I was a strong proponent for the tandem backwards thing and it still works for me though you will get stuck more often than true solos or good tandems.

I've paddled my tandem with really good bow paddlers and others who were, shall we say ... good company. It's got a lot more miles on it with just me in it. I cannot keep up with good paddlers in a modern tandem but I would be waiting for the rest of the group in anything below a light chop. With two people, pit stops take more than twice as long. Even tandems decide they are windbound if it takes 20 minutes to go a few hundred yards. Treadmill - Paddlemill? Sometime it just ain't worth it.

My trip last year was the first time I ever paddled a true solo and I gotta say I was impressed. I paddled through the biggest waves I ever have and made decent progress. A few days later I was staring at whitecaps crashing at the end of a portage. I was in no mood to wait it out. Worst case? I wash up where I started. Hardest part was loading up and getting in. It actually required some thought with no one around to keep it off the rocks while loading. Paddling in it wasn't a problem although I did go out of my way and head into the wind. I didn't know the boat well enough to paddle the crests & troughs broadside - even near shore. Maybe someday.

Bottom line, paddling solo is easier since the only balance you need to consider is your own. You don't need to consider what a bow paddler might react to and how and the wind has less to grab.

Back on topic - Traveller, my advice to you is - be the martyr! Take the solo on the condition you never have to do the dishes or whatever you hate doing the most and keep that little gem all to yourself. If you end up hating it, well then, it must be someone else's turn....

Fun and fear is in the eye of the beholder but there is also knowing how to use the right tool for the job and making it work. You can always make due but there's a lot of satisfaction in finding the sweet spot. And what's the saying? Two's company and something about a crowd? Your mileage may vary ... greatly.