I'm still thinking about a new canoe purchase, and I really only have room for one canoe. The majority of my trips will be with another paddler, usually my wife, but I also want the option of soloing it if she doesn't want to leave camp to fish, or else I couldn't find anybody to trip with me on a particular occasion. I have my eye on a specific 17' canoe which is symmetrical in design so I can paddle it from the bow seat. One problem I have is two extensive surgeries to an ankle and a knee have rendered the beloved kneeling technique almost out of the question for me. Some questions I have of you folks with experience in soloing tandems is can you heel a boat from a sitting position, should I have the canoe builder lower the seats a tad if kneeling will never be used, and if so how much, do any of you just prefer to solo a tandem from a seated position for long distance tripping, and what have been some of your experiences and general observations of soloing a tandem canoe in the Quetico/BWCA. Thank-you for taking the time to engage in this topic.

I paddle a tandem solo with a double paddle as my primary paddle.
I'm using a rental SR16 so lowering the seat isn't an option. If I could I'd lower the seat a few inches.
Trimming your load is paramount solo. I push my heaviest pack forward and the other crossways, keeping both below the gunnels.
If I could I'd take out the stern seat to allow more weight in the bow. For now I use a dry bag filled with water for ballast if it becomes necessary.

No way your tandem will perform speed wise with a dedicated solo,( a double paddle helps here) but there are positive tradeoffs.
Much more stability, easier to load gear in and out of. In shallow water the extra hull volume means you can go shallower than a narrow solo. Depending on water levels that may be a big plus.

IF I owned a tandem, I'd pull the stern seat out when solo to save weight.
I'm sure you could heel it over from a sitting position with a little caution. With the lowered seat, I think it would be just a matter of learning it's limits. You also want to turn the yoke around so you don't have to turn the canoe around on landing.

Another point about trimming your load properly. True solo or not, your better off a tad bow heavy than light, especially if the wind picks up. That extra foot in the 17 makes it even more important you get it trimmed right before you head out into the open water.

Thanks for your insight solotripper. I'm wondering if taking out the stern seat would have any detrimental effects on the structure of the canoe? What kind of daily range do estimate you can cover paddling and portaging a tandem alone, with double portaging?

I've got a Bell Northwind.  Haven't yet purchased a solo canoe and like you only have room in the garage for 1 canoe.  Last couple years, I've used the Northwind on my solos with a yak paddle as mentioned by ST.  I removed the bow seat and replaced it with another thwart.  Also moved the stern seat forward a couple feet.  No problem with canoe structure as far as I can tell.  Last summer was my 17-day solo.  Can easily make 12-15 miles in a day double portaging unless the wind is blowing hard against.

I know a true solo canoe would make solo trips much easier.   Hope to get one this year or next.

I've toyed around with several tandems in the hope of making one work as a solo, but without much luck.  I have a Bell MorningStar (15'6" x 35") that I made narrower, but I haven't tried it out yet.  A better choice might be a NorthStar (16'6" x 34").  It's a little narrower to begin with and could probably be made another 2" narrower without overstressing the hull.  I know of an experienced BW tripper who uses his as a solo and says it works just fine.

As for paddling position, I feel for you having to give up kneeling.  If you can kneel with one leg, maybe you can stretch the other one forward.  If not, I think you can still lean the boat, which is easier if you're comfortable leaning your leg against the gunwale.  I paddle mostly solo, both small local rivers and BWCA, with a mix of kneeling and sitting, and whichever position I use I lean the boat to the onside.  It's just a little more secure when kneeling.  You should be fine.

I solo in a 17'6" tandem, and am quite happy with it. I don't know if I would try heeling the thing fully loaded from a sitting position, but overall I find the handling issues to be minimal. Plus it's nice to have lots of room to put your stuff.

Of course it depends a lot on the canoe design, but I've only needed to worry about fine-tuning the trim when the canoe is empty: the bow can get blown around if you're the only weight in the canoe. But then I also have the option of kneeling further amidships if I need to move the canoe's centre of gravity forward. Of course trim is usually only a problem with a head or crosswind; with a tailwind you want the weight to be further back.

The only time I've found manoeuvreability to be a problem is when it's windy and I'm on a narrow twisty stream. You are heading around a corner with the canoe lined up perfectly, then a big gust of wind comes up and throws the bow out of line before you have a chance to react. At least twisty stream banks are usually soft.

