canoe

Has anyone paddled a wenonah Argosy and compared to a bell rockstar, im 6 foot 1, 240 lbs. looking for a solo canoe for class 1 river with ocassional class 2.

Really like the wenonah wilderness solo, but only has one and a half inch rocker. thanks

Wenonah Argosy
I have paddled the Argosy some. It is a boat that a lot of folks are fond of. I think it is definitely oriented towards paddling from a kneeling posture. It is a pretty efficient hull on slack water or flat water as well.



The characteristic of the Argosy I don’t care for as a river boat is the fact that it has only 1" of stern rocker. The stern of this canoe feels rather sticky when trying to execute eddy turns, although this is perhaps something that a person could work around with forward weight shifts after they got used to the boat.



I have never paddled a Rockstar. The Bell site seemed to describe it as an upsized Yellowstone solo. I like the Yellowstone solo quite a bit better than the Argosy. Even though it has only 1/2" more rocker in the stern than the Argosy, the stern feels decidedly less sticky to me, perhaps due to the fact it is 6" shorter than the Argosy. It also feels more solid when heeled to me than the Argosy does. But the Yellowstone Solo doesn’t have enough depth in my opinion to run some Class II water and stay reasonably dry.



Maybe the Rockstar does paddle like a large YS. It is pretty long though for a river canoe that one might want to maneuver through Class II water.



Wenonah’s boat that is most capable of handling whitewater without being an all out whitewater boat, is the Rendezvous. The Rendezvous is also a big, long boat but it has enough rocker to still allow it to be reasonably nimble. And it is pretty efficient for its size. But it might be more boat than you are looking for for unloaded day trips.

240 pounds and class II
I’d think you’ll find the Argosy plenty wet.



Wet can be fun when the water and air are warm, but not so much fun during the other times.

a little heavy
I own an Argosy. At 165 lbs, it handles fine on flat water and class 1. A friend who is closer to your size has borrowed it a few times, and he had to pay pretty close attention not to get dumped out even in flat water.



It’s not a whitewater boat by any stretch. You could get it down the occasional class 2 if you scout out the least complicated/dryest lines in advance, but it would be very wet and not very maneuverable, especially at your weight.

pblanc has it right on
I have paddled all three and own an Argosy. Its a bit narrow for you and is indeed a wet ride. The hull shape is wide low down so if the hull tips the floatation of the hull is lost quickly. I can heel it but only with the greatest of care to the rail.



The YS has the widest point of the hull farther up. Its therefore increasing in stability till the shoulder is reached.



The Rockstar is the bigger version of the YS for larger taller paddlers. Its too big for me but if you want to stay dry and can get a vertical paddle plant with the arms you have it seems the best bet.

At 6-1, 240 you might want to look at
some tandems. They will be very agile with 240 on board and will give you stability similar to the 160 pound paddler in a solo canoe. Some dealers offer test paddling. Its fun and much more revealing than catalog blurbs.