any preference or suggestions?

[hulk]

looking at buying a solo canoe this spring, either a We no nah Vagabond or a We no nah Wilderness in Royalex, does anyone have any personal experience with either of these, or any similar solo's in the 14-16ft range, I'm just getting back into canoeing, I'm 6'3" 210lbs so I don't want to go any smaller,

sincerly, J.

[tolle141]

Hey J!

I've tried the Wilderness and I was a fan! As far as solo's go I thought it handled well. I'm not too experienced with solo canoes though so hopefully someone else will chime in. Have you also considered any kayaks?

I ask because there are quite a few excellent options on the market that offer not only dry storage insight the hull (SOT's), but with the million mounting options for fish finders, rod holders, camera placements, anchors, rudders, etc you could be missing out on some excellent alternatives. Wind resistance is almost non-existant. Not to mention the benefit of faster paddling from narrower hulls and kayak paddles.

Just a thought. Here are a couple of great manufacturers:

http://www.oceankayak.com/

http://www.wildernesssystems.com/pages/index/homepage

http://nativewatercraft.com/

Austin Kayak is probably the best online store in terms of price and variety. I had a great customer service experience with them. http://www.austinkayak.com/catalog_products.php?SubcatID=210004

I personally have a Ocean Kayak Trident 13 and can tell you all about it. Native is probably the closest to being a canoe. The Wilderness Systems Tarpon is a dream and many have died comparing the Tarpon series and OK's Tridents.

Good luck!