I have to agree
It would be best to pick a canoe for the solo portion and rent for when you need a tandem. In Florida you will be unable to rent a solo canoe but there are plenty of outfitters that rent tandem canoes. Not necessarily quality ones unfortunately.
I paddle a Hemlock Kestrel all over coastal Everglades gulf and inside bays. Also use it on Biscayne Bay in Southeast FL. While I would never try to launch from surf or land in surf it is plenty seaworthy for our typical conditions. I have installed a Cookes custom spray deck for trips involving more open conditions when paddling from island to island along the Everglades coastal area.
Judgement and experience in conditions involving wind speed and direction before a crossing is key to safety and more important than boat choice. Having kayaked these areas for years I have done so and know my limits.
I disagree
Canadian style solo is very adaptable.
Most barrenland travelers use the bow seat reversed.
Nova Craft Super Nova actually has one seat and guess what its in the aft half. The idea that if you need to get your gear its safer to go forward than reach in back of you.
For most people the bigger the volume of the boat the safer in rough seas. I have been laughed at when I propose bringing a 28 inch beam solo on something like the Thelon.
Who owns one boat?
I agree with some of the other posters above who recommend buying for primary use. Although, they say rent for secondary use. I say buy look for deals and save then buy again. You can never have enough boats.
Paddling a boat like the Rendevous with high sides has the advantage of keeping water out, but it is also a disadvantage in the wind of open water. The original poster is really asking for a lot out of one boat, and probably an impossibility.
I didn’t say anything against
Canadian solo. I’m very tall and have long arms. I don’t need to kneel in one side of the bilge to control the boat. There’s probably some hot Canadian solo paddlers who can place high on a slalom course. But all the serious slalom and whitewater paddlers are on foam pedestals.
Rendezvous won’t blow around any
more than an Escapade or Solo Plus. The only negative about the Rendezvous hull is the marked tumblehome. That recurved center can be jumped on by waves.
I haven’t paddled the …
the Escapade or the Solo Plus. I have paddled the Rendevous on a lake with minimal chop but with wind comparable to an average day at the ocean. It wasn’t a pleasant paddle, it required constant forceful correction. Some of this maybe my bias, I like to paddle fast and forward both of which are compromised if I have to use constant correction storkes.
My Classic XL with much lower sides and less rocker wouldn’t have even noticed the wind. Of course that creates a problem in ocean paddling with significant waves. I’m glad I have a kayak for that.
Regarding Wenonah Rendezvous as
a tandem boat, Eric Nyre tells me it is too tricky that way except for small and skilled paddlers.
I again suggest looking at the Bluewater Freedom 17, the Bluewater 16-6 “Scout,” and the Bluewater Peterborough, all on the following page link.
http://www.bluewatercanoes.com/
The Millbrook AC/DC is at millbrookboats.com on the tandem boats page.
Of these tandems, the Millbrook AC/DC and the Bluewater Peterborough are the narrowest, and probably the easiest to solo.
A few more possibilities for tandems
that are quite manageable paddled solo. Note that some are more suitable to “Canadian” paddling, heeled over, than others.
Bell Northstar 16’6" composite
Bell Northwind 16’6" Royalex
Wenonah Escapade 16’ 6" composite
The Bell Northstar and the Wenonah Escapade have extra mid-hull tumblehome to aid solo paddling. The Escapade is low in rocker and may need special managment for threading tight channels.
Why not a hybrid?
I’m surprised no one has suggested one.
Old town otter, Pamlico 13.5 or 14.5, Heritage featherlite. There’s lots of types out there. After paddling a canoe for 3 years around Florida rivers, islands, Everglades and down to Flamingo I switched to the tandem with no regrets. Plenty of room for gear if you’re paddling solo, but you can use them with your wife as a tandem too.
What makes them a hybrid? What
makes them suitable for ocean forays?
prospector
I’m no expert but I do live and paddle in Florida. My canoe of choice now is a wenonah 16’ prospector. I use it in all rivers, creeks,lakes and gulf(weather permitting). I paddle it canadian solo and on occasion take my wife. There may be better suited boats but this one works for me and my dog. For me it’s a multi use do anything canoe and the price didn’t kill me either.
Thank You.
Thanks for all the feedback everyone. There are so many manufactures and different types of boats. The more I have learned the harder my decision has become, but I keep moving towards an educated decision. I wish there was more opportunity to demo some of these, but most seem hard to come by around here(Central Florida.) There are so many rivers and lakes near by, but the intercostal and beach is only a ~40min drive. I will mark beach and offshore off the list, but still want to paddle the Indian River and 10,000 islands/Everglades.
Cost is a big factor, but I can save longer to get a better boat. I don't like buying something cheap first just to replace it shortly and spend more money in the end. I can buy a sea kayak down the road if it becomes necessary and I spend time offshore. I don't think I want a hybrid or SOT. I am also trying to decide if a solo is really better for me and just rent a canoe or kayaks for outings with my wife.
Current tandems:
Bell Northstar
Bluewater Peterborough
Millbrook A.C./D.C.
Escapade
Solo Plus
Solos:
Hemlock Peregrine
BTW: I'm ~210# and 5'11"
I will update this as I read more and you all help me figure this out. Thanks again. Sorry for the length.
Rendevous
I’m stunned by the R’s ability to zoom around the river up, down, sideways, hovering at the drop’s top, picking a line, stopping,centering in convergent flows…A Gas !
Converting from a straight keel mindset is the problem.
I developed an opinion, used as rhetorical question-so far without following comment-side chines are used as secondary turning keels. Comment ?
With the straight keel mindset, using a backpaddle ferry isn’t going well: unstable’s the hull.
Florida
If paddling on low wind velocity days, a canoe is OK but if the wind comes up, a canoe’s exposed hull vs a kayak hull…paddling is very difficult.
Florida
If paddling on low wind velocity days, a canoe is OK but if the wind comes up, a canoe’s exposed hull vs a kayak hull…paddling is very difficult.