Solo quiet water canoe recommendations?

[Moniker]

I would like to have a solo boat to use for fishing,floating the Berry and Ouchita at low levels,small lakes etc.
I have a 16' Buffalo,12'Outrage and a wood and and canvass boat that's not for paddling,just looking at.
Would like to hear opinions,would like to buy a boat new or used(prefered).
Thanks,Don

[Randy Dodson]

We-no-nah Argosy, We-no-nah Sandpiper, Nova Craft Super Nova, Mohawk Odyssey to name a few.

[Randy Dodson]

We-no-nah Argosy, We-no-nah Sandpiper, Nova Craft Super Nova, Mohawk Odyssey to name a few.

[Canoe_Codger]

Hi Don! Your height, weight and physical condition will influence your choice, or should. Low water can be boney but with care, and willingness to wade or portage, abrasion and impact resistance need not be a determining factor in material. You don't mention carrying a load other than some fishing gear, so I assume you are not talking about doing any camping from the canoe. Judging from the other canoes you mention in your fleet, It appears you have paddling experience and probably don't need an exceptionally wide, flat bottomed rec canoe. I have an Old Town Pack canoe (actually the Discovery 119K model) which works for some uses, but because of the hull design, it paddles like a tadpole swims. Good for fishing backwaters but I would hesitate to take it on a lake or even a river where it had to be paddled all day.

The canoe I chose for this use is a Bell Canoe Works Morningstar in lightweight fiberglass composite. It is a 15' 6" David Yost design, essentially a shortened USCA cruiser with sharp entry, a lot of tumblehome and just a touch of rocker (Bow 2.5" / Stern 1.5"). It is narrow, 31" center gunnels, but deep enough to be a dry ride (Shear Bow 21" / Mid 14" / Stern 19") without being prone to weathervane. They were set up at the factory as either dedicated solo, tandem or crossover. Mine has the three seats of the crossover allowing tandem or solo use without swapping ends since it is an assymetrical hull. My FG canoe with only factory outfitting weighs about 41#. They are also available in Kevlight and Royalex layup at 36# and 55#. The Royalex version is called "Yellowstone". Since it is a gelcoated hull, it does have to be treated differently than an ABS or poly canoe. Once you scuff the gelcoat, the scuffs are pretty well there. The resin underneath is white and shows through my red gelcoat. I bought mine used, so don't worry excessively about it since most if not all scuffs are below the waterline and none are into the fiberglass. WHich is hand laid cloth, not chopper gun blown like the old Sears etc. canoes.

Ted Bell sold the company to ORC Industries in 2006, but they have ceased production. A few of the designs have been picked up by Colden Canoes, but I am unsure which ones. So if you buy a Morningstar, it will have to be at least lightly used. Of course any beater aluminum, fg or poly canoe CAN be used for your purpose. I just find paddling the Morningstar to be an enjoyable experience and a nice change from the other canoes in my fleet.

[bruce_conley]

One Canoe you don't see around here as much is the Wenonah Wilderness. 15'4 with just 1.25 inches of rocker, great little flatwater boat, tracks well and stable. I have one in Royalex and use it on the Buffalo, Illinois Bayou, and local lakes where ever I paddle in AR.

Bruce

[wally]

can't say enough about the Mohawk Solo boat. I have had the Old Town Discovery 119, the Yellowstone 14 foot Solo and now the Mohawk Solo 13. Number one use is fishing the Caddo, Ouachita or Buffalo. The 119 was hard to keep in a straight line without a double blade paddle. The Yellowstone was a lot better but 14 feet is long in some rapid conditions and the Yellowstone requires some concentration when moving around because it is a little more tippy. The Mohawk 13 foot solo is 10 pounds lighter than the royalex Yellowstone and 1 foot shorter but will hold all your gear for a several day float trip and is more stable than the Yellowstone and tracks as well. I love this boat. I might be enticed to sell so I can buy a new one of the same model.
Wally

[Moniker]

Thanks everybody,keep the recommendations coming.
I'm about six feet,185,so the Outrage is about the the smallest boat I can see me in.I need something with a seat since my fifty four year old knees do'nt like kneeling for long periods of time.