You're not going to be as fast as either a solo canoe or a tandem, but the daily mileage hit compared to a tandem depends a lot on who your normal paddling partner is. For me, the difference is quite small (better not let my wife see this!), and depending on your fitness level, 12-15 miles per day should not be too difficult. You might be able to do 20 miles if you push it or have a bit of a breeze helping, and not too much portaging. (btw I use a regular wooden single blade bent-shaft paddle).

I usually triple portage, at least on longer trips. Rather than try to load up too much and risk injury on an unexpected slippery section, I prefer to take a light load on the first trip, scout out the portage if I'm unfamiliar with it, take some pictures, and clear out any low-hanging branches. Then take the canoe on the next trip, and the heavy pack on the last trip. I like portaging! :D

I've never tried reversing the yoke, but maybe I put in in backwards to begin with. I only have a single thwart (the yoke), so I like to put my head in the "bigger" space rather than the "smaller" one. Maybe the decision depends on the canoe design, maybe I just have a big head !

I've never tried lowering the seat either. I prefer to paddle sitting with my feet tucked under the seat part of the time, so I need enough room to fit those size 12's. With a lowered seat, you won't have that option, so you might end up in a situation where your legs are stretched out in front of you for the whole day, and your only recourse is to pull your knees up to the point where they interfere with your paddling stroke.

Remember too, that if you move the seat and then you want to go on a tandem trip, you will either have to move it back or your bow paddler will be stuck with your new seat height.

So I would recommend you buy the tandem and take it out solo without modifications. Then after a couple of trips, if you need to, you can think about moving stuff.

The tandem I used for a lot of years is 17'9" w/ a 33 beam and bucket seats. I turn the bow bucket around and just use a regular paddle. I started using a solar shower as ballast but over the years I gained 30 pounds and now it's probably 40 pounds of water in a SealLine type bag. If I'm going with the wind I'll slide the seat back and rudder a lot. ;)

The boat gets tilted to the side I'm paddling but never what they called heeled and the only time I kneel is when I'm heading into a stiff breeze or I'm scared. I then sit on my camera case which really saves my knees. I don't think my knees could take actual kneeling for any length of time. Hard enough being restricted for any length of time.

Paddling a tandem really isn't that bad. I did it for a lot of years. A few years back I was having shoulder problems so I borrowed a solo. I've since forgotten if it was a paddling or portaging worry or both, although I kinda got spoiled.

Differences besides obvious portaging weight are true solos can paddle into wind that would keep me paddling and not moving forward in my tandem. The other thing is my hands are way more calloused paddling the tandem. You do have to paddle a bit harder to to keep in the sweet spot. It's just paddling though so there's no extra muscle fatigue.

I have been putting on more miles borrowing solos but so what? You can't measure pleasure by the mile and sometimes, when out for a twilight paddle, I often miss the tandem. Hard to explain but it's more lively and responsive w/o the weight of the packs. Plus it's roomier. ;)

Either way, enjoy!

Hey thinblueline,

You can also just rent a solo if you don't have room to store one.  Sounds like it would be a somewhat rare occasion where you'd really need it anyway.

As far as fishing from a tandem as a solo paddler because your partner doesn't want to go out, it certainly can be done.  As db noted, having some ballast up front helps a lot and your safest option is the bag of water.  I've used my 5-gallon collapsible water jug from camp for that purpose pretty successfully.  I used to use rocks until someone from this site pointed out the obvious flaw in that plan.  Doh!!

I have a 16' penobscot that I have only paddled tandem until recently.  In the past few weeks, I took it out a few times playing around paddling solo (from bow seat).  I found it awkward as hell and woke up the next with a very sore wrist.  The added width and angle of the boat made doing a J'stroke very awkward.

I suspect much of my difficulties lie with  the type of canoe and/or my inexperience with this type of paddling.  But I thought it might be a useful counter-point to the comments above.  Perhaps it is wise to have a significant test day of paddling solo in a tandem before committing to an extended trip.

Yeah, Azalea, you have a good point.  There's no question that most* paddlers find a true solo canoe is vastly superior to a tandem paddled backwards from the bow and those are just a couple of reasons.  If paddling a tandem solo was all that appealing, the solo canoe niche would not exist, or certainly not to the extent that it does.

