Hello Everyone!

I am new to this forum (posting), but have read a lot of your other posts to garner some wisdom from the members’ experience.

I am looking to purchase a canoe that will serve me for a good piece of my adult life. I am a young medical student and have decided to narrow my search to Northstar Polaris or a Northwind Solo. I know they are very different boats, but I am a heavier fella (200 Lbs) with a golden retriever and would like to do a mix of solo and tandem paddling. I will be solo 80 percent of the time and would prefer the Polaris as it will be a little more stable with Ozzy, but would be happy with a NW Solo too. If I were to go with the NW solo I would rent a tandem anytime I need the capacity.

If anyone has suggestions (who to call) or has a boat they are looking to sell, please reach out.

Hope you are all well this holiday season.

All my best,
Ben

Pioneer Midwest in MN ran a spring sale last year for their Northstar canoes. Could always do a test run in each come next spring.

Keep in mind if you go new and order it I believe I heard Northstar is around 4 months out.

Blatz: "Keep in mind if you go new and order it I believe I heard Northstar is around 4 months out. "

This is correct. I missed out on my local suppliers standing spring order for my solo. In correspondence with Northstar I was told they are, "sold out well into July." It's a good problem for them to have.

Your local shops will place a spring stock order and a Northwind solo would be more likely be on those. I'd say more likely than some of the other solo boat options. The trim level may not be what you're looking for. I'd say call around to see what they may have coming in. Cheers, the search is fun!

How big is your Golden Retriever? I'm asking for two reasons:

1- the optimal load range for a Solo tops out at 340, where as for the Polaris its 550. Your 200 lbs plus the dog eats into your capacity to haul gear. If you are an very light packer, that may not be an issue, but the larger your dog and the more interested you might be in carrying more gear for longer trips or foul weather, it may matter more.

2-Different dogs seem to like different amounts of space. Plenty of folks here have used solo boats with their dogs and done well, but it seems to me that most those dogs topped out about 50-60 lbs or so. I have an 80 lb lab who likes his space, and when I went looking for a boat a few years ago, I started by looking at the Magic which I loved paddling on several trips, but I could not figure out where to put the dog and my gear (admittedly I pack a bit heavy, especially in shoulder seasons). I also looked at the Solo, but felt it did not give me the room I needed.

Polaris was not out then but would have been in my consideration I'm sure, as its closer to the SRQ16 I ended up going with.

The Polaris is a direct descendant of the Bell Northstar which is an excellent tandem and is noted as a decent solo boat. It might be a good choice for you, your dog and gear. If you can find a Bell Northstar you should seriously consider that.

A Northwind solo was just posted on the for sale page. It is in carbon and also in the SE U.S., so those might be issues.

Please post in the for sale forum if you haven't already.

- adam