OK... time for me to chime in:  My favorite solo canoe is a small (16.5') tandem canoe.  In particular, a "Hudson Cruiser" that I built for the purpose.  By removing the bow seat and flipping it end-for-end, I can now sit in the "stern", throw my pack(s) in the bow, and have huge room and stability in spades (great fishing platform).  The setup is similar to an OT Prospector... lots of room, a stern seat, and maneuverability.

I'm a sit-'n-switch paddler, but with this setup I can also go to my knees Canadian style if the wind is bad and I need to move the weight a little further forward for balance (infrequent).

With a "full sized" canoe, I sit higher off the water (better for my back and knees), and feel more at home with the whole stern-view thing going on.

Being a wood strip, the canoe *is* heavier than any commercial Kevlar or Carbon Fiber job (my solo is about 55 lbs).  But it is tough as nails, easy to repair, doesn't flex, bend, oil-can, or twist, doesn't take off like a kite in a wind, and it looks good too .  When my granddaughter comes to visit, it is the perfect boat for a day trip on a local lake.

If anybody likes the sound of that, the price is right: Less than $800 with all the trimmings if you build from scratch, including the price of the fixtures, jigs, forms, etc.  About twice that for a kit. 

Or... and I hesitate to mention this... I've been considering building one or two canoes a year for sale.  Any size or style up to a full blown tandem.  Send me a PM if interested.  The price would be comparable to a Bell Black Gold depending on what you want for trim, fancy fixin's, etc.  You'll just have to wait for ~4 months (preferably winter ones) while I make it!

TCK

I solo a rented tandem but tried a true solo the SR Tranquility on year just to see how I'd like it.
It was a early model that had an aluminum frame work on the floor that the sliding seat mounted on. I liked the sliding seat, made it easy to trim the boat.

The downside was the frame work made putting my standard packs a real effort. One I had to lay on its side behind me and the other lay on the framework. This put both packs higher than I like, changed the center of gravity and the one behind me on its side acted like a sail when it caught the wind.

On the plus side the Tranquility rides well and handles big water better than you might think. I did end up taking my only dumping ever in it, a combination of it's faults and my over reaching.

I told Quetico Dave about it and he said he was going to lower the seat a couple of inches and see how that worked out? Next year I took it for test paddle ( empty), and I was a different animal. Still didn't have room for packs, but with the frame, there wasn't much you could do.

The NEW SR Tranquility has a completely different seat mount. Seat still slides but is mounted from the side. It's also adjustable for height.
I can't say if your packs will fit, but before loading any packs, I'd lower the seat as far as it will go. Then load and if the seat slides, figure that into you loading sequence for trimming.

Worse case scenario, you take all the other small packs and they take your big ones. I'd also consider getting a big dry bag, Coughlin makes an inexpensive one and you can fill it with water and use for ballast front/rear as needed. Emptying on portages of course Don't lash it in, if you dump you don't want to struggle with it.
As other solo paddlers know from experience, being out in big water is no time to find out your not trimmed properly. Bow heavy upwind/ stern heavy downwind. If the rental has the sliding seat, you should be able to use it to fine tune your trim as the conditions warrant.

Good luck and wear your PFD

BillConner wrote on May 31^st, 2011 at 6:25pm:



Be sure to give a little gear report on it. I saw a new Tranquility at the factory in Atikokan. It was hanging in the warehouse and I couldn't tell if the dimensions were different than the older model I used?

I'm curious if a full size pack will lay flat on the floor, below the gunnel's as much as possible. I think keeping the center of gravity as low as possible is key, at least in that model.

Well, I'm not sure how useful my report will be since this will bey first and only solo experience.  I was drawn to the tranquilty because I like my SR Q 17's ruggedness and because it is pretty wide - like much wider gunwale then prism or magic and it seems like it will more stable than many similar weight solos.

Hmm, I'd vote for the Bell Merlin II.  I have one, and it's for sale!!

I love this little canoe, but already have two and no more room. 

prouboy