I've been an avid BWCA enthusiast since my father introduced me in 1987 at the age of 5. I spent summers up there and during high school worked for a friend of ours who runs a guiding business up there. I try to go every year. I'm used to big Minnesota IIs loaded down with gear. I love em. If I could handle one solo on the waters I'm riding right now I would stick with mine. Unfortunately during college and since I've been stuck in Indiana riding the rivers and lakes here fishing. It definately isn't as great as the BWCA but it gets me by.
Anyway, I'm finally getting to the point where I do most of my fishing and paddling solo. Or I may have one of my dogs with me to keep me company. I don't like kayaks because I'm used to canoes where I can sit up high and I just like the way they paddle. I've been looking around here and there are a few options under a grand that I'm lookin at but the problem is that they're all heavy as heck and would not be fit for a solo trip to the bwca. So I'm also considering the possibility of building my own canoe. I've looked at books that cover the subject and having had an engineering degree and experience as a carpenter I'm thinking I could do it. I just wanted to find out if anyone had any suggestions on models to look at or what you guys could tell me. I'm thinking of goin ahead and buying this one from dicks for 400 and then buyin the stuff to build my own. But any input would be welcome.

Lighter's good when you're tripping. But a cheap heavy boat isn't bad to have sometimes for the creeks here in Indiana. Get on one of the boater group email lists or club websites and wait, there's always 2nd boats for sale.

If you like your cheap but heavy boat. Use it for a pattern and build it lighter and/or a bit longer.

If you're seriously thinking about building your own canoe go here:   (You need to Login or Register
I doubt if there's anyone alive who knows more about cedar strip canoe building than Ted Moores.  He's literally built them for Prime Ministers (Trudeau) and Kings (or at least kings in waiting - Prince Charles.)  If you really want to go whole hog and can get yourself up to Peterborough ON, Ted offers hands on canoe building workshops.  In any case, as you can see on the web site he offers a nice selection of plans plus he offers videos and at least one book that walks you through the process step by step.

PS: The Freedom 17 makes for an excellent flat water tripping canoe.

For solos for what you are looking for, there is the Freedom Solo (Steve Killing design), found at Bear Mountain, website in post above, you can build in 2 lengths, 15' 3" or 16' 2" depending on displacement you need, there is the John Winters designed Osprey and Shearwater if you need to carry a bigger load (   (You need to Login or Register), and there are the Northwest Canoe solos ( the Kuntz Merlin, solo passage etc).

let us know what you decide.

Moonman.

"I'm thinking of goin ahead and buying this one from dicks for 400 and then buyin the stuff to build my own. But any input would be welcome."

bad idea - buying a hog from Dick's, that is.  Why handicap yourself?

I'd sugest buying something like a Rx wen Argosy ($1100 msrp) - at 47 lbs, not too heavy for BWCA and a decent boat for moderate rivers.  Or Mad River Freedom Solo - msrp around $1300 - 55lbs.   If you want to build a boat go ahead, but this way you'd have a fairly decent boat to use in the meantime, and you could likely sell it for $750 or so a couple of years later if you want to get rid of it.

Or even better, keep an eye out on Craigslist and Paddling.net for other boats - used composite boats can often found for decent price. 

see this - Argosy for $850
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At one point, Bell was making Rx boats for Dicks - depends on what kind of boat you are looking at, but I don't think any of the better hulls were available for $400 - I definitely recommend not buying short and fat if you have any other options.

this was just listed on paddling.net - see the classifieds


07-11-2011
private
(IL) Wenonah Argosy, Royalex: lightly-used, only $450. Tough but surprisingly light; fast but surprisingly maneuverable. Full disclosure: I screwed up the foot brace installation so there a couple of rivets whose sole function is to keep the water out. If you're a functional type this is a great find. I'll meet half-way to deliver. Email for more pics. -- Submitted by: stevebaker

I'd say do neither...yet.

Rent.  Rent as many different solos as you can get your hands on.  Find out what you like.  Then buy/build that.

My personal favourite solo is the Argosy.  $450 is a steal.

Give some serious thought to building your own. It sounds like you have the required expertise (ability to use power tools without cutting off fingers). Be warned that while building a professional-quality cedar strip is not difficult, it is quite time consuming if you make the effort to do a good job. You will learn a lot, and probably end up with a better (but heavier) boat than if you bought one.

Ted Moores' book is called "Canoecraft". It has a bunch of plans in it, maybe there's one there that meets your needs. I built a Redbird - it's a small tandem, but goes like a rocket and handles like a dream, even solo. (The Redbird is the upper one on the cover, but mine looks way better - LOL)

Bear Mountain is a great site. The people on the message boards are extremely knowledgable and helpful (so it's not just Ted Moores's expertise you're tapping into), and you can find the answers to most questions just by searching the message board archives.

You will not want to use your handcrafted baby on whitewater though. But you will save enough money that now you can go out and buy a cheap Tupperware canoe for that.  :D

Good luck - if you decide to go ahead, I'd be happy to offer suggestions and recommendations wherever possible.