is the go to. It is heavy- 85lbs dry- so choose your portages carefully, but nothing, repeat nothing, handles like a loaded Prospector on big water.

And to give a nod to the environment.
Everyone of my canoes is ecologically friendly- they are built and repaired from environmentally friendly products be that cedar ribs and planks, ash gunwales or cotton canvas covering.

So please, choose your canoe based upon what you want to paddle. Period.

Bruce

Bruce, I agree with all of that.

I’ll grant the “environmentally friendly” aspect, perhaps excluding the filler, sizing, paint, etc. Several of our modern materials boats are environmentally friendly in one regard; they were dumpster-ready freebies or dirt cheap used boats that I resurrected and saved from a landfill final destination.

We do not currently own any wood/canvas canoes. The ones I have paddled did delightfully feel more “alive” on the water, in ways somehow lacking with our Royalex or composite canoes.

Likewise I do not now own a 2-seat roadster, but the one I owned in the 70’s had that same “alive” feeling on the road. Today I have no use for a roadster, a small pickup truck is far more suited to my needs, augmented by a full size van for family trips.

In much the same vein I have no use for a W/C canoe. I lack sufficient indoor storage (currently have 5 boats stored indoors, none are going to the outside rack).

The next canoe I own – there is always a next canoe – will be a sub 50lb solo in the 15 to 16 foot range. And sub 45-lbs would be better. And yeah, that is based on what I don’t want to carry.

Mike,
Thank you for your measured reply- you could have hit a lot harder!

Re-reading my post, I come across as a pompous ass.
That wasn't my intent.
Oh well...

I love the idea of "rescue" canoes. In my mind nothing is more cringe worthy than a perfectly repairable canoe being turned into bookshelves!!! Saving one from the dumpster is like giving a home to feral cats. Good on you.

I've climbed off the soapbox.
Bruce

Bruce, not really. I have friends who are devotees of wood canvas and prefer to paddle nothing else. They have all owned modern materials composite canoes and found them lacking that certain something.

They also use canvas bags, pack baskets, wannigans, beavertails and canvas Baker tents, so their accoutrements are fitting in a W/C canoe. My blue barrel, vinyl dry bags, carbon paddle and sil-nylon tent would present a jarring dichotomy in a wood & canvas canoe.

Hell, I have friends who paddle kayaks. Well, acquaintances anyway

Still thinking on Canoe709’s canoe wishes. A little longer than his stated desires, but maybe a Wenonah Wilderness. 6.03 L/W ratio, and might even fit a dog in that 15’ 4” x 30 ½” hull.

https://www.wenonah.com/canoes.aspx?id=115

We have one in Royalex and it is a very capable solo canoe. The composite versions range from 43lbs to 41lbs down to a mere 30lbs.

Funny I was thinking about the wilderness, I do like the boat and it would probably be a really good match for me I think. The foot braces sound like they might help power the boat a little more, and the weight capacity works great for my needs. I was going to call Wenonah and ask about the different material and weight, they sell a Aramid with flex core at 41lbs and a tuff weave with flex core at 43lbs. For the extra weight I think the Tuff weave would be fine at 43 lbs to portage. Also I read if you get the ivory gel coat you can cut down on visible scratches and it weighs less than some of the other darker colors.

Foot braces are a help in any sitter solo canoe, or in the stern of tandems. We have installed foot braces in every canoe we have owned in the last 20 years.

Wenonah’s Tuf-weave, 50/50 crosslinked polyester and fiberglass, is a proven durable material. If there was but a couple pound weight difference between the layups I was considering I’d be tempted to go with Tuf-weave.

White or ivory bottomed boats do not show scratches in the gel coat as badly as other colors; the scratches are white on white(ish). On the other hand a white hull shows every bit of scum, algae or pollen from the water, and if stored outside any pollen/soot/pollution/etc that falls from the sky is likewise visible.

