I almost put a Cruiser on my list. I’ve put many miles on one and enjoyed them all! The Independence is also a great boat. I went with the Ocoee over the Rival because I think it’s a little more of a high performance boat. It’s definitely not as forgiving with it’s hard chines, but it is quick and agile. It was a great slalom OC1 and was great for tight technical runs. Maybe not the first choice for a lot of people for big water, but as a relatively small paddler it was still great for me. I only paddled in a Howler once. I would like to get in one again!
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I do agree with you on the Ocoee but the Rival was a better choice for me and, it is great for multi-day self supported runs.
The Howler is currently living in Charlotte NC. It’s an amazing solo canoe but I think that my brother-in-law & I were a bit heavy for it (guesstimated long after the fact at maybe 400 - 420 for the two of us). I’m thinking that it is better at 300 - 350 lbs.
Running the stupid line at Lesser Wesser:
Don’t forget Savage River. Their Susquehanna is at the top of my list.
Oh the position would be upside down if they tried paddling any of them
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Flatwater solo the Bell Wildfire wins hands down, but my “if you can only have one solo boat” it would be the royalex Yellowstone Solo. Whitewater solo I’m doing my best to transition into a MR Outrage (wood gunnels), but I am finding it to be a bit of a transition from my Dagger Impluse. I like my Wenonah Spirit II for flatwater/tripping as long as there are not too many rocks. My royalex tandem is Mohawk Whitewater 16 - tough boat and OK for poling, but it is a beast if you need to portage. For an all-around tandem I think you have to put the MR Explorer near the top.
Eckilson,
Had a very good laugh when I read about your"transition from Dagger Impulse to Mad River Outrage.
That is a transition that will likely requires quite a lot of seat time, and patience…
Big old “tubby” Impulse had rock solid secondary stability.
Outrage is more than a little twitchy, but if you are successful; you’ll have a damn nice whitewater solo. Stick the Outrage’s bow 2 foot into an eddy, and prepare to be spun around 180 degrees. Peeling out of an eddy into strong current was always an adventure.
Believe it or not, when I was using my Outrage X, I stumbled upon a heck of a deal on an Outrage. $600.00, fully outfitted, wood trim, and everything in near new condition. First owner couldn’t deal with it, and the “wanna be whitewater warrior” threw up his hands in frustration, and gave up his whitewater fantasies.
I sprung the 600 to buy the Outrage real quick, before others tried to jump on that deal. I thought I’d recoup my money selling my Outrage X; pretty sure I could have gotten 700 for it. A few trips on some class II+ & low level class III, and more than a few fish counts later; I decided the Outrage X suited me “just fine”.
I kept it, and resold the Outrage (with a good profit) to a guy from down south. He already had an Outrage, but the one he owned had vinyl trim, and he lusted after a wood trimmed Outrage. I helped fulfill his need… He drove a heck of a lot of miles to pick it up, and was happy as a clam to give me my asking price to get it. Never heard how that played out?
I have enclosed a photo of a highly skilled, very young, paddler who had his Outrage figured out, and under control. Someone would have had to pay me to try
to stand up in one; he did it “just for fun”. Great kid; fun paddling companion. His brother, standing in the red canoe (an old Dagger I think), and his sister in a purple Outrage also had outstanding paddling skills; especially being as young as they were.
BOB
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Best canoe for me is a 17+ foot Alumacraft. It carries like a tank, handles like a boat (not as much of a compliment when describing a canoe as you’d think), looks pretty rough, and was too wide to fit on the car I had when I got it, but it was my first canoe and that’s gotta count for something. Plus my kids couldn’t tip it over if they tried. Now that I work for Sanborn/Merrimack I’ve got a bunch of other options when I go paddling, but I’ll always have a soft spot for where I started.
I reckon most lists are limited by those canoes the lister has paddled which certainly cannot be all, so take with a grain of salt. I’m a solo paddler and I like:
- for lakes or truly flat water, a Bell Merlin II
- for twisty creeks Class I or less, the Colden (once Bell) Wildfire
- for WW Dagger Rival or Outrage
.
John, agree with Wildfire designation. Wins “most fun flatwater hull that can handle moving water” category. As close to a do it all as I have come after paddling or owning about 45 solos. Nice to see you post!
Steve, great to hear from you. I bought my first Bell Wildfire canoe from you around 1996 or 97. Seems to me that Ted Bell painted it an extra bright white for you. I’ve never seen that white on a Bell since. It had Cherry wood rails and was beautiful. I can’t even guess how many miles it has on it by now.
Keep the open side up.
I must be loosing it Bob - its was an Encore, not an Impluse. Still a transition to the Outrage.
Encore: I like that boat.
More fun/more manueverable than an Impulse without a doubt. Definitely a better step in the right direction, in transition to an Outrage.
BOB
Photos of my Encore…
Encore
Outrage
Encore is a great boat, and it doesn’t seem like the transition to the Outrage should be that big a deal (only a foot shorter), but I find that I really need to pay attention to the leans as I cross eddy lines. Last time out in the Outrage I flipped in an eddy and the boat went downstream about a mile through the best rapids without me…
A great example of a stupid article written by someone that barely knows anything about canoes.
This happens all the time. The boating public has shifted from enthusiasts to beginners. They can’t really tell.
For all around tripping, on lakes and in the ocean as a day tripper and for multi day trips and expeditions, I’d pick the Clipper Tripper.
It’s a 17.5" boat and comes in a variety of styles (kevlar w/w/o gelcoat and glass). It can handle an enormous load, tracks very straight and is fast (even upwind). I love the tractor seats and stern foot bar.
It’s not a solo boat and not for anything beyond class II.
It’s much faster than a prospector on non-moving water.
I’ve paddled it extensively in the ocean along BC’s coast and on big windy lakes and deep fjords.
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that’s nice… Not the only one and very very hard to find away from the West Coast. We have been using a Wenonah Odyssey on Lake Superior ( it was replaced in the Wenonah line up by the Champlain)
Any experienced canoe person can do much better than the list above. How about these?
OT Tripper
Mad River Explorer
Prospector made by everybody
Sawyer Cruiser
Clipper Tripper
In my opinion the best canoe is the one that fits you and your needs the best. In my case I wasn’t finding what I really wanted and when I did I found it was out of my price range. Canoes are not that hard to modify and in my case what I wanted was a solo made from a tandem with a comfortable all day seat. Very stable, able to haul a lot of gear or not and could be paddled with a double blade. So I got something close and made it mine.
I strongly suggest this custom approach for several reasons but mainly because it is fun to do.
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Agree the original list is pretty darned bad.
A few boats that haven’t been mentioned but that I think would be reasonable contenders for their intended purposes:
Blackhawk Phantom - good , reasonably fast flatwater tandem cruiser for windy BWCA type paddling.
Bell Mystic - a “rocket” tandem tripper but not for really heavy loads in big waves - it’ll knife into big waves under those conditions. Fast with a great glide, turns well for its length (18.5’) if heeled. It can win races.
Dagger Prophet - I’m not as experienced a whitewater paddler as others here, but I spent a few days on the Wolf R. in one and came to love it. Dry ride, turns and stops effortlessly and predictably, and surfs like crazy.
People often end up with what they can find. I have never bought a new canoe. Learning about canoe design and your intended uses are important. Then you can figure out whether to buy that next boat or not.
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