Yanoer, my old MR Compatriot was
almost as impractical for class 1-2 streams in the southern mountains as his OT Pack. I did quite well for years until I got too heavy for the boat.
What I wonder is, how did he manage small streams with a double blade? I kayak, and I also have an 8’ double blade for my small canoes. But down here, small streams mean overhanging rhodedendrons, sometimes arching over the best channel. I found a long double blade very unsuitable for such environments.
The guy sounds like a paddler who would run anything solo in his tandem Folboat, even Bull Sluice. He got away with it for quite a while, but one day on the lower Conasauga, a midstream rock ate his Folboat, and he had to walk out.
Well…
I am thinking about going with a Prospector 16 from Swift or Nova Craft. What do you all think of that? Again, for a 6 foot 4, 215lb guy. The boat would obviously be used backwards. Let me know your thoughts.
Ever paddled one?
Its a bit of a reach for cross strokes and paddling it backwards is not the best for control.
You can get a kneeling thwart that puts you right in back of the center yoke for best control yet leaves you room to escape in case of capsize.
In headwinds the last thing you want is to be paddling the Prospector stern first as the new bow will be relatively unladen and catch the wind… You need to be able to pitch the bow down in those cases.
Thats why a large solo like a Shearwater or Rockstar or Keewaydin 15 shines, especially with a solo sliding seat. You are centered and the ends are free to ride over waves.
People will say they paddle Prospectors backwards from the bow seat all the time. But doing that is very much a poor compromise.
Osprey max capacity?
A couple of people mentioned the Osprey, but when I was looking for a solo last year I concluded that the published maximal capacity of 260 pounds may be pushing it for me with a similar weight as the OP. Maybe the stated capacity is quite conservative?
Not that I have ever seen one for sale within 500 miles.
try a number of boats
In your first post you ask, about a solo. There are a number of good options mentioned.
The next is about a tandem, that can solo’d.
It helps if we know if and what you paddled before , what your plans are. For few hours on a pond, you need something differend, then if you want to travel a month on th yukon.
All can be done. have fun paddling
Ballast
– Last Updated: Mar-09-14 9:59 AM EST –
is the solution to proper trim when soloing a Prospector. If You're already carrying a load, just rearrange it. If not, then a couple of gallon jugs of water in one end or the other will do it.
I have, over time, mostly learned to keep my own preference for larger boats to myself around this forum. I spoke up this time because this tall OP is a good candidate for a big boat.
Peter