I was unable to make the trip to get the Wedco 12' canoe, & told seller not to hold it for me- it sold a day later. Just as well.
Have found a "lightly used" Sawyer Oscoda (Solo?) 13.x foot canoe. Only a few reviews on these, one is from a 250-pounder who enjoys paddling it on occasion. This Sawyer should certainly be *Several* rungs up the ladder from the Wedco, & at least a little above an OT Pack or Disco/Guide 119.
I won't be on any whitewater, live on one lake & a few miles away from one of the sweetest little canoe lakes you could find, Daingerfield State Park(TX). This boat sounds & looks like it might be worth the extra driving(over 300 mi round trip!)
Any specs or other facts on the Sawyer Oscoda/Solo 13 appreciated. I found that it's not one of the premium, top-of-the-line hand-laid "Real" Sawyers- but it still weighs less than 50 lbs & should be a nice one-man canoe for me to start with, much better for solo paddling than the old 15' Grumman. I'm about 5'11", currently weigh ~255-260 lbs, ~36" sleeve, ~31" inseam. That tractor seat looks OK to me. Should encourage me to lose weight ! ;)
Link to the ad: http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/boa/3059978902.html
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Performance limit 275 lb
unless paddling with large dog you should be fine
http://superiorcanoes.com/solocanoes.html#B
That’s about what I would have guessed,
as a paddler of 13’ and 14’ range canoes. I wish more makers would focus on a good-performance maximum rather than the traditional 6" freeboard limit.
gone
Sadly, I was defeated- once again- by responsibility & geography. :^P
Thanks for the help, KM. Too bad, that woulda been a good one. One-man canoes are Extremely scarce here in bass boat/ski boat/john boat country.
Transporting a canoe
You might consider checking with KAS Transport - they have an ad in the canoes for sale section of the classifieds - to get a general idea of what their rates are. If you can affort the shipping, that would increase the distance from home you can look for boats.
2nd Chances Sometimes Happen!
After missing the little Sawyer Oscoda Solo 13 by a hair’s width & a few minutes last week, I was bummed but kept looking. This week, after 6 pm Wed 6/13, saw CL ad, Dallas: Oscoda Solo 13 Canoe- $3xx. As I clicked the ad, thought, No way! But my brain was wrong & my gut was right- there were pix of the same canoe. Ad had been posted ~8:40 am that morning, figured it was gone again. Argued with myself, lost & called by 6:30. Askd the guy about it, told him where & when he’d had to go get it- he said,“How do you know all this?!” “I’m the guy wound up one place behind you in line!” :^D
He’d wanted a canoe for himself & his 2 kids to paddle in- it was way too small for that, even with a petite 14-yr old daughter & a little 6-yr old son. I Talked him down pretty quickly from $325(Entreprenurial spirit!) to $250. But he still wanted a canoe. 2 months ago I bought a well used, red-faded-to-pink Coleman 15 footer for $200 to use alongside my Grumman 15 when brother’s family visits. The new seller of the Oscoda was interested- I sent him pix of the Coleman on Thurs.
Result? I drove ~130 miles to his place on Friday, 6/15/12. He got the average run of the mill 1996 faded Coleman 15 & $50 ca$h, I got the Sawyer Oscoda Solo 13 & a little kid-sized el cheapo kayak paddle. ;^) Then I drove ~130 miles home.
This little canoe, mfg 84 as 85 model, is lightly used for sure. 2 boo-boos in the bottom’s gelcoat- at stern, where keel becomes stem, there’s a chip broken off ~1.5" long, probably rammed into or dropped on something hard & sharp. About 30" aft of the bow, on “keel” is a hole, pencil eraser sized, less than 1/4" deep- from an air bubble? Other than those 2 warts, it looks Really Good. She’s a beauty!
As far as the 1980’s Sawyer Oscodas being chopper-gun constuction- the inside is a tan-painted, fairly coarse weave cloth pattern, doesn’t look anything like chopper gun boats I’ve seen. The glassed-in “caps” for the bow & stern flotation chambers- now Those look like chopper gun.
Gotta get a little gelcoat repair kit & fix those boo-boos. Since it’s white, plain white repair is good enough for the keel. Any rec’s for good DIY gel coat how to? 
Hooray!