Hello,
I’m looking for a tandem canoe that would work for my son and me, but can also be used to solo trip. We paddle mostly flat water locally and the BWCA. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Will the canoe be used for two people on trips with gear or just used locally without gear?

It will be used for both... two people on longer trips and solo on longer trips.

I’d look at 16’ canoes based on the prospector design. These are deep canoes that were designed for heavy loads but also make acceptable solo canoes.

More information would be helpful.

Total weight for your tandem trips. You're weight plus a good estimate of your outfit weight.

You need to get the smallest tandem that will work for your tandem trips to have a decent chance at using it solo.

While I love the prospector and have been paddling one both tandem and solo since 1985, its depth, 14 inches+, is an issue as a solo. It doesn't take much of a breeze to make travel difficult. From the old Chestnut line, the Pal would be a better choice if it is big enough for your tandem travel. It is essentially a 12.5 inch deep prospector.

There are plenty of 16 footers out there to try out.

Start saving for a beat up solo on the cheap.

I like the SRQ16 for both

jwartman59: "I’d look at 16’ canoes based on the prospector design. These are deep canoes that were designed for heavy loads but also make acceptable solo canoes."

Couldn't agree more with John on this one. I used my solo/tandem canoe this fall which is a Bell Morningstar. When we wanted to fish, my tripping partner would get in mine, ( I left the bow seat in). Worked great in calm water, but in big water I would have felt much more comfortable in my Prospector. The Prospector is not a fast canoe, but it is by far my favorite do everything canoe.

If you're going to be sitting in the bow seat facing "backwards" while going solo. You'll want to have a symmetrical canoe

Possibly the NS Northwind 16....

HardwoodHill: "Hello,
I’m looking for a tandem canoe that would work for my son and me, but can also be used to solo trip. We paddle mostly flat water locally and the BWCA. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!"

I heartily recommend the Northstar Polaris .

The Polaris is fantastic as a Tandem and pretty nice as a Solo. Choose the Starlite layup with E6 Carbon trim and you tandem will weigh no more than a lot of other Solo canoes.

I "second" the Polaris. Have its older sibling the Bell Northstar kevlar and feel it fits my needs perfectly.

My typical paddling partner and I have combined body weight of a little under 300 pounds and we trip with about another 70. Have paddled it with my 200 pound brother, and it paddled even better. The boat is fast, responsive, and super light--I think about 37 pounds. It is more narrow than most tandems, so placing paddle from center area seems more ergonomic. Installed a kneeling thwart and it has been a dream to paddle as solo. A bit big for my body, but when I kneel, I feel very much in control. Fine tune placing the pack in the bow also takes care of many issues. Learned to heel and have rarely had so much fun on the water!

HardwoodHill: "Hello,
I’m looking for a tandem canoe that would work for my son and me, but can also be used to solo trip. We paddle mostly flat water locally and the BWCA. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!"

I use an Old town Discovery 133 for everything, lazy rivers, and lakes. It's been great. Still it gets a bit tight of room for me and my brother (two of us about ~500 lbs + 100 lbs of gear). But they also make a Discovery 169 that's 13" longer and has an even better load capacity.

I think I would not look for getting them both in one boat.
Wait for year end sales and find a solo at used price from one of the outfitters and save about 1/3 or more on the cost of a new one.
That's how I would do it.
Or make a new friend who has a tandem/solo and borrow it!

sns: "Possibly the NS Northwind 16...."

100% agree on this.... Ours is working out great!

I bought a 16' Nova Craft Prospector (royalex) to have one canoe I could solo or go tandem with my son. It worked at the time, but as I've added canoes, I now view it as the down-river tandem boat. As a solo, I paddle it backwards, but either kneel or stand about a foot off center. You can solo from the bow seat, but it requires more correction on the stroke, which slows it down. It works as a solo, but I want more rocker for the twisty creeks and a faster, straighter tracking boat for the lakes.
I also have a 23 year old son with severe autism that loves to be in a canoe. The Prospector is our canoe. He only paddles backwards, to make a bigger splash, so I normally don't give him a paddle. Basically, I'm soloing with an extra 170 lbs, and it works great for this. However, we don't paddle any challenging streams or more than 2 or 3 hours on a lake. It isn't the best lake canoe for either solo or tandem.

DownStrm: "I bought a 16' Nova Craft Prospector (royalex) to have one canoe I could solo or go tandem with my son. It worked at the time, but as I've added canoes, I now view it as the down-river tandem boat. As a solo, I paddle it backwards, but either kneel or stand about a foot off center. You can solo from the bow seat, but it requires more correction on the stroke, which slows it down. It works as a solo, but I want more rocker for the twisty creeks and a faster, straighter tracking boat for the lakes.
I also have a 23 year old son with severe autism that loves to be in a canoe. The Prospector is our canoe. He only paddles backwards, to make a bigger splash, so I normally don't give him a paddle. Basically, I'm soloing with an extra 170 lbs, and it works great for this. However, we don't paddle any challenging streams or more than 2 or 3 hours on a lake. It isn't the best lake canoe for either solo or tandem."

Royalex boats are always going to be disappointing. They are by default a compromise. If you are looking for a canoe that will be both a solo and a tandem you have to accept a boat that won’t excel at either. I’ve used a Penobscot 16’ for years that functioned adequately for either task. Maybe look for a used old town 16’ Penobscot.

jwartman59: "

DownStrm: "I bought a 16' Nova Craft Prospector (royalex) to have one canoe I could solo or go tandem with my son. It worked at the time, but as I've added canoes, I now view it as the down-river tandem boat. As a solo, I paddle it backwards, but either kneel or stand about a foot off center. You can solo from the bow seat, but it requires more correction on the stroke, which slows it down. It works as a solo, but I want more rocker for the twisty creeks and a faster, straighter tracking boat for the lakes.
I also have a 23 year old son with severe autism that loves to be in a canoe. The Prospector is our canoe. He only paddles backwards, to make a bigger splash, so I normally don't give him a paddle. Basically, I'm soloing with an extra 170 lbs, and it works great for this. However, we don't paddle any challenging streams or more than 2 or 3 hours on a lake. It isn't the best lake canoe for either solo or tandem."

Royalex boats are always going to be disappointing. They are by default a compromise. If you are looking for a canoe that will be both a solo and a tandem you have to accept a boat that won’t excel at either. I’ve used a Penobscot 16’ for years that functioned adequately for either task. Maybe look for a used old town 16’ Penobscot."

Agree, the more often you paddle the more you realize that you need more canoes!

+1 on the Northstar Polaris. Mine has the optional center seat for solo use so very comfy solo. NW16 probably a fine choice too...Polaris is a touch narrower and a touch longer so a bit more efficient but still has plenty of stability. My Polaris is close to my Swift Shearwater for efficiency solo and tandem it's just a dream boat that does everything well. If you can find a used Bell Northstar it's basically the same boat.

Polaris is dog-approved too.