I'll add a few more cents worth.

I have a Merlin II.  Works for me - the magic may be faster on paper (and in other people's opinions as well), but a local dealer did a GPS test on the two boats and was surpirsed to find that thier test showed the Merlin to be faster than the Magic.  When I test paddled both of those boats, twice each on the same outing, I could not find any noticeable speed difference at my "cruising speed", which is how I would be paddleing 95% of the time.

If you test paddle a Merlin, find out from the dealer if it has the seat drops for sitting, or for kneeling.  There is a very noticeable difference in stability between the two, especially if you test the boats without a tripping load.  The sitting drops are longer, lowering the seat a few inches - two or three, I don't know exactly, but it does make a big difference in how the boat will feel to you.    The drops are easily interchangeable, and if you want to test the boat for sitting, ask the dealer if its set for that - if not, maybe they will make the change.

The Merlin is designed more as a "kneeling" boat than a "sitting" boat, and you might come across that in your research (i.e. you kneel, with your butt on the edge of the seat rather than sitting fully on the seat).  It does not mean a whole lot, as the boat does just fine for me, and I always sit.  If you do get one with the sitting drops, it isn't as easy to get your feet back under the seat, and it may even be too low to do that.  You can cut off an inch or whatever to raise the seat a little, but the higher the seat is off the bottom of the boat, the less stable it will be.

The Merlin has more rocker than the magic.  It definitely felt more "lively" to me than the Magic - more responsive, which was my preference.  It would be a better choice for a more "all-around" boat than the Merlin or Prism, so if you will be using the boat for some river trips, I'd say teh Merlin is a better choice.

The Black Gold is the tougher layup of the two offered.  I didn't worry about that - I wanted the lightest boat I could find for the portages.  I bought my Kev-Light Merlin last year, and used it for my '09 trip.  I didn't have any issues with the lighter layup - I still slid over beaver dams, and as long as you use your head to not abuse it, it is perfectly fine.  I got a few scratches in the bottom, but no big deal.  I also have a Kev-light tandem, I've used on two trips.  Works just fine for me.  I always wet foot the landings though.

I don't fish much from the boat.  I have, both trollihg and sitting/casting, and found it ok stability wise, but fishing from any solo is more hassle than from a tandem where a partner can maintain control while you cast or play a fish while the wind is trying to blow you onto shore.  I mostly will just try to fish from shore, unless I am trolling.   Any solo boat will have the same issues.

My paddling style is mostly using the "C" stroke, maybe a J or two, and hardly ever doing and "hit and switch".  The Merlin seems well suited for that.  If I was a "hit and switch" paddler, I'd probably have preferred the Magic, but maybe not.  More rocker will mean a little bit more "yaw" at the bow to correct for - i.e., the Merlin won't track as well as the less rockered Merlin or the almost non-rockered Prism.


I'd also suggest looking at, and testing out the Wen Wilderness and the Bell Rockstar if you can.  And it would be much better when you test paddle boats if you bring along a tripping load - any boat will feel more stable when loaded, than when not.  Paddle them with the load first to get a better feel for how they work for tripping, then paddle them again empty, to see how they feel that way.

I've used two other solo boats for tripping. One is a  Mad River Independence, which I think is a great boat, hard to find used, and only offered now by Vermont Canoe.  It was my tripping solo, replaced only to get a lighter boat, and I've kept it for day trips and still use it.  

The other is a Wenonah Rendezvous, in Royalex.  Its my river tripper and does only fair on flatwater in the royalex version - don't get a royalex boat for a lake tripper - not as efficient, as the bow is fat and blunt, and you are working harder to more the extra weight, and of course, you carry a heavier load over the portages.  But your dealer may have a Rendezvous in a composite layup, and if so, that would be an ok choice.

I'd be somewhat leery of buying a boat and having it shipped to you, unless the dealer will crate it solidly for you.  Trucking companies have been know to run the forks of a forklift thru a kevlar boat, and you have potentially a lot of hassle to get them to pay for a new one.

Try to find a "blem" or "demo" for sale at a dealer, as they often get discounted quite a bit, and nothing wrong with keeping your eye out on craigslist for your area.

generally, most solo canoes are much more alike than different;  they all have issues with the wind, they all require care in trimming the boat for the conditions you are in, they will all feel much less stable than any tandem until you get used to them, and they are all a lot more fun to paddle than a tandem, at leat in my opinion, but that does depend on the boat.  Design features are tradeoffs - if you want a more stable boat, it will have to be wider, and thus slower; lighter will be less durable;  if you buy a boat, give yourself a chance to grow into liking it - if you find that you don't really like it, or like something else, just sell the damn thing and buy another - no big deal.