Sam82 wrote:
Figured it would be fun to see what folk are paddling on their solo trips and why?
I seem to have overlooked the important “why” part of that question.
Mike McCrea wrote:
For open water bays and large lakes I have most often been using a Mad River Monarch. For downriver tripping a soloized Old Town Penobscot
Why the Monarch?
For open water tripping, big lakes and tidal waters, I’m absolutely sold on a semi-decked canoe with a rudder and a sail. I carry too much gear, and sometimes potable water, to fit in most sea kayaks, and loading/unloading via hatches is a size restrictive PITA. I’d much rather have two or three packs or large dry bags stuffed under the open decks than finagle a dozen 20L bags in and out of hatches.
The Monarch not only packs easily, it is the most forgiving boat I own in challenging wind and wave. It is a better boat than I am a paddler. I’ve used that boat in conditions far beyond what would have put me knock-kneed ashore in an open canoe and still feel that I’ve pushed my paddling limits more than the Monarch’s. There’s still gas in the tank.
It is not a long list of such boats; Kruger’s Loon, Monarch and Sea Wind family, Clipper Sea-1 and Superior Expedition:
http://www.madrivercanoe.com/content/ma ... e%2020.jpghttp://www.krugercanoes.com/Welcome.htmlhttp://www.clippercanoes.com/boat_specs ... del_id=126http://www.superiorcanoes.com/solocanoes.htmlWhy the Penobscot?
That older Royalex hull is tough, and I can be uncaringly hard on my boats. The RX weight doesn’t bother me; the furthest I’ve carried a boat in the past year was 440 feet. I know the distance exactly – it measures from my mailbox at the top of the drive down to my snowbound shop.
The Penobscot will haul a load and, in most conditions where I use an open boat, still paddle within my speed/stability/maneuverability/seaworthiness ratio. But I most often turn to the Penobscot because after 10 years of tweaking the outfitting for my physiology comfort and preferences it is as close to perfection as any boat I own.
The Penobscot is soloized with a positioned-for-me (and padded) contour seat on full truss drops. CCS partial spray covers with a center storage cover. Skid plates. Utility sail thwart. Four double D-rings for full or partial floatation/gear. Twist-loop webbing tiedowns on the end of every machine screw. Foot brace, back band and deeply contoured minicel knee bumpers to lock me solidly in the hull. Webbing strap yoke. Utility/sail thwart positioned to trap a 30L barrel. Minicel padding everywhere my bones touch boat.
After 10 years of post-trip tweaking it fits me like a well worn deer skin glove.