last few years
At the Lumber 40 miler we have had a guy show up with a penobscot. Everyone else has kevlar or Carbon fibre race boats. Big Tom does the whole 40 miles in the
penobscot. It “ain’t a J-Boat” but there are not many royalex boats that go 40 miles in a reasonable time…
Gurnard -
- cool handle BTW. That’s a turtle, right? Or is it the submarine…
Anyway - did the dealer bother to show you a Mad River Freedom Solo (aka Guide)? That one gets nothing but good reviews. I’ve seen one in action, and though I haven’t tried paddling one yet it looks like a good boat.
Go with the dedicated solo…
Buy for what you plan on doing the majority of the time! While the Penob is a good boat, when compared to a dedicated solo, there is a big difference. Tumblehome, hull, speed and handling characteristics. We-no-nah makes several models that if you can, you should check out. The Prism sounds like an ideal candidate. I was lucky, as when I decided to go solo, I was able to test paddle several different models. I ended up with a, We-no-nah Rendevous, Kevlar with a center rib (it was a blem, I picked up for only $700.00) and I love it! Meets all my needs. My bro went from a Prism to an Advantage. He is faster, but when the water narrows or the waves come up, I out perform him. My other brother has a 16’ Penob, and could not keep up with us at all… He recently picked up a nice used Argosy solo, and it is night and day for him. He wishes he would have bought a solo a long time ago.
Good luck and have fun.
skip
I think a newbie is better off in a
16 foot Penobscot than in a dedicated solo.
Myself, I have a bunch of dedicated solos, but if I had to have just one canoe, it might be a Penobscot 16, or better yet a Millbrook AC/DC.
Let’s not give advice that people aren’t ready to benefit from.
You’re a big guy. Some aren’t.
I did much better in my first solo canoe - Mad River Slipper - than I ever did in my 16’ tandem Moore Canoe Company Ladybug, which was only 31.5" wide at the outside edge of the gunwales.
I may have done better in a Penobscot than the Moore canoe, but I didn’t have a Penobscot to try. The Moore was very straight tracking. The Moore was good enough until I got the Slipper.
I did a lot of solo river miles in my 12’ American Fiberlite tandem before I got a Perception Keowee rec kayak for river use, then that tandem canoe sat idle until I sold it.
I have a terrible time solo in my royalex Wenonah Solo Plus, but a great time in my kev ultra light Wenonah Advantage, both boats are the same length. The Solo Plus is just too big for me - especially in the wind.
Maybe there are tandems that are better than solos for beginners, but that wasn’t my experience.
All I had was tandems to paddle solo for the first 10 years of my canoeing. I wish I’d had a properly sized solo, instead.
I’m 5’6 and 160 lbs.
The submarine
– Last Updated: Apr-23-09 5:11 PM EST –
That particular sub was chopped up for scrap years ago.
I was a bubblehead once upon a time...it's also a fish that can walk on the bottom and (I think) glide in the air...may also have x-ray vision.
Good catch.
Edit: No on the solo boat, but that may be because he didn't have one there. It's a satellite of a larger place in Memphis & he had a HUGE list for that facility but I didn't look through it.
Gurnard scrapped…
– Last Updated: Apr-23-09 11:20 PM EST –
Just an aside - I only knew of the boat's name because I watched it's launch at Mare Island as a kid.
Was it scrapped because of age, or other?
Yup,
she was scrapped sometime in the mid 90’s. Kind of a shame - one of the few remaining (at that time anyway) “mother-subs” meaning it was capable of DSRV ops (Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle, small detachable/reattachable rescue sub that piggy backs on the mother sub) and it was also under ice capable - the sail planes could rotate to vertical and you could then surface through (some) polar ice.
But, the reactor needed refueling, there were plenty of newer and faster boats and the submarine force was shrinking during that time period so…to the scrapyard.
Well, I read that the poster was 225#
and made my suggestion accordingly.
Interesting info, Gurnard
It is a shame that such a vessel must be scrapped. Good that it was for “normal” reasons though.
Penobscot
The Penobscot 16 is generally a great value.
The shallow vee hull design will feel noticeably more tippy than the shallow arch in a Bell Morningstar - if you are concerned about tippiness.
You might want to make sure that you can lift it comfortably/easily…since you won’t use it much if it’s a pain in the butt to lift and put on a vehicle.
PS - I have a cool boat for sale at a great price that would work great for you if you are anywhere near SE Michigan!
Tippy
I found it to be very tippy.
Really?
The one I had (And very recently sold to get a dedicated solo) was fine. I could stand on the gunwhales, and I poled it fairly often, too. Great boat.
I guess it’s a matter of opinion.
Tandem for first canoe
– Last Updated: Apr-25-09 7:58 AM EST –
My first canoe was a tandem and I had NO skills at all. The extra width of the tandem made this newbie feel secure and come to love canoeing. I was also able to take out friends, try canoe camping etc. Once I fell in love with the canoe, then my skills increased and I began to buy other canoes including a solo. Just my thoughts on a first boat. Good Luck!
What part of Idaho?
My wife and I lived in Idaho Falls for a short time (temporarily stationed) and I LOVED Idaho. We’ve lived all over the country and it was my easily my favorite state.
Unfortunately, if I went back it would have to be without the wife “beautiful but too cold”. (Sigh)
jpc… It’s true that V-bottomed boats
can feel “tippy” right around the 0 degree point. But typically they firm up quickly and have strong secondary stability.
Some flat-bottomed boats, including two I own, show the same characteristic… low initial stability but firm secondary.
Tippy
I would NOT call the Penobscot 16 tippy.I can step right into it and sit my but down with no problems.I can walk front to back with no problems.I find it to be a very stable boat.Tippy was that dam kayak I bought last year and did barrel rolls for about an hour before finally getting in.I sold it the next day and will always buy canoes from now on.
What part of Idaho…
I’m about 30 minutes from the state capitol. It’s banana belt, compared to I-Falls, but I’ll admit the east side is prettier.
newbies & dedicated solos
g2d - I can really see your point and validate it, now that I (still a newbie) have test paddled an Argosy. I can see that would be a great boat - very easy paddling compared to soloing a tandem - however, it would take a lot of getting used too the…um…responsiveness. Someone just starting out would either have to be stubborn enough to keep at it or they might just be discouraged.
My Penobscot might be slower and less responsive, but the learning curve has been much smoother, I think, than would have been with a dedicated solo. And it works well for anything I am expecting to do in the near future.
It’s tempting to buy the Argosy, but I’d have to give up the Penobscot, and I ain’t gonna do that just now.
What did you do …
with all that money when you sold the Kruger?
You could have bought 7 of the penobs. 