Looking for folks who have some experience with one or more of these. I was bent on just making a cedar strip canoe for the longest time but I really prefer a little more speed on the water. Grew up on Hobies and lasers, last boat was a trimaran, and have had tons of the newer Hobie paddle kayaks. Now we live in Texas so smaller lakes to play with and I want to build something that looks nice and is fast.
How close am I? Suggestions leaning towards the solo first or buy both solo and Expedition (saves on shipping right…practicing my speech to my wife).
Solo Annapolis - easy to build, light and fast, really best for just one no passenger (I am 200lbs)
Tandem - extra space, little slower and more unwieldy on land.
Expedition- more complicated to build, middle ground on speed/length/ passenger
For a 200 lb paddler on small Texas lakes, I’d lean Expedition over the Solo. The extra waterline gives you the speed you’re after but with more reserve volume, so it stays drier and less twitchy when a powerboat wake rolls through, and you can still paddle it solo from the center seat. The honest question is how often a second person will really be aboard. If it’s only now and then, a boat you can cartop and launch alone every evening beats a true tandem that needs two people to be fun. Coming off Hobies and lasers you’ll find any of these tame, so build the one you’ll actually use the most first.
A tandem is a big commitment. It’s not just unwieldy on land; paddling one solo is possible but a lot of work. And it only gets more interesting with a wind. Longer is usually faster, but the additional wetted surface and total boat weight will make it slower than a big single. That means it probably isn’t getting wet unless you have a partner in the boat.
If you (plural) have experience in a tandem and found it fun, then it’s a viable option. If you haven’t had much tandem seat time, then I highly recommend renting one for a bit. There’s a great saying;
“Wherever your relationship is going, it’ll get there faster in a tandem.”
It’s a great way to find commonality with your paddling partner. It can also magnify any little issue. My wife and I were taken with the idea of a tandem and tried one. Once. All I can say is that it was good that the cockpits were just over one paddle swing distance apart. We do just fine paddling together in two singles.
May I suggest a canoe? A canoe big enough for two can still be paddled by one, And you can have a passenger (instead of a second paddler). A strip canoe can be an easier build than a decked kayak. Lastly, canoe paddles are shorter.
I was struggling with wanting my sailing speeds, Cats and Tris, where most days 7 knots was slow! We always tried to trim the Corsair to get to 10 knots and if the water played nice it was pretty easy.
So in my head I wanted that again, however I don’t live in the Chesapeake anymore and closest lake is Canyon lake (small). So no big boats for now.
My wife helped me to the conclusion maybe we should get some thing a little more family practical and we went with the Chester Yawl. I can row her around and if she likes it I will buy the wherry for me next.
I get what you are saying I had a Hobie Tandem Island and it was all me putting it in the water and sailing/pedaling while she enjoyed the views. Trailer is a requirement for me and solo ability. Even my trimaran was solo able because my wife likes “being on the boat” but not “sailing the boat” too much work.
Also an Eagle Scout with lots of time in a Canoe…. knees say no. We also have paddle boards that can do most of what we would do in a canoe.
My notes on a tandem. As noted in previous responses, it will all depend on the paddlers and the type of paddling you intend to do. My wife and I, happily married for 34 years, have found 2 kayaks much more satifactory (for us) than a tandem. Even if the goal is to get from point A to point B, we always end up on slightly different routes, pausing at different times to observe different things, scratch different itches, rest, take a drink, etc.. And if I want more excercise, I can always do more zigs and zags at a faster pace, or race ahead and then come back. And our paddling usually isn’t even the A to B approach, it is more like “let’s get out and explore this shoreline or this creek for a few hours.”
We approach kayaking together the same way we approach (most) shopping and (all) museum/antique store visits: “Meet me at the checkout, and if I run into you along the way, great, and if I need to find you to ask a question or show you something, I will. And if I’m late getting there, try to understand it is because I found something that caught my interest.” Earlier in our marriage this wasn’t our approach to either shopping or museums or paddling - we developed it as a necessary way to allow us both maximum enjoyment in the outing. And I get out on the water nearly 10 times as often as my wife (she likes “perfect” conditions), while I consider almost all conditions a perfect time to be paddling instead of doing something else.
We’ve found the ability to do out own thing, even while doing it together, works best for us. And we do have a canoe, too, and that seems to be the most satisfactory way for the two of us to be in one boat. Perhaps if your goal is to develop into a well synchronized team out for exercise and quickly making a nice straight trail of bubbles behind you, then the tandem is the way to go.
Do you like looking backwards when you are on the water? For me that is the biggest problem with rowing. The other issue is that long oars keep you out of a lot of narrow waters.
Finding a boat that is good as both a single or double is a challenge. Is you don’t like canoe maybe look at the Mill Creek 16 or MicroBootlegger, but neither will be fast.
If speed is more important, maybe build a fast single for yourself and also a longer tandem for the two of you. There are quite a few single designs that will be faster than the row boats that you mentioned.
We have had a Shearwater Double for 10 years and love it. Not super fast but we can do something over 4.5 mph all day with me doing most of the work. Currently building a Chesapeake Double which will be considerably faster.
