I bought a Northwind Magic 2 yrs ago and love it. It’s 16 ’ x 30". It’s the Starlight layup with aluminum gunnels and has a footbrace. It weighs 30 lb. I bought this light layup because I keep it on a roof rack on top of my Subaru Forrester. It’s very easy to load and unload. I paddle it with a kayak paddle so it tracks easily. It’s very stable. I can easily paddle over speedboat wakes and through heavy wind. And I can cover just over 4 miles an hour in flatwater.
Looks like a nice boat, but that’s solo only. I did take a peek at a B17 and the Northwind 16 and 17 in Starlite. They all look quite nice. Might end up coming down to what I can get my hands on
Yes. Strictly solo although here I’m giving my 3 yo grandson a ride. There’s a blue noodle taped to the thwart behind the seat that acts as a great backrest.
I drove to Dayton, Ohio, Great Miami Outfitters for this one.
souris river canoes, and north stars are the two that I am debating. Lots of options for what your looking for. Nova crafts may be better river boats but I don’t think they paddle as well.
Agreed, a lot of choices and they all look quite nice. I do not expect to end up with the “perfect” canoe as I am not willing to go test paddle all of the options.
My hope is to settle on something soon to be built over the winter. I want to be paddling it from the start of next season.
There’s no such thing as a perfect canoe…one canoe that does everything better than all others. But there are lots of great, versatile canoes with wonderful personalities.
One minor comment on the Swift Prospector 16 is that it looks like you get their awesome contoured seats if you order the carbon fiber gunwales. I love those seats on my Swift solos but be aware that they are not symmetric…they have a hump in front so may not be ideal for sitting backwards from the bow seat for soloing. You might ask Swift. If you get the aluminum gunwales you get symmetric seats.
Personally I like asymmetric boats because they paddle a bit more efficiently. I have a Northstar Polaris with the optional third seat for solo paddling. Great boat for sure and I love the big open area in front of me without a yoke…just tons of room for the dog. The Swift Keewaydin Combi 16 is similar and that’s also a nice boat that would serve your needs well, my friend had one. I think Northstar makes nice boats and has good up to date hull designs but I’d put Swift quality and attention to detail a notch above. In the Northstar line I think the NW16 is the one for you. The 17 (actually 17.5) is HUGE and not a solo boat. I had the Bell version (same boat) and sold it because I never had a big enough load for it (the boat likes 500 pounds or more).
It’s a poor pic but shows my Polaris with three seats. I’d estimate that it’s 41 or 42 pounds even in the (stiff) carbon lay-up with wood trim. It’s my dog’s favorite boat. 
If you interested i do have 16’ savage river otegan for sale. Weight 30 lbs
Depending on where you are and what is available, I’d have a hard look at H2O canoes too. They are some of the most technologically sophisticated lay-ups in the industry now, and they make a couple models that should fit your needs (though I haven’t paddled them, so cannot comment on the specific designs). A Bluewater Prospector might be a good match too - their “prospector” is considerably less “prospectorish” than most (less rocker, lower sheer, faster/better tracking on flatwater).
Where are you located? I’m in MA
Im located in Michigan, but im going out to the east coast in the next few weeks. Im asking 1,500.00 and it has a new bag lady cover.
I did a little research and that sounds like a pretty serious open water solo canoe, which is not what I am looking for at all. If I have that wrong, please let me know.
Thanks
Its a good open water fast, light and its nimble. Its a cross between a race canoe and a recreational canoe. I used it for training for racing.
Doesn’t sound like a great fit for me right now. Thanks though.
I’ve been thinking about what I really need and a big tandem is feeling less appealing. I am unlikely to do a big trip with another paddler in my boat, and if that trip does come up, we can always rent. I need something that will allow the kids to tag along but will be easy for me to handle myself. I’m taking a hard look at the slipstream sportduo 13 (21 lbs!) and the Sacandaga 14 (39 lbs).
I use a cedar strip, 28lb with a kevlar bottom and 10oz tape and resin reinforcing.
Annual work advised.