Traveller,
Most of my tripping has been done in a bell merlin which is a true solo. When I first gave her a whirl the seat came from the factory hiked rather high which naturally gave me a higher center of gravity and the craft really felt unstable. I installed a set of "seat drops" which really helped give me confidence.

I would suggest splitting up your gear somewhat so you have some options in distributing weight. I have one "main pack" but I also have 3 smaller dry bags which can ride behind me. After loading give her a good looking over to see how she's riding. I generally like her to be level.

I can't speak for other solos (although I would suspect similar handling) but mine has an initial stability and a secondary stability. Sometimes the boat might feel unsteady but lean her over a tad and mine tightens right up.

You will also probably be surprised at how the solos can handle the rough. Mine just bobs like a cork. It can actually be rather invigorating. I'm a chicken though and usually hug the shoreline when it's snotty.

While I'm no vet compared to some on this site, I have done a fair amount of traveling in the "Q" over the past 10 years. I've dumped my boat twice while getting in after loading. I'm no Klutz, make good time on portages and it is rare indeed when I have a spill so these events were shockers to me. But they happened and I'm not too proud to admit it. One dump was just plain being exhausted and stupid and not watching what I was doing. The other was a bit more subtle. Picture loading up next to a rounded rock (of which there are plenty) which catches your boat amidship. If you mistake this "side grab=false stability" for a rock which has caught the bottom of your vessel it will release at the most inopportune time I can assure you.

If you embrace the solo canoe experience I believe you will find it very rewarding. I certainly have. You will have the best of both worlds, paddling your own vessel but yet company at the campsite.