Would a Solo Plus have the capacity for a couple of 200 lb. guys for day trips with maybe 30 lbs worth of day packs, and or fishing gear.
Would it work for recreational racing for people this size?
Should be fine
I paddled tandem in it and b/w the two of us we easily had 500 pounds in her. Can’t really speak on the recreational racing aspect of her.
yep
it is a great boat for so much. 350 pounds is a great load in that boat, 450 should be fine, I just haven’t hit it yet.
as far as racing, it is wonderful for the occasional race or more. Go look at your standard Jensen 17 take it’s numbers and multiply it by 95% (or something) you will see how similar they are. A Solo Plus would be the boat you would build a J17 was a female mold.
I have enjoyed mine, and i know other people on here like their’s. I hope they chip in with more information.
Liveoutside
What differences did you notice in
speed and handling when you had over 500# in the boat?
Solo Plus/Escapade
If you are planning on purchasing a new Solo Plus (and you are going to focus on the tandem end of its abilities), here’s another boat to check out at the same time. At Canoecopia, Wenonah showed off a redesign of the Escapade, a boat that has always been a tandem with solo abilities (as opposed to the Solo Plus, which I would call a solo boat with tandem abilities). The new design makes the Escapade much more solo friendly, while keeping the “fast little tripper” aspect of the original. As both of these are from Wenonah, it should be easy to compare (though make sure that you are looking at the newer Escapade, not the original). Here’s what Rutabaga has to say about it: http://www.rutabaga.com/product.asp?pid=1010892 Paddle on!
Solo Plus as Tandem
A pair of 200# paddlers plus gear will work in a Solo Plus if they are good paddlers and the water is calm. The Solo Plus is very sharp at the ends and is a good tandem for small 100# paddlers, but paddlers at twice that weight will have problems with waves. The canoe can handle the load, but with the weight in the ends at the paddler stations it will plow thru waves and not rise with them.
As a tandem racer, again the 200# paddler weight works against the canoe. It is a narrow low volume hull and two big guys will put it deep in the water, not where it runs best. A 17’Jensen would be much better, and the Escapade mentioned earlier is the better choice with that load. Either 200# paddler should have no problem with the Escapade as a solo, and as such it is better than the 17’Jensen. Before the Escapade, Wenonah used the 17’Jensen as a tandem that could be soloed, and the Solo Plus as a solo that could be tandemed.
For big men in a rec class, the 17 Sundowner is a bit deeper than the Jensen and a bit better on open water. The Sundowner only shows now as a Royalex hull, but for years the 17’Sundowner was made in all the composite layups. It is a great all around hull; a tad slower than the Jensen, but deeper and dryer, and turns a tad better.
The Escapade might be a tick faster than the Sundowner, and a bit slower than the Jensen. they are all so close in speed that paddler skill makes a bigger difference.
Thanks much folks
There is a solo-plus for sale used not too far away. I really appreciate all the thoughts and comparisons. Guess I really need about three or four more boats…wonder if the Mrs. will go for that?
That’s kind of what I thought. I have
only soloed briefly in a Solo Plus, but it’s hard for me to imagine using one with 500 pounds on board when my much larger Bluewater Chippewa is properly rated for about 580#.
Solos as pocket tandem cruisers
My sons as Boy Scouts paddled my Solitude as a tandem. For two 80# boys it was a very fast canoe and they could fit kneeling in the ends. Them in the 15’ Solitude would smoke bigger boys in 15’ or 17’ Grummans or Old Town Discoveries. But as they grew they overloaded the ends and their center of gravity rose making the Solitude very tender. The Solo Plus was the next step and with their weights at 130# each and a good paddling skill level,they were could handle the Solo Plus as a tandem for quick calm water paddles and actually paddle seated.