Solo Canoes

[Forsythian]

Hey guys, enjoyed the read... mind if I start up another discussion?

Got a lead on an Old Town Stillwater 12 footer... $400. What's the difference between that canoe and the pack? It comes with 2 wicker seats, but other than that? I looked it up on Old Town's website, but they don't reference it anymore... thanks for your input.

[Al Agnew]

The Stillwater is a very short, VERY wide fiberglass canoe. It's designed as a tandem, not a solo like the Pack. At 41 inches wide in the middle, it's way too wide to be easily paddled solo from the center position. Personally, I can see no practical use for one. Too wide for a solo, too short for a tandem fishing canoe. Probably has a LOT of initial stability though...you might be able to solo it from the front seat facing rearwards, but I'd want to try it out before buying. The thing weighs 50 pounds, though, compared to 33 pounds for the Pack.

[eric1978]

Also, the Guide (Discovery, whatever) 119 is $400 brand new...sometimes. It's about 12 feet, too, and cheaper than the Pack because it's made of Superlinear instead of Royalex. I think they come at 43 pounds, but if you get rid of the molded plastic seat you can shave a couple more off.

http://www.oldtownca...covery_119.html

[Gavin]

I'd save my $400 and get something else...your bigger than me...so I'd look at a solo with a bit more capacity than my Vagabond....The Wenonah Wilderness 15'4" looks like a good one.

http://www.wenonah.com/products/template/product_detail.php?IID=193&SID=2b9e00fd4e278677e2310309fb2090f6

Also check out the Bell Rockstar

[Forsythian]

Appreciate your advice, I'll keep up my passive search. As it is, I usually bring enough "provisions" along to make the Disco 169 a serviceable solo.

Man, that Wenonah is a beautiful boat Gavin... tell me that's not the same boat Ness was sporting last winter !

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, I think the Wilderness would be a great solo for the larger paddler, although I find the Vagabond paddles well under a heavy load, like all the stuff I take on an overnight trip. But the Wilderness would be the better choice if you're a big guy.

[Gavin]

No, think Ness was paddling a Wenonah 16'6" solo plus last winter...Not the boat for hauling lots of gear for an extended winter trip.......Big slow predictable pack horse tandems are much better for that purpose....

Frankly, I look at my solo as a light load boat...Usually a day tripper or overnight...Fun, whe you can use it, but my tandem canoe seems to get more use.

[Forsythian]

Hey guys, what's your opinion of the mohawk probe 12 footer? Is it fishable, or strictly a play boat?

[Wayne SW/MO]

I'm not familiar with that one, but I have a Solo 13 and I'm more than pleased with it. The secondary stability is excellent while the tracking is acceptable. I suspect if the tracking was better the agility would suffer. I don't mind the trade off.

[Al Agnew]

Nope, I'd stay very far away from the Probe. It's a pretty radical whitewater design, which means that it doesn't track at all and has very poor initial stability. Whitewater canoes are definitely not fishing craft. If you're going Mohawk, which is a pretty good and reasonably priced canoe company, go with the Solo 13 or Solo 14. I think I'd prefer the Solo 14, but I've paddled the Solo 13 and it's a pretty nice boat.