[Moniker]

I talked to Dave from Mowhawk at Canoe school a couple of years ago,are Mohawks still being made in Ft.Smith?

[ckuntz]

Have a Wenonah Advantage that I take out on the Arkansas river upstream and down as well as lakes through out the state. It's very fast and easy to get up to speed which make travelling long distances alot of fun on a windy day on open water. Fun to get out there when nothing else is running in the state. Put on the head phones, turn on the music and head upstream for an hour or so then head back.. Very relaxing and good work out.

Chris K

[MikeBeebe]

We have a wenonah argosy for sale that has only been used twice. Pictures coming next week!
Mbeebe3@gmail.com

[Moniker]

The Argosy sounds interesting.

[Eric Esche]

No one mentioned Mad River. I have a Courier that IS NOT FOR SALE, but if you can find one, I think that they are great and versatile enough to do Class IV-V, camping, fishing, anything you like.

The follow-on model was the Guide and the follow-on to the Guide is the Freedom Solo. Small changes to each model in depth and width, but if you want a Royalex or Kevlar version, they are good boats. If weight does not bother you and you aren't going to be doing bad rocky stuff, the Explorer 14 in Triple Tough (TT) can sometimes be found for fewer dollars.

Ask Painter Bob what he now favors for solo quiet water, and what he thinks of a Bell Wildfire/Yellowstone.

If you do not need to turn a lot, you might also consider an old Mad River Slipper in Kevlar or Royalex. They were fairly fast as well for when you want to get to or from your fishing hole and do not get grabbed by the wind as much. I enjoyed this model when I was younger, but they are not for everybody ans some consider them tippy. Another fast boat in this line was the Independence.

A boat that is versatile, stable, AND faster than my Courier that you might consider is the Wenonah Voyageur.

Good luck with choosing and let me know if you need helping finding a specific model.

Eric Esche

[Moniker]

Thanks Eric,I like Mad River boats too.
I'm glad I posted this on the General Forum,I've had a lot of great feedback.All much appreciated.
The Argosy Mike Beebe mentioned sounds like just what I've been looking for.I hope it works out.
One of the great things about paddling is buying boats,I even enjoyed buying a kayak for my daughter.
I can't sit with my legs sticking straight out for very long before my back starts to hurt severely and I have a bad shoulder from a dirt bike crash years ago so a kayak is out of the question for me.But it was still fun to buy one and try it out.
I love my Outrage,it's a slug on the pools but when you hit the drops all you have do is nudge it the way you want to go and it responds quickly,it's really dry until it flips me for doing something stupid(it does that very quickly too)and if you're paddling like you know what you came for it won't let you down.
The perfect boat is a whole bunch of boats so I'm looking to add a solo general purpose boat to my fleet.
Don Lewis

[Cowper]

I'll put in another vote for the Argosy, even though I've only paddled one a little. I describe it as what you would get if a Wenonah Sandpiper married a Wenonah Rendezvous. I love the Rendezvous for flatwater paddling even though Wenonah markets it as the boat for "whitewater" in their line. So it is a fun boat for things like the Buffalo - fast though the pools, but still very capable in the milder rapids.

So why the Argosy? Because at 47 # it is about 10 pounds lighter than the Rendezvous, making it more user-friendly for one person carrying, loading and unloading. These faster boats do tend to be a little bit less stable, so some looking for a forgiving design might not be 100% happy. But if you have a lot of years boating experience, or are just lucky enough to be one of those "great balance" people, then the boat is stable enough. It is not like a rowing shell or downriver racing boat. In a typical tandem canoe boat like a Blue Hole or Buffalo Canoe, I can easily stand; in the Rendezvous I can carefully stand. In the smaller Argosy I would sit or kneel 99% of the time.

The only thing I don't care for is the adjustable seat - sometimes they squeak. But one could use the adjustment feature to figure out the optimum position, and then work on the seat to stop the squeak (maybe some electrical tape at a key pressure point?) or just fix the seat in that position somehow.

[Moniker]

So far the Argosy is my choice from what I've heard here and on other websites.It's good to have to input from someone who has actually paddled one.
Will keep looking but will probably buy new since these are'nt boats you run across everyday.
Thanks,Don