Nooo
Not in the overall scheme of things. You’d be correct if I weighed 23 lbs.
Only in my dreams. My body influence is way bigger than the weight of the boat.
Once upon a time I flipped a UL Wenonah 18.5 footer three miles off shore Long Island Sound . I also blamed it on the light layup.
Then a boat designer got a hold of me and corrected my beliefs. Its skin area. Not weight of boat.
Solo plus is a beast in the wind with a
load. I will not make that mistake again.
My Sandpiper is way less effected by wind than my Solo Plus.
Isn’t Morningstar 15’ 6"? Wouldn’t
affect your recommendation, but at 15.5 feet it is one of the shortest quality pocket tandems around.
Starfire would be more fun but less utilitarian.
Rudder is best wind weapon
If this is a Sandpiper, it doesn’t look like an ideal wind solo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlpK6Tmpgjc
Wind weapons:
- Single-sided correction stroking. This is doable, but you need really good correction technique, an understanding of and ability to perform ballast shifting, and even then it will be very tiring.
- Minnesota switch paddling. Get a properly sized bent shaft and practice your switch technique. This should be less tiring and more efficient than single sided correction stroking.
- Use a double blade. This won’t solve all wind problems, and may require you to go to confession more often.
- Get a ruddered canoe. A rudder is by far the best wind weapon. Since you have to control a canoe rudder with your feet, this will require you to paddle seated and not kneeling. That may be acceptable to many paddlers. A decked canoe with rudder will be the most wind-resistant canoe, but I don’t know if there are tandem versions. A Pacific Ocean outrigger canoe, which I have, is also a ruddered canoe, but it is very limited in capacity to carry gear.
Most of my paddling is on windy lakes
the longer and narrower the better.
The less correction strokes you make the better. Its quite a waste of energy to do J strokes because of friction loss and loss of higher cadence.
The narrower the boat the better chance you have of a vertical sit and switch ( Minnesota) stroke. Any sweep is a waste of energy and for that reason I just shake my head at any advice for a tandem. Unless you are seven feet tall and long armed they simply waste energy. Your size and height and arm length is as important as the specific boat.
Paddling is a boat body connection which is all too often forgotten.
Boats that fit me include the Peregrine, Nomad, Heron, RapidFire, and Monarch. The Monarch is a little big(wide) but with the rudder I can trim so I sit a little over and never have to do a J or a C nor switch.
Work on a good cab forward hit and switch stroke…
My lab is Lake Superior and the Gulf of Mexico among others though the Green is next up in Utah (famous for headwinds)
Don’t forget the spray cover. For small paddlers the Sandpiper is fine because its got less skin and less skin friction.
I think working on technique will pay off better than looking to buy a new miracle.
The Chestnut Prospector he loved was
just normal width and when loaded with gear, it would have allowed him to slide toward either side for a more comfortable stroke.
I think rowing was viewed as more effective for open water and fewer portages. I don’t like fixed seat, back humping rowing myself, and I recall reading that Burg got a real bad sore back after a long slogging session against wind and current. Long summer days up there made for much work and little play.
I recall getting extremely sore back muscles in my first season of crew/rowing. Probably bad technique, trying to throw my back back instead of using my legs. For a couple of days it was a struggle to walk. Never happened after that, I get spasms but not overall strain.
Been there- My two cents.
Having family property on the North end of a 550acre lake that typicly blows 10-15 out of the SW near daily, I know your issues with canoeing. Trying to fish from a canoe under those same conditions (which is what I do) can make it even worse.
Here is what i’ve learned. It may. may not be of use to you based on your likes/dislikes.
1)For fishing, and getting to the fishing in the wind , it’s hard to beat a decent Recreational style kayak. The wind tends to go over vs into the boat thus causing less efect. Especially important when trying to fish while drifting. My prefference is the WS pungo 140 or Native ultimate 12/14 but there are others. ( The ultimate is a yak/canoe hybred which is more comfortable than most yaks for fishing.) Just look for something in a the 12-14’ range ( no smaller!) with a large sit in cockpit and 28-30" beam. i personally preffer sit in type witha mini skirt as they are drier, lighter and faster than their like sized SOT cousins.
2) Useing the same ( 230cm min) double blade yak type paddle on any canoe halps maintain control in the wind. In a canoe, once the wind gets you weathercocking (or just plain spun around) you’ll spend allot of energy fighting to get straight with the single paddle. The double paddle can keep you from turning in the first place. Try it on your current canoe ans see.
3) if you insist on a canoe for your application pick one with low stems and a keel. When possable, use a symetrical tandom canoe and paddle it backwards witha 5 gal bucket of water in the “bow” to help keep that keel in the water.Shouldn’t be too hard to hunt up a Mad River or Old Town roylex canoe 9 or decent rec yak) for under $500 in your regional classifieds.
hth
Tandem vs solo
– Last Updated: May-08-14 11:19 AM EST –
For paddling in strong wind, I would avoid any and all tandem canoes if there's any chance of using a solo canoe instead. The difference between a solo and a tandem is quite huge right from the start, and only becomes more extreme when the wind blows.
The idea of a rec kayak has some merit, but the Rob Roy canoe already being considered by the OP would be similar except for being of much higher quality, but the OP has already expressed a dislike for sitting that low in a boat.
