I'm getting back into canoeing after 20 years of "adulting" . My dad and I once owned an Old Town Discovery 169 that went on the bulk of our Boundary Waters trips back in the early 90's. The canoe has since been sold, along with all of our gear...they just were not getting used, and over time....

Anyway, I am back to building my equipment up. This year I am going the outfitter route and renting a Bell Northstar and all the gear for the trip. However, NEXT year, I am looking to save up $$$ and get a new canoe and all the gear. My dilemma is that sometimes I like to paddle solo and there may be times where I have my sister or other person paddling with me on my BWCA trips. On top of that, Kevlar canoes are too rich for my blood (even used ones).

Any suggestions for canoes? I like the Old Town Royalex canoes, but it seems like they sold out somewhere between the one my dad and I had and now. Anyone else paddle their tandem in the BWCA going solo?? (I know...dumb question, haha).

To answer the question about Royalex: I believe it went out of production a few years ago now. Some companies are making their own composites to replace it but I don't believe anything is being sold yet.

As for a good tandem canoe that can be soloed, I wouldn't look into anything bigger than 16 feet. I have a 17 foot canoe that I've attempted to solo a couple times and it's just too much boat for me.

Sorry I couldn't help out more. I'd also like to learn more about soloing a tandem...

Some more info would be helpful. Could your tandem trips be comfortable with a small tandem? Would combined people weight be 350 pounds or less?

I don't know where you are located, but here is a resource that I found last summer for used canoes. Its a good thing I didn't have a trailer as I would have come home with a bunch of boats. Prices are reasonable for condition and there are boats in all sorts of condition. Most are ready to paddle. Many in the $600-$800 range. If you are handy with putting on new wood rails or repairing fiberglass there are some great deals on boats needing attention, too.

http://www.paddlin.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=256

In particular on the current list, the Sawyer 190, Sawyer Canadian, Swift Kipawa are all tandems with potential use for solo. Most of these are not Kevlar they are fiberglass, so not as light weight. There is also a Dagger Reflection 16 that is a great boat, a little more expensive.

Good luck re-outfitting!

the 16' penobscot made a usable solo and adequate tandem. an all around average canoe that did nothing great but lots of stuff fairly well. i'm sure if you are patient you will be able to find one for a very good price.

You could watch for a used grumman or alumacraft 15' canoe on craigslist. $300-$500. They keep forever and you can sell it for the same price you bought it for and upgrade. When solo, just sit backward in the front seat. Or, put some gear in the far front to balance.

Definitely want to stay away from Aluminum- not only are they heavy, they grab rocks, logs, etc like velcro, and make way too much noise- spooks fish, moose, bear, eagles, etc, haha. And I've also had the unpleasantry of getting sunburnt on the underside of my legs one summer in the Boundary Waters from the light reflecting up on them, haha.

quote PapaBear1975: "...Kevlar canoes are too rich for my blood (even used ones).
... "

Maybe not. I'd suggest a used Souris River from an outfitter. They are great boats and refinish easily. They can look like brand new boats.

I got a used 18.5 many years ago for $700. It has good on about 12 trips with me and countless trips with the outfitter. I refinished it last year and it looks great.

You'll like your rented Northstar

I bet I will, haha. My dad and I used to dream of owning a Kevlar canoe back in the day. This September, I am taking my older sister with me on her first BWCA trip, so the lighter canoe will help make it a more positive experience for her.

quote PapaBear1975: "Definitely want to stay away from Aluminum- not only are they heavy, they grab rocks, logs, etc like velcro, and make way too much noise- spooks fish, moose, bear, eagles, etc, haha. And I've also had the unpleasantry of getting sunburnt on the underside of my legs one summer in the Boundary Waters from the light reflecting up on them, haha. "

I'd maybe reconsider that. I've never taken a Kevlar partially because I'm worried about having to baby it when loading and unloading and pushing off from a portage. With an aluminum, you get a couple pounds heavier than a Royalex but you also get a little more peace of mind knowing that your boat can take a little more abuse if necessary.

Heavy, sure. Noisy, sure. But rugged. And relatively inexpensive and long-lasting compared to Kevlars. As for the sunburn issue, that's what sunscreen is for, man!

With a Kevlar (again, never done it) my perception is that you get a lot of weight savings but you have to baby it which could cut into your time. Can anyone comment on whether my perception is wrong?

Sounds to me like you need 2 canoes

Live golf clubs, fishing poles, and shotguns, haha:-)

I owned a michicraft and a smokercraft aluminums. They are heavy, 65-85#, compared to kevlar 45-55#; the kevlar hulls will be 25% more efficient through the water, but a good decent kevlar is $1000-1500, you get what you pay for....

Back in the late 80's/early 90's before we purchased the Old Town, we used a Sears aluminum canoe we picked up at a garage sale for $50. It had NO portage pads on it, and if we loaded it up too much...it got kinda sketchy out there on the big water, haha. It probably weighed at least 100 lbs- my dad and I both pitched in to portage it. When we got the Old Town canoe, it was 2 feet longer, held double the capacity of the Sears aluminum canoe, and slid over rocks, logs, etc like they weren't even there, haha.

All I can say is, you're going to have a hard time with anything else after you've paddled a Northstar.