I bought a Fox 14 in aramid light a couple of years ago with the intention of using it for solo tripping.
I like solo tripping with a 30l barrel and a pack, and the boat easily handled that, but not much more. I'm 5'8" 165 lbs and with a barrel and pack I feel cramped and the boat is pretty much full. Definitely no room for a dog or much more gear. The boat paddles very easily but as previously mentioned here primary stability is poor. A novice paddler will not like this boat. I tried kneeling to get the center of gravity lower, but the seat is so low I couldn't fit my feet underneath. I raised the seat to allow me to kneel, and that made it much more stable, but now paddling seated was VERY twitchy.
The aramid light layup came in at 34 lbs making for effortless portaging, but my concern with the layup is the sides of the canoe are paper thin and I worry they could easily be punctured by a protruding branch or sharp rock.
In the end, as nice a canoe as this is, I was just not comfortable using it as my solo tripper.
I swapped out the fox 14' for a 15' nova craft prospector in tuff stuff. Although heavier and slower than the solo boat I think it suits my needs a bit better than the fox did.
hope this helps.
Mark

Do you think the swift prospector solo at 14 feet would be that similar to the fox? I have been chatting with the closest swift dealer since I can't seem to get anywhere with the shop that sells Wenonah's here.

I haven’t paddled a swift prospector but from what I can see it is a completely different design, intended to be paddled seated on the bottom of the canoe much like a kayak, (hybrid) and with generous tumblehome, designed to be paddled with a two bladed kayak paddle. (not my personal preference)
The swift is a much narrower canoe and I think it would be more difficult to fit a tripping load.
That said the Swift seems to be a very popular canoe these days and owners rave about them.

You should check out Jim Baird on youtube. that have a current series using the Bob Special nova craft canoe as a singe. Great series too!

I believe that the Swift Prospector 14 offers seat adjustability between higher single blade and lower “pack canoe” style double blading. That variable seating functional appeals to me for tackling varying wind conditions.

https://swiftcanoe.com/boat/prospector-14/

The only solo “Prospector” I have paddled is the Clipper 14’. The Clipper is an inch wider all around (gunwales, “waterline” and max), and IRRC an inch deeper. It is sometimes amazing how much difference and extra inch width and depth can make. (I feel there is an obvious carnal joke there, but let’s move on)

http://www.clippercanoes.com/14-foot-prospector/

The Clipper Prospector 14 was the “biggest” little canoe I have ever paddled. We had it out on a swapping-canoes Gentleman’s trip, and one of the guys loaded it to and above the freaking gills.

And liked it enough he later bought one, with a Clipper installed spray cover. Caveat; he is light of weight and short(ish) of stature.

I know that his Clipper Prospector has since tripped in a dozen US States and Canada. I’m still a little envious, but 14’ in length just won’t cut it for my big boy, potable water, occasional portable toilet, big tent, tarp, chair, barrel and 115L dry bag glamper needs. Just not enough length-in-volume.

A 14 foot solo sure as hell isn’t accommodating a canine companion and gear if that remains a consideration.

YMMV.

In the Buy, sell and trade section there is a Supernova for sale. If I was in the market for another canoe and lived somewhere closer to the seller, that is what I would snap up for a solo boat. Great canoe. Drag-able,too.

_________________
Keep your paddle in the water and lean downstream!

We had a Royalex Supernova and it was a wonderful solo canoe for downriver and whitewater tripping. Designed for a sizeable load up front it might even accommodate a dog.

In RX the Supernova was rated at 850 lb capacity and catalog speced weighed 55lbs (I never weighed ours). Classified seller states 65lbs.

That downriver/whitewater/55 - 65lbs may not jibe well with the OP’s stated desires.



Great design for its purposes, but for pond hopping portaging the Supernova wouldn’t be my first choice.

I to am on the look out for a replacement solo. I have for one reason or another sold all the ones i have had. I thought i had nailed it down to a souris river tranquility but apparently I'm to heavy for that boat (250 LBS). That is coming directly from souris river . I have had a swift loon, Nova craft supernova, wenonah wilderness RX and a sawyer autumn mist. They all have there pros and cons, the loon was too small for me. The supernova was great for river tripping but on big lakes i found it to be a slug. I didn't care for the handling of the autumn mist, but man it could move I past my buddy's on an open water crossing when they were paddling tandem and left them in my dust. I keep coming back to the wilderness, it was quick, stable big enough for me and my gear.

My top 2 choices are a wenonah wilderness, ideally in some sore of composite or a Northstar north wind solo. but the market in Ontario this year is though with our dollar hurting and limited distributors here these boats are hard to come by. I had a wilderness in RX and i regret selling it though at the time it was the right move.