As spring turns to summer my thoughts turn to solo canoes and how nice it would be to get another one. So with that in mind does anyone here have experience with the Wenonah Encounter? I'm not a small guy and I'm intrigued by the size and carry capacity of the Encounter. It looks as though it would track straight on lakes and large rivers but I want to fish out of it also. Is it stable enough for fishing? Are there other alternatives I should look at?

I have an Encounter. Used it last year in Algonquin Park. Loved the speed and the amount of weight it carries.
Very seaworthy as I got caught in some 1 to 2 footers.
If you paddle emty you may want to add some weight as not enough of the hull is in the water making it a little sensitive to wind.
Loaded it tracks great.
Never fished out of mine but don't know why you couldn't.

I didn't like mine. It rode too high in the water. You need to be carry a lot of weigh for it to sit down in the water and become stable. I'd recommend the Prism instead. The Prism will carry you and all the gear you could want and still be very seaworthy.

How is the Prism to fish out of?

I paddled an Encounter last fall on my first solo. It was the first and only solo boat I've paddled but I enjoyed it. I'm 275, had about 65lb's of gear and it had a ton of free board. It road a little high and I had a time turning it into the wind but I don't know if it was the boat or my little solo paddling experience.

The initial and secondary stability was great, even unloaded, for fishing. It felt fast and stable, and it held a GG Superior 1 and a #3 Duluth pack with no problem.

Take my review with a grain of salt as I mentioned it was my only solo paddled boat but once I sat in it all my worries about a solo went out the window, so to speak.

The boat I rented was beat to shit, otherwise I probably would have bought it, and probably should have.

I'm on my third year with mine. I've gone through some pretty wicked wind and waves with it. Last week was the first I'd ever dumped. I was loaded wrong and tried going up a little drop just below curtain falls... My fault! My problem is I bring a dog and I'm fine loaded, but with just me and the dog the trim sucks. I almost would be better to get back into a tandem or the solo plus. Less than two weeks I'll be in WCPP for a few weeks... with the dog.

quote nctry: "I'm on my third year with mine. I've gone through some pretty wicked wind and waves with it. Last week was the first I'd ever dumped. I was loaded wrong and tried going up a little drop just below curtain falls... My fault! My problem is I bring a dog and I'm fine loaded, but with just me and the dog the trim sucks. I almost would be better to get back into a tandem or the solo plus. Less than two weeks I'll be in WCPP for a few weeks... with the dog. "

I know that little drop. I watched others dump there, so don't feel like the Lone Ranger. Personally, I've never dumped there, but I always think about it.

I have been fishing out of my prism this spring and found its stable enough to fish out of. What ever you do make sure you have everything in front of you. I had my tackle box (fairly large one) behind me and when I went to grab it and bring around to the front. I dumped out ... LOL... what a learning exp. ...First time in 8 year since I have fallen out of a canoe... I mounted a rod holder on the front bar... I paddled both the prism and Encounter before I bought and found the same issues with wind in the Encounter. I really like my prism and would recommend that canoe for anyone. I am a 6'3" ( my weight move back and forth from 280 to 290) and find I have plenty of free board with two packs with a weeks worth of gear. Hope this helps.