What solo canoe for me? So many choices!

I agree too
I have a RX Wildfire (bought before Bell changed the name). Based on your criteria, I also think it would fit your needs well. I don’t know if you sit or kneel, but if you kneel you might want to look for one with wood trim. The way the seat hanger is configured in the vinyl trim models makes modifying the seat height more problematic. Of course, wood trim adds to the cost of the boat.

Bell Flashfire
Never seen a Flashfire in Royalex…



No matter what the layup; a Flashfire wouldn’t fit any of the original poster’s criteria in my opinion. Great freestyle boat.



I don’t think the Wenonah Sandpiper should even be considered either.



Original poster could buy the used Sojourn they spoke of, and a used Yellowstone/Wildfire for the price of a new Flashfire.



I wouldn’t dismiss the Merlin II, or the Magic, because they’re composite boats, but unless the original poster does a lot of seaching, and gets lucky, they will need deep pockets for the initial investment. I wouldn’t want to use a new Merlin II, or Magic in Black Gold, or any layup, for my “rock basher”.



BOB

I love my wildfire

– Last Updated: Aug-06-06 11:46 AM EST –

but it will be hard to keep pace with 16 foot sea kayaks. Wildfires are slow. Great little boats but not meant to be a flatwater cruiser.

Compromises

– Last Updated: Aug-06-06 12:12 PM EST –

Thanks for all the great information.

I'd love to have a Wenonah Prism, Bell Magic or Merlin, but the cost is prohibitive. I'll own one eventually, but for now, I'm looking in the sub $1000 (cheaper the better) range. $1000 is the absolute max I can justify paying for a boat right now and even then I'm approaching the Ramen Noodle diet for a couple months.

To be fair, speed/efficiency is a priority, but perhaps not the driving force. I'll eventually have a touring 'yak to keep up with the other decked boats.

The Sojourn mentioned earlier in this thread sounds intriguing, but I'm in SW Ohio and NY is much too far of a trek. So far, the Bell Yellowstone solo/RX Wildfire sounds to fit the bill well and seems to be the standard "all 'round" solo boat people suggest. How does the Wenonah Rendezvous stand in the same class?

I also may have an opportunity to grab an OT Penobscot 15 Solo for a good price. Where does this boat place in the pack of versatile RX solos? Efficiency? Maneuverability? "Fun" water?

Considering my current budget limitations and that my part of the country isn't a hotbed of used solo canoes, I'm more of a beggar than a chooser.

An affordable "pretty good" boat nearby is much better than the perfect boat that's out of reach. For example, I had my heart set on an OT Penobscot 16 for tooling around with my son, but I found a pristine Mohawk Royalex Blazer 16 nearby that was half the price of the cheapest Penobscot I could find (at the time). The Blazer has turned out to be a good, if not heavier alternative and I've had the chance to share paddling with my son. Win/Win.

Thanks

Phreon

The RX Rendezvous…
…and Yellowstone solo are totally different boats. I’ve owned both. I got rid of my RX Rendezvous because I truly disliked it. It had a mind of its own and was a real pig to control at times. There were initially some design flaws with the seat position and hull shape that have since been addressed. Interestingly, the composite version is a pretty sweet boat but the early version of the RX boat is definitely not. One of the P-netters (not sure who) posted a thread a while back about how to fix the problem. It involved moving the seat and installing a longer front thwart to give the boat more flare. You might be able to search the archives to find the thread. I have no experience with the “fix” since I sold my boat before the thread was posted. I have also not paddled the revised version so I can’t give you an opinion there.



Beyond that I can tell you that although the Rendezvous is longer by almost 2 feet, it is no faster (in my opinion) than the Wildfire/Yellowstone Solo. The Bell has lower initial stability and solid secondary. The Wenonah has better initial stability. With its pronounced tumblehome, it has secondary stability to a point, but if pushed beyond that point it will flip in a heartbeat. I used to get a kick out of watching my friends dump the boat. The Rendezvous will carry a huge load of gear though, so if one or two week trips are your calling, then maybe it is worth a look.



I guess the bottom line is that, as anyone here will tell you, try before you buy. It is your own personal opinion that matters, not what anyone else thinks.

paddling w/son
If you want a boat that does a good job both tandem and solo, the Wenonah Solo Plus would be one to consider. There’s a composite one listed for sale in eastern Iowa for $675. The full ad is in the classifieds here on this site.



The Penobscot 15 is supposed to be a pretty decent general purpose boat. I’ve only spent about half an hour in one, and that was 3-4 years ago, but if I remember correctly, it was moderately efficient, but not super fast, and reasonably maneuverable. You could do worse.

No arguments here

– Last Updated: Aug-06-06 7:27 PM EST –

No arguments here. Although, it'd probably do okay with the mentioned kayak. I used to paddle with a guy who used a Perception Eclipse and didn't have too hard of a time with keeping up unless he decided to really cut it loose. The Magic is the way to go when traveling with kayakers, though. And the M2 is no slacker, either.

Keep an eye
on the classified section of your local paper, and nearest larger city paper (as well as the classified ads here), while you look for the best boat for your needs, or at least a compromise.



Last year I found an interesting Wabash Valley solo canoe which I didn’t buy in the local paper and this year I found a Bell Wildfire which I did buy, both at a fraction of what you want to spend.



If you want to find a bargain, you need to find a seller that doesn’t know as much as you do about the boat you want to buy.



BLK

Sojourn too slow to keep up with 16’
sea kayak unless the kayaker is taking it very easy while the Sojourn paddler is working quite a bit more - at least that’s my impression after test paddling a Sojourn and an Eddyline Nighthawk 16 kayak on the same day last Wednesday (8-2-06). I seemed to easily go twice as fast in the Nighthawk 16 as in the Sojourn.



