I’ve been thinking about buying a two person sea kayak like the Carolina two by perception but sometimes I paddle alone. Does anyone know if that kayak can be comfortably paddled alone. It seems most of the 2 person kayaks have there back seats placed pretty far back. I am kayaking in strong current on the east river in New York so I don’t know if there is another choice that will allow me to take someone with me and or paddle alone when I want to go solo. I’ve seen some open cockpit types Like the perception arcadia 2 and perception Sundancer 2 but they don’t seem long enough to stay straight in rougher water I’m not sure if they can be skirted and enclosed I think 16 to 17 feet is the minimum length for the type of water I’m in any suggestions or recommendations from the experts would be greatly appreciated
can be done…
Can be done, but soloing a tandem is a different beast than a single. Usually you stick a cover on the front hatch. Generally, it would be much harder to turn and the boats are often wider, plus boat is heavier/bulkier for moving around out of water.
Some double recreational boats can be run as singles. A friend has an Old Town Loon which works this way - the front seat can be shifted back far enough to allow you to do it solo. But it would have issues you mention in waves and such.
Not fun in current or wind
When I was guiding, I paddled my share of tandems solo. If a trip had to abandon boats somewhere because of the weather, a bunch of guides would hop in a tandems later and paddle to the abandon boats. We would then divide, one to a boat plus towing another if it was calm or one each and make multiple trips. These were 22 foot tandems. The only way to make this work is carry a 40L dry bag to fill up with water and drop in the front seat while you sit in the rear operating the rudder. With tidal currents and the boat traffic you would be dealing with I would suggest buying a solo boat if you are going to be paddling solo. Get the tandem now and wait to find a cheap solo later if you plan on more tandem trips to start.
do it all the time
I solo my OT Loon 160T all the time, mostly in rivers and streams, current or not. I’ve gotten use to sitting in the back seat, and like it. I’ve paddled it in wind, rain, snow, just about anythink you can think of, no problem. It seems a is a bit heavy after a long paddle, but it sure is stable on water and that extra seat is handy when my daughter wants to go or I have lots of gear to pack in on an extended paddle
some more details thanks guys
Thanks all… so, so much for the help. I noticed that Peter and Crusty both mentioned the “old town loon 16” foot kayak which I discovered is discontinued. Have any of you seen the “Dirigo Tandem Plus” made by old town or the “Necky Manitou 2 Tandem”. Both boats are about a 10 to 12 inches shorter then the “Loon 160”. The “Dirigo Tandem Plus” is about 15’3” and the “Manitou 2” is about 14’8” Both boats can be equipped with rudders, both have move-able seats so you can paddle solo or Tandam and both look like they can be skirted for full enclosure… That seems like an advantage over the “Loon 16” foot boat which seems like it has an open cockpit. I saw both boats on the LL Bean on-line catalogue in the Tandem boat section. One of these boats looks like it could work for me. I’m Just worried about the short lengths. I’ve been kayaking in a single solo
Sea Kayaks with a variety of rented boats mostly 17 ft long. I’m not an experience Kayaker but I have a pretty good clue at this point. I’ve been Kayaking on the East River and the Hudson River around Manhattan in New York City. The sales person at LL bean who is an experienced Kayaker said that she thought I would not have fun in any Tandem Kayak at that length in that kind of water with someone else… but especially not in a tandem boat alone. A boat like the Carolina 2 is just to difficult to paddle by yourself with the seat to far back and the two LL bean boats above are two short even though the seat moves and it has a ruder she said they will track badly and be to difficult to handle in that water. That sounded like an honest answer coming from a sales person. She was very cool actually… Jokingly she said they call Tandem boats Divorce boats… Pretty funny I guess although I’m not married so I don’t have to worry about that. Nermal is right in his post when he said the tidal currents and boat traffic suggest buying a solo boat because the current and wind are strong in NY harbor… I’m wondering if either of the LL bean boats short though they may be, might work as a compromise. Nermal thinks man handling that Carolina two with a sand d bag is to difficult… It does sound crazy, he’s probably right
Maybe what I was hoping for just isn’t made or maybe I’m just thinking this through to much and should just try one of the two LL Bean solo boats or the Carolina 2 and see how it goes.
What do you all think. Am I looking for two boats one Solo and one Tandem yikes!!! Any other suggestions
Thanks again all
Sorry for the long post
Jeff