Hi all looking for the perfect canoe for me and my wife to river trip with.We are about 400 lbs together.We are in calif. where most rivers are 2-3 ww So we need a tough boat!Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Thank You!
Take a look at the WW Canoe thread below
I am looking for a similar boat but, one that I can solo. I got some pretty good advice. Dwayne
What flavour of tandem ww…
Hi Bradford, Yup, lots of good advice on other recent threads.
For what you describe there is still a range of boats to choose from. Though it sounds like you’ll want to stick with a Royalex boat (unless weight is a primary consideration).
You could do those rivers in a “normal” canoe, such as a Mad River Explorer, but probably not if you’re doing much class II+ and III.
Or you can kick it up one notch and get a boat with a bit more rocker and flare that will handle class III better, such as an Old Town Appalachain, MR Freedom, Evergreen Starburst or Esquif Canyon. And you can still paddle these ones on flatwater too. This is probably the type of boat I’d think you’re looking for.
Or you can kick it up 2 notches and get a dedicated ww playboat that you wouldn’t want to use on flatwater. The stand-bys are the MR Synergy and Dagger Caption (out of production), but there lots of possibilities here too: Bell Nexus, Mohwak Probe 14, Esquif Blast.
P.
Lots of choices…
but are you looking for serious white water or tripping or the comprimise associated with a “cross over” ?
Please don’t misunderstand my comments… I’m NOT being judgmental or commenting on your choice… but the first step is to determine what where and how you really intend to paddle. Then try as many different boats as you can before making the commitment to buy… maybe even rent a time or two, trying different boats 
Based on loading a boat with 400lbs of people and another ??? in gear for river tripping…and then adding class II water on the trip… I’d start by taking a serious look at a Royalex Prospector (lots of companies make the hull… I like Nova Craft)
If you find your paddling is more flat water… there would likely be better options.
Paddle Safe and Have Fun
Prospector is a good one to try.
See if you can test paddle a Wenonah Prospector as well. We think it has more rocker, but have never tried it. The Novacraft is a good boat for rivers and hauls a major load. Since you’re out west, see if Clipper has a suitable model.
Let us know what you get and how it works out!
Prospectors
Yes, I meant to include Prospectors in my post too! I paddle a NC Prospector 16 myself as a tandem boat that can be used for tripping, including flatwater, but handles class II+ whitewater well.
I’d put the Prospectors at the top end of the “noraml canoe” category. But you don’t seem to see many Royalex Prospectors out west, though I think I noticed one recently in the PNet classifieds - check it out!
P.
classifieds
In CA check out:
The Mad River ME outfitted for ww tandem, and for a decent price!! Perhaps a wet boat if the tandem paddlers are on the heavy side?
Or a MR Revelation 17, more expensive and not sure how it’s outfitted. I think the Revelation preceeded the Freedom as a river runner?
P.