Solitude

I got this solo canoe from my Grandpa and I love it, it's just has a little bit bigger capacity than I would like for me personally. I love this canoe, it's a great canoe to get me in the water. Tracks fairly well but it would be better loaded. I'm 5'5 120 lbs so it rides a little high in the water when I'm only packed for a daytrip, which makes it not track as well as it would when loaded and trimmed properly. It does, however have the perfect amount of tumblehome for my reach. I'm able to sit on the fiberglass seat or kneel and paddle without hitting my hands when using my 54" Beavertail from Bending Branches. All around a great canoe, wish I had the Kevlar version though, at 57 ish lbs the tuff-weave gets a little difficult to load on a car on my own.

Love this boat, as I seem to do for all Wenonah Boats. It is a fun and effecient boat for most all applications most people have. I find it to be maneuverable and yet fast enough for practical purposes. It is not as fast and efficient as my Wenonah Prism to be sure. That that is a straight ahead type of boat. For the twists in twisty rivers I use this boat.

For its limited purpose, this boat is a 10 -- in fact, it's the favorite *thing* that I own, and I've owned it for well over 20 (30?) years. It's a solo flatwater cruiser and gunkholer, best suited to small water. Shorter than Wenonah's Prism, so it has less capacity and doesn't track quite as well. Nonetheless, it has a very straight, flat bottom (i.e., little to no rocker) and sharp, vertical stems, so its tracking *is* quite good, yet it is short enough to poke around in backwater creeks, aided by ample midbody at the bilge, which allows quicker turns when leaned. (I have a bench seat, which allows kneeling and makes leaning possible. But I believe most came through with a pedestal-mounted tractor seat, which is much less leanable.)

With almost no rocker, it won't turn quickly enough for anything more than an easy Class II -- remember, this is a cruiser. (I'm a Class III boater, but there are different boats for that.) It has plenty of tumblehome for efficient stroke mechanics, and sufficient volume for camp-cruising up to a week or so. It does weathercock some, so crossing large lakes in high wind can require a lot of effort. But it's very dry in waves and chop, with enormous primary and good secondary stability.

In the all-Kevlar layup, it is wonderfully light and easy to carry on one shoulder, but it's not made for rock bashing.

The Solitude was never a popular boat (Wenonah sold a lot more Prisms) and hasn't been made in many years, so if it suits your style of paddling and you find one in good condition, don't hesitate!

Finally found a used one for sale in great condition. Had been looking for a nice one for years since they quit manufacturing this model. If you have one and are willing to sell it, contact me.

I have been paddling a Solitude for 5 years now. In that time I have run some white water, paddled mountain lakes,had it out on Lake Michigan, and on salt water in Rhode Island Sound . There are a number of things I like about this boat. I find it to be very stable, reasonably fast, and very pretty. It does however weigh a lot. Mine is a Tuffweave boat with wooden trim and a cane seat. I bought it new one year after it was discontinued so it was cheap($375.00) and a great price by the pound. Over all, the thing I enjoy most about this boat is how well it handles open water. The biggest factors are wind and chop. The pronounced tumble home helps with both; providing a stable dry ride. If you can find one buy one!

This is my SECOND solitude. The first one was tuff-weave. Since my wife is only about 100 lbs when climbingout of the lake, I bought the ultra light model for her. The boat is about thirty pounds and paddles. I love the boat for its stability and its maneuverability. It is great for fishing and photography, or just playing on a lake or river.

Would I buy the boat again? I did.

Rating a "high 10", this Jensen designed Tuff-Weave canoe has a sliding seat to keep trim perfect; enough tumblehome for loaded stability, without getting in the way of paddling. Better than expected glide for a short boat. 1 and only "not-perfect" is lack of back support availability for tractor-style bucket seat; great for paddling, but tough on lumbar when stopping to fish for a while, do some photography, et cetera. (We-No-Nah claims (via "Debbie" on 'phone) that they're looking for a suitable bucket seat add-on... any enterprizing inventors out there???) All in all, the Solitude's the BEST I've ever come across, in my 51 years!