*some on this board are perfectly happy to paddle a tandem solo and think nothing of it, and this comment is in no way meant to disparage that point of view.  If they are happy, I'm happy for 'em!   :D

generally, a 17 footer isn't a prime choice for soloing - as much because of width as anything else.  any tandem can be solo'd, but not as well as smaller boats.

more commonly recommended are several boats referred to as "pocket trippers" - slightly downsized tandems that work better if you want to solo a tandem, as they are a bit narrower and lighter, but still capable tandems.   Mad River Malecite 16.5 (symetrical- that $3K ultralight looks sweet); Bell Northstar 16.5 (asym, but you'd have to find a used boat - solo from rear thwart position); Old Town Penobscot 16 sym (Ranger uses one as his do all boat) - Penobscot can't be had in composite though; Wenonah Solo Plus and the old Dagger Reflection 16 (Mad River makes it now, but its a bit different boat)

a lot of fans of soloing tandems on solotripping.com - Nova Craft Pal 16'  seems to be a favorite. 

And The Souris River Q 16 can be set up solo or tandem by adding a center seat.   The center seat option used to be offered for the Malecite as well - likely it still is, the old Reflection 15 came that way also, and the Solo Plus comes with that third seat. (they aren't really center, more aft of center, but not as far back as a bow seat would be)


the common theme, is a more or less downsized tandem that is better for soloing than a bigger tandem, giving up just a little bit of performance and capacity for tandem use

I've never solo tripped with a tandem, though I have paddled my Northstar and 15' Grumman solo - The Northstar had an option for a kneeling thwart, but mine just has a standard round tubing thwart - it solo'd ok from that thwart (I'd guess you could replace with a hung bench seat - if you could find one of the boats used), and the Grumman solo'd from the bow seat reversed.  Neither was good enough to make me use one instead of my solo boats, even for day tripping if I had an option.

you'd be a lot better off with two boats (buy used and get two for the price of one) and just squeeze them in the garage somehow - I have one boat hun up over my F150 with about 3" of clearance, and I don't have a very high garage.

thinblueline wrote on Apr 19^th, 2012 at 10:55pm:

Thanks for your insight solotripper. I'm wondering if taking out the stern seat would have any detrimental effects on the structure of the canoe? What kind of daily range do estimate you can cover paddling and portaging a tandem alone, with double portaging?

p_k,
probably answered your question for me.
The distance he sited sounds about right too me. So much depends on start time/your physical condition and of course wind and waves. I 2x-3x if the conditions warrant. Common sense should be your guide. Solo, you need to constantly be thinking AHEAD and anticipating the worst case scenario if you do whatever.
No sense in blowing out your knee/ankle/back trying to avoid an extra trip across a rough section of portage. One of the best things about going solo IMHO is that you set the pace and can do what you want, whenever you want.
I've found for my style that an early as possible start makes for the best balance between distance/exertion and time to fish/take pictures.
I'm on water by 7 am most travel mornings and try to get some mileage before the morning sun heats the water and the wind/waves pick-up.
I don't think I'd make any major modifications the first time out. Maybe the portage yoke thing I mentioned and taking out the extra seat and adding an extra thwart like p_k mentioned.

Your first trip will be a get acquainted trip if you get the tandem. After a few days you'll know what needs to be changed to meet your tripping style.

If the canoe is narrow you can paddle it solo using a double-blade. 

I solo a tandem, a fattie, too fat to use a double-blade.  I bought it for the same reason as you.  I do both tandem & solo trips, but only have room for 1 canoe.

Not being able to kneel could present serious problems.  There are times when it wouldn't be safe for me to be sitting upright fighting winds and waves.  You're much more stable when kneeling, much more connected to the canoe & the conditions.  Be safe, keep cool.

Rent rent rent.  Take as many different canoes out for a solo paddle as you can.  Nothing replaces personal experience & preference.  Solo being the crux as any tandem will likely perform just fine with 2 paddlers.  It's how it feels & reacts when you have no help that really matters.


As a solo tripper who double carries I try to limit my expected distance to 15km/day.  I can do more, but why kill myself?  I still have to make camp, make dinner, make time to relax.

Quote:

If the canoe is narrow you can paddle it solo using a double-blade.  I solo a tandem, a fattie, too fat to use a double-blade.

I had a double kayak paddle I bought at a garage sale and took on trip to try the double paddle idea.
Same problem, rental tandem was to wide for the length of the kayak paddle.

To keep from constantly banging the gunnel's, I had to paddle in a exaggerated windmill style which was exhausting to say the least and not meant for long paddling days.

A little research and I found that for a double paddle to work in a wider canoe, you needed to go to a 9 ft model. I bought one from Mohawk canoes that they advertised as a double canoe paddle.

Problem solved. I can do a rolling style trip stroke without any problems. Your using a different set of muscles than with a single paddle and it's not for everyone.

Seems to be a love or hate thing to those who have tried it.