Definitely solo boat
I am 6’, 220 lbs., so a little smaller than you, and and I’ve paddled a 14 foot Bell Yellowstone Solo for years. I can get gear in it for a 3-4 day trip easily. Comparable boats in royalex that you may be able to find used are the Wenonah Argosy (maybe the Vagabond), the Mohawk Odyssey and Solo 14. I recently got a used whitegold Wildfire that I’ll be taking out for a 3 night trip on Memorial Day weekend. I think all of the manufactures mentioned by Charlie have a 14 foot boat. Might be worth checking out - especially if you do more rivers than lakes. A new composite boat will put a huge hole in the pocketbook, but even used rolex boats are getting more expensive.
Good luck.
A good friend also paddles his Penobscot
solo, and he is the size of the OP.
We have a OT Penobscot 16, and we mostly paddle it tandem, but it would be a great solo boat if I rigged it with a center seat or pedestal
Jack L
Cost of a New Solo Boat
Nothing paddles like a good solo canoe. I use mine far more than I use my 2 man Kevlar Cruiser. As I have aged many of my old time paddling friends have died or can no longer get in a canoe. I still love to paddle and I use my solos about 5 times a week from March to November. Even when my grandson goes he prefers to take a solo boat and he has done so since he was 9.
When I turned 70 a couple of my solo canoes were getting heavy to load and unload so I bought a new Swift Osprey Carbon Fusion solo that weighs 27 pounds.
This solo cast me about $3000 but my journal shows I have used it about 400 times. That averages out to $7.50 a trip and I could sell it for 2/3’s of what I paid for it. Compare that to golf or just about any other form of outdoor recreation!!!
I’ve got
a Wenonah Wilderness for pretty much the same kind of paddling. Works well and isn’t all that heavy (~50 lbs in royalex). I like the option of being able to move the seat for kneeling, sitting high for single blade, or sitting low for a kayak paddle. I weigh 180 lbs, and I think it would be a better boat for someone heavier, particularly loaded.
Load-assist
Thanks - I’ve seen those load-assist bars (online) and meant to research that a bit more. I’ll have to see what type of set-up might work with an Outback roof rack.
How wide is too wide?
Thanks for all the recommendations.
Any suggestions for a maximum width to paddle solo?
thanks
Thanks for all the info and suggestions so far!
No yokes on solos?
So I’ve been looking at a lot of solo canoes online, and noticed that most don’t have portage yokes. How do folks generally carry a solo?
If not carrying really far, …
… I just use the front edge of the seat. The folks I paddle with generally seem to do the same. It works pretty well for average distances between the car and the water, but for carries of any substantial distance, a yoke is more comfortable. There are clamp-on yokes that you can buy. The guy here who calls himself c2g has pictures posted somewhere online showing his method for setting up a quick-release yoke. He did a really good job on it, and it might be worth asking to see where those shots are posted.
Detachable solo yoke
You can carry quite comfortably without any hard edge biting into your neck
In Algonquin routinely carry some two miles a day for ten days or so
yokes
Thanks for the info about detachable/clamp-on yokes.
Why don’t solos have yokes in the first place? Because they can’t be installed in the center? I suppose the canoe wouldn’t be balanced very well on your shoulders if it is off center.
Yes
The leading edge of the seat is very close to the balancing point.
Tandems, over 16’6" are, imho…too
– Last Updated: May-22-16 2:35 AM EST –
much work to enjoy onesself while paddling(solo), especially if any wind comes up...
$.01
Just want to agree…
with those who say to get a dedicated solo. The difference between paddling a decent solo canoe and paddling ANY tandem canoe by yourself is like night and day. I own two Penobscot 16s and and have paddled them solo a number of times, but there’s no way, given a choice, that I’d even think about paddling the Penobscot solo rather than one of my solo canoes. The difference is that a tandem canoe, even one like the Penobscot, is simply not nearly as responsive as a solo canoe. In other words, it takes two or three paddle strokes to move a tandem canoe the way one stroke moves a solo. Solos are simply more fun to paddle.
You don’t say…
– Last Updated: May-22-16 10:26 AM EST –
...how much you will be going solo vs. tandem. If you are always going solo, then there is no reason to go with with a tandem other than your weight.
I'm about your size and went to a demo day of Swift canoes. Their rep, seeing a 240 lb guy who mentioned camping with the boat, kept trying to steer me to their tandem Prospector, but I was set on a solo boat.
I demoed the Swift Osprey, a really nice boat but at 240 lbs I was already nearing the end of its capacity without gear.I tried the Sheerwater, which was really nice but I liked the way the Keewaydin 15 handled too.
In the end I wanted to drive away with a new boat and they had the Keewaydin 15 in stock and the Sheerwater would have been a special order with weeks before delivery (and another 3 hr RT drive or vague promises of perhaps being able to deliver it to me), so I opted for the Keewaydin. Nice boat, I love it, but I think with camping in mind the Sheerwater would have been the better choice in the end for a guy of my size.
Another to consider is the Wenonah Solo Plus. It will handle plenty of weight.
Remember that at 240 lbs, especially with camping in mind, the majority of solo boats are not appropriate for you.
Paddle some canoes throughout the spring
and summer, weekly, then revisit…it’ll all make sense.
240 isn’t that big…
Don’t know that I agree that 240 is too big for the majority of solo boats. I’m 220 (actually probably closer to 225, but like most people I round down) and do fine in a 14 foot boat. Load it up with gear and it is still fine. I have to admit that it is not the best boat for windy lakes when loaded with gear, but I don’t paddle windy lakes with gear very often. I do mostly day trips on rivers with an occasional camping trip thrown in, and it is great for that. It can be tough to do, but I definitely agree with Big Spenser - try to paddle different boats in different conditions and see what feels comfortable for you.
Wenonah Wilderness
Thanks again for all the input. I pulled the trigger on a Wenonah Wilderness today. Picked up a new 2016 “blemished” model, and took it out on a small lake for a couple of hours on the way home. Really enjoyed paddling it!
Excellent choice
I think you made a great decision on the Wilderness by Wenonah. I owned a Vagabond which is similar and loved it but the Wilderness is more capable and better paddling.
Ah, I forgot that boat as well…not a
bad choice flyingbison.