17’ boats
I think wildwater was only suggesting the bigger tandems such as the tripper as a dedicated tandem, part of his by both a tandem and a solo strategy, which makes pretty good sense really.
Paddling backwards from the bow seat seems inferior to a kneeling thwart or saddle to my thinking, but I’ve never paddled a prospector so what the heck to I know :-). That might be just the ticket if he’s set on one boat.
sea canoe
have you checked out clipper’s “sea clipper” canoe?
some possibilities
Clipper has the Maverick and Tripper S, both of which look like good boats to consider, although I haven’t paddled either of them.
The Souris River Quetico 16 is a nice tandem/solo boat that will handle rougher conditions, although you would need to look for one used to meet your budget.
Wenonah’s Escapade or Prospector 16 would fit in your budget. I might be mistaken, but I think you could order either one with a center seat.
Dirk covered the Swifts and Bells and I’m sure he knows them a lot better than I do.
re: weather
Yes, admittedly, the weather was awfully rough today. Although, even without the weather report, any idiot could look out and know that today was not the day to be on the water there in a canoe!