I’ve never paddled a Voyageur so cannot compare directly. The specs suggest the Advantage should be better in the wind, but it won’t be a night and day difference. The canoe I use now is 21 in. shorter and has 1.75 in. of rocker in the bow and 1.25 in. in the stern. Much easier to handle in the waves. Not as fast as the Advantage, but way more versatile.
The Voyager is a very long (17 1/2’) solo canoe and it has moderate depth as well. So there is a whole lot of windage sticking out in front of and behind you. Unless you have very long arms and a long paddle, you won’t be able to get your paddle blade out close to the ends of the boat where turning strokes are most effective. So in a side wind it can be quite hard to turn either upwind or downwind, especially if you are paddling an unloaded boat.
It can have a disconcerting tendency to “lock onto” a crosswind and go skating sideways across the lake.
The Advantage is a foot shorter with less depth amidships and at the stern so it is much better in that regard, although still sluggish to turn.
I’ve had my Advantage out in brisk winds with small whitecaps and it can be a handful. I’m assuming the Voyageur is even more of a workout trying to keep it on course.
I do have very long arms, but it’s still a handful in a wind.
Of course one obvious solution is to just not paddle in a strong wind.
Not always avoidable, but it usually is.
The sliding seat does help a lot. One of the reasons I chose the Advantage over some other boats.
If the wind is coming from the front, I can move the seat forward. If it’s coming from the rear, I can move the seat back. If it’s coming from the side, I can find the spot where it doesn’t turn into or away from the wind.
I’m pretty certain the North Star, North wind solo would be a better all around tripping canoe.
I think it’s an option that’s still on the table.
I think what scared me off more than anything is a video review I watched. The guy, who was obviously an experienced paddler, said it wasn’t very stable. If he thought it felt “tippy”, I’m sure I would think it’s tippy too and I don’t like tippy boats.
But that’s unloaded. I’m really looing for a canoe for multiday trips more than a day paddler.
I think I should give the Northwind another look.
I was ribbing you because you were going back and forth so much.
The Northwind looks to be a better all-around canoe. I’m partial to Curtis/Hemlock canoes so my suggestion is biased, but give the Peregrine a look. I have a Kestrel and find it to be a great combination of efficiency and maneuverability. But I weigh less than 150 lbs and travel light so the Peregrine is better suited to paddlers weighing 175 lbs and up with larger tripping loads. The Kestrel goes right along but the Peregrine will be even faster. Dave’s prices are a bit higher but you get outstanding build quality.
I have not paddled a Northwind Solo. But I have paddled and still own a Bell Merlin II. The Northwind Solo has been described as a slightly upscaled verion of the Merlin II, 6 inches longer, and inch wider at the waterline, and 1/2" deeper at the bow and amidships with the same degree of differential rocker.
The Merlin II is a pretty versatile boat with decent efficiency for flat water paddling and fairly good maneuverability for river paddling and it certainly has more capacity than the Advantage. The Merlin II is also the better boat to paddle kneeling although it can certainly be set up to paddle sitting.
The Merlin II and the Northwind Solo also share the recurved tumblehome design that David Yost introduced to the canoeing world rather than the pronounced bubble-sided tumblehome characteristic of the Advantage and many other Wenonah designs. That gives it rather better secondary stability for heavier paddlers or those carrying a load.
With the Wenonah boats once you heel the canoe enough to submerge the widest part of that “bubble” the secondary stability drops off abruptly. With the shouldered or recurved tumblehome the hull is flared right up to the recurve below the gunwale so as you heel it over you are putting more of the side of the hull on the water.
The Merlin II has its quirks but overall I would say that it is more user-friendly and versatile than the Advantage. The Northwind Solo being a bit wider I would expect to feel a bit more stable still.
Yeah, the Falcon series Hemlock canoes (Kestrel and Peregrine) are somewhat similar to the Bell Merlin II and the Northstar Northwind Solo. The Kestrel is a bit shorter than the Merlin II and a bit narrower with differential rocker but a little less at both ends than the Merlin II. The Peregrine is only a few inches longer than the Northwind Solo, essentially the same width at the waterline and very similar depth but again a bit less rocker at both ends.
Years ago I took my Bell Merlin II to Raystown and paddled it back to back with Dave’s Peregrine and Kestrel demos. I found the Peregrine to be a little harder tracking with maybe a little higher top speed but a bit less maneuverable than the Merlin II. It definitely seemed to be a bit stickier at the stern than the Merlin II. I remember coming away from that demo thinking that the Merlin II was probably the better boat for my intended usage which included a good bit of river paddling. Although if you could sit me in a Peregrine and a Merlin II blindfolded and asked me to paddle one then the other, I’m not sure I would be able to tell them apart.
I think if I could only have one solo canoe it would be either a Peregrine (for it’s speed and tracking) or the Kestrel (for it’s maneuverability) but the Northwind or Merlin II would be great alternates. Of course, if I weighed more I’d be leaning towards the Peregrine or Northwind. So many canoes, so little time… 
I was looking through the North Star line, making sure I wasn’t overlooking anything, and found the Magic.
It seems to fit in between the Wenonah Advantage and the North Star Northwind.
Logically, that should make it a contender.
1 Like
I haven’t paddled the Northstar Magic. I have paddled Bell Magics a number of times. The specs for the Northstar and the Bell Magic are identical and I have read from those who have had both that they handle virtually the same.
The Magic would be much more like the Advantage than the other boats mentioned. The Magic has differential rocker but not a lot, but the bow rocker does make it a bit easier to turn than the Advantage. But the Magic is still a pretty hard-tracking canoe. I think the Advantage is a bit faster.
My feeling is that the Magic has a bit greater maximum efficient capacity than the Advantage but I could be wrong about that. Like the Advantage the Magic is pretty narrow between the gunwales in the bow which will limit what you can fit in there for tripping.
Here is a thread from another forum that compares the merits of a number of fast canoes that are commonly used for tripping in the Northwoods, including the Magic, the Advantage, the Prism, the Voyager:
1 Like
I have had a Northwind Solo for a year now. I find it quite stable, reasonably maneuverable and takes a load well. I am 6 ft. 215, handles me and a load very well through a range of conditions.
Empty day paddling I would be happier in a twitchier, lower volume boat. Magic seems to fit that description, similar to Advantage from what I have seen. Another Northstar boat to consider would be the Trillium, less speed-oriented than Merlin, less volume than Northwind.
Hemlocks more hit and switch-oriented like Advantage and Merlin?
My local dealer said I needed to get my order in soon, so I went ahead and ordered the Northwind Solo in BlackLite.
There are other canoes that would have worked, but I think the Northwind is a broader spectrum boat. It does more things well. If I ever go back to the Boundary Waters, it will work great for that. If I spend five days floating the Green or Colorado Rivers, it will work great for that. If I want to challenge the sand waves on the San Juan, it can handle it. If I want to take it out for a day paddle on the local res., it will work fine for that.
I sure hope it’s all that. It’s costing me an arm and a leg.
1 Like