Keels have purpose
I am glad someone else here is not afraid to recommend a keel for this particular purpose. They DO have a useful purpose which is precisely the case with the OP. I do on not own a canoe witha keel and haven’t in many years but they can be useful… The boat that comes to mind is an Old Town 146k made back inthe 90’s and pretty common. I owned one and it had a keel and low freeboard but waz beamy.
if fishing, other than trolling…are you
– Last Updated: May-08-14 12:18 PM EST –
really going to be out near the center of a lake?..anchored? If you're going to fish while anchored...you're going to want something with a little more volume than your Sandpiper. I've really enjoyed paddling it, but a little more volume and firmer stability, when heeled, makes a canoe much easier to paddle. Paddling AND fishing with whitecaps is usually non-productive anyways..either paddling or fishing, but those days can indeed be fun when you ditch your gear and simply paddle within an easy swim to shore. Fishing wherever successfully requires a little planning to your travel route for the particular lake/pond. I don't know where your lakes are and how large(& deep) they are...but usually it's much easier(as others can verify) if you paddle out of the wind as much as possible to get to intended area, even if its the longer, round-about route....it might make the canoe decision a little easier... Agree the Rob Roy looks good..
personal experience
My wife and I were paddling across Round lake in the ADKs diagonal to a following wind. I was in my Swift Osprey, she in my Kestrel. I was ahead and concerned about her as I was struggling to keep straight. I looked back and she was having no problem. I dislike my Kestrel on a twisty channel because it doesn’t like to turn, but in the wind ,if the waves aren’t too high, It’s great.
Turtle
Thanks, everyone
I appreciate the replies and discussion. If I were nearer to a region where canoeing was more common, the woud be easier, as I could just test paddle. The rob roy leaked.
My preference is to single blade from a slightly forward canted seat or kneel. I think some of my post was initially unclear. I paddle just to paddle in addition to fishing. Both are small addictions. I’m looking for a solo only. I work nights and have the two small children, so if I pass up a chance to paddle or fish every windy day that I’m off and diurnal, won’t do much of either.
I’m looking for the best compromise for my wants -
-fast enough to be fun and get me to a fishing spot while the kids nap
- as unaffected by the wind as I can get in context of my other wants.
- tracking favored a little, although I can make a canoe go
straight. There are lots of submerged logs I need to avoid. So straight tracking but not on rails boat.
- open to canoe and cover, but that adds 500 bucks.
I don’t think the boat is going to fix my golf swing, so to speak - I get it, paddling skill helps. I Work on it every time I’m awake,the lake is doable, and i have a minute free. However, I’m still looking for another solo boat, so I think finding the best one for my circumstance is a great idea, unless I’m unwittingly paddling it now, which I doubt.
Canak
Magic + cover (add $450 cooke and $450 KAS)
Rapid + cover (sounds awesome. Shipped …like 4 grand).
Prism with cover
Something else?
Great find on used canoe?
Maybe used Bell Merlin II?
Straighter tracking and roomier than the Sandpiper, but still has relatively low sheer line to help resist wind, paddles nicely while kneeling and maneuvers nicely when heeled.
My Sandpiper is definitely more maneuverable than my Merlin II.
Magic is a great boat
However, you might have to do some changes, my seat isn’t canted and there is no way I can fit my feet under the seat.
Merlin II
This is a boat I keep looking for but can’t find for sale. Does sound like it might work. Would you fish from yours?
canak vs cover
Well, I’m not a full time kneeler, although I like he sense of control, connection, and stability. However, I think some of this preference is shaped by paddling the sandpiper in wind and waves. Paddle a ways, stop to cast, get blown somewhere, reel up my line, pitch fishing rod behind me as the canoe starts to list, push off and paddle before I get tipped over by the submerged log I just got blown onto, repeat. On paper, I can’t tell why I think that is fun…but I keep going back.
Not fishing makes it a whole lot simpler, then I’m just canoeing in the wind without a distraction or break in the momentum.
Have any of you paddled or owned a Canak? I see the point that it lacks the full on advantages of a canoe or kayak, but I wonder if for my specific niche it might be a good choice. Or, for those of you who have experience with spray covers, do you think a solo like a magic or a prism with a cover would work well enough in the wind that the canak isnt worth the compromises?
I bet I’d love a rapidfire with a cover, and I’m accepting donations towards this noble goal.
that only seems crazy
– Last Updated: May-12-14 10:15 AM EST –
until one realizes that Powers of the Wind paddled Superior from Munising to MN and back in a canoe.
OK, it still seems crazy.
DIY wind cover
A cover for shedding wind rather than water doesn’t need to be quite as secure or shaped quite as precisely as one that will be subjected to waves washing over the bow or torrential downpours. I suppose a cover would interfere with access to fishing gear so that could present some design challenges, but how about making a homemade wind cover for your sandpiper while you are waiting to accumulate savings or find the deal of a lifetime to get your dream boat?
I made bow and stern wind covers for my wenonah voyager that use slices of PVC pipe with a slit cut as clamps to hold the cover on. Several other versions of homemade wind covers have been discussed on pnet.
Cover
I had started looking into just that. Like the PVC idea.