The Sandpiper is even slower, but much more maneuverable (also test paddled on the same day).



The following are composites, not royalex, but I’ll comment on them anyway. On flatwater with very little wind, the Wenonah Voyager is faster than the Bell Magic and is more maneuverable than the Magic, but I’ve been told that the Magic would handle much better in moving water, waves and wind. I personally didn’t find magic in the Magic. I have kept up with 16’ and 17’ kayaks on a 15 mile lake trip with pretty strong winds and 3’ to 4’ waves & wakes in my Sawyer Summersong with rudder, but I was obviously working harder than they were. The Voyager seemed faster and maneuvered better than the Summersong when I test paddled it last Friday on flatwater with very little wind and no waves.



The Bell Merlin II is a blast on flatwater, reasonably fast (faster than the Sojourn), responds to control strokes well for straight tracking and quick turns. Not as fast as the Magic or Voyager.



The Wenonah Prism didn’t seem any faster than the Merlin II on last Thursday’s test paddle, but I liked the feel and handling of the Merlin II much better than the Prism.



I’m 5’6" and 150 lbs and all test paddling was done in unloaded boats and I was sitting, not kneeling, for all comparisons.

Try before you buy…
“guess the bottom line is that, as anyone here will tell you, try before you buy. It is your own personal opinion that matters, not what anyone else thinks.”



Therein lies the rub. The few outfitters around here are mainly kayak shops. The largest place I’ve been to so far probably has 80-90 different boats, of which 8 are canoes. Only one was a solo…the used Vagabond. It’s very rare to find a canoe in the paper around here that isn’t an oversized beer can (Grumman).



It’s very frustrating; for every solo canoe in my price range anywhere in the country, there must be 10 kayaks I could take home in less than a few hours time.



No wonder kayaking is an exploding sport.



Phreon

Yer missin’ the BEST opportunity
As c2g said, mid- October, the Raystown gathering (check the getting together board for details).



A remarkable collection of HIGH quality boats to paddle at your pleasure. Add to that a remarkable collection of knowledgable paddlers and characters and the information/entertainment value is immeasurable.



After last years gathering two good friends bought a Magic and Merlin II used withing your max price. This week the three of us leave for the BWCWA in our solo’s (mine’s a Magic).



From SW OH it’s about a 6 hour drive. We mostly get there on Thursday and stay until Sunday. This is better than the “paddling days” of most boat shops as most don’t carry all the makes you’ll see at this gathering.



Best of all it’s a creature of P-net. No sponsor, no rules (except park rules) and no commitment/coersion.



Just my thoughts…

Cheers

Wes

I understand your dilemma
I used to live near Indianapolis and faced a similar situation. If you don’t mind a longer drive, Rutabaga in Madison Wisconsin is a good place for solo canoes. I was there last weekend and looked at a Yellowstone Solo, a Magic, a Merlin II, a Prism, a Voyager, and an Argosy. They had a Supernova too, but it was out on loan. Anyway, that list covers many of the boats you are considering. Of course it is a long drive for you (sounds like you’re from the Cincinnati area). Might be worth a weekend trip though. Heck, I still paddle with some of my buds near Indy (I’m near Chicago now) and I have a couple of Mohawks, a RX Wildfire (Yellowstone now), and a Hemlock Peregrine. If we can work out the logistics, I can bring the Wildfire for you to test paddle. The Flatrock R. is a common destination for us when the water is up. It has flatwater, some nice riffles, some C-I, and one borderline C-II. The Flatrock is near Greensburg IN, not far off of I-74. Have to get some rain first though. It needs to be above 350 cfs to be worthwhile.

The Soujourn

– Last Updated: Aug-11-06 8:28 AM EST –

I'm currently working out transportation of the Sojourn to my corner of the country.

I truely have the sickness now... I still want a Yellowstone Solo, a touring yak, a Merlin II, a Magic, a Penobscot 16 (when my son and I outgrow the Blazer 16) and maybe a playboat...

I'm really going to have to suck up to my landlord!! Or convince my son he'd rather sleep in a canoe than a bed.

Phreon

Congratulations!

– Last Updated: Aug-09-06 10:30 PM EST –

The Sojourn should be a versatile boat for you. The one I test paddled last week seemed rock solid stable. I hope that you find reasonable transport arrangements.

The other boats that you lust after are nice too.

Don’t understand that logic
Why would someone in a 14’9" canoe even want to keep up with a 16’ sea kayak? Where is that coming from? Central Illinois where there isn’t even a Sea.

Efficiency appreciated on large lakes of

– Last Updated: Aug-10-06 9:30 AM EST –

central IL just as much as on oceans. In either location, the Sojourn will likely be slower than 16' sea kayaks.

Some folks don't have sea kayaks yet, but want to paddle with folks that do. Last year I paddled with some p.netters paddling Calabrias and enjoyed their companionship. This year they moved up to sea kayaks and I haven't yet, so I used the best boat I had to to join them.

Bummer
Turns out the Sojourn was sold to someone closer to the seller.



Anyone selling a good all-round solo canoe?



Phreon

Yep, bummer.
That happened to me with a kayak paddle that the seller didn’t want to ship.

My sincere condolences phreon…
D,

Ya’ keep at it & a deal will come!..



Steve

My Vagabond has taken me on…
…day trips with other geezers in touring kayaks, all experienced, and there’s been no trouble keeping up. Don’t know what it would do with more of a load.