Vagabond

I have owned a royalex Vagabond for the past 4 years. The royalex comes in at 42 lbs. It paddles well with my 200 lbs and seems like I could take a weekend's worth of gear (or small child/dog) easily. It's long enough to get decent speed/tracking on lakes. Obviously, it will be outperformed by longer/lighter/stiffer boats in flat water. It's also maneuverable enough to handle class i/ii rivers. For the latter purpose, I can't imagine getting one of the lighter weight layups. It may not be the perfect boat for all scenarios, but is the most versatile one that I own. If I could only own one solo boat for all scenarios, this would be the one.

Just bought one. 29lbs kevlar. Bought it for 3 and 5 day trips on lazy twisty rivers and on lakes. Paddles fine. Tracks straight enough. Turns decently. I use double paddle mostly. Sometimes bent paddle. I'm 5'7" and 200lbs. Fits great. Very stable. Can feel it push back when I try to roll it sideways. Prolly can take 120lbs of gear easily on a windy lake with waves. Alot more if calmer waters. I had me, my 168lbs nephew, and my 70lbs niece in it with me just fooling around and it paddled decently and still felt stable enough as long as they weren't squirming and moving around. That's like 430lbs. I think I could take that much gear on calm water even if the wind and waves pick up some but that's pushing its capacity. Typically I may have 80 to 120lbs gear with me and it can manage that fine.

I have taken my vagabond on week-long trips to the BWCA twice and would not hesitate to do it again. The boat is stable, tracks well and carried everything I needed to be comfortable. It is fairly light in royalex (no longer available) and easy to carry. My only complaint is with the thwart directly behind the seat, it is too close to the seat and rubbed my tailbone,till I sawed/sanded some of it away for better clearance. I would recommend this model to anyone needing a mid-level solo canoe.

I purchased a slightly used Royalex version of the We-no-nah Vagabond primarily for flat water and so far have been very pleased with it. This is the canoe I'll use to get into swamps this coming deer season, going about 7 miles round-trip each hunting day.

It has a shallow draft and is relatively fast when using a two-bladed paddle. The factory foot rest was useful in maintaining control and achieving faster speeds when using the kayak paddle. I find it a little more challenging to paddle straight with a single-bladed paddle but perhaps my technique needs some work. No matter which style of paddle used, the Vagabaond is much easier to paddle solo than is my old tandem canoe. Perhaps it's because I'm sitting lower in the Vagabond and don’t have as far to reach over the gunwale.

I'm 5'10", weighing 250 lbs, and had no problems with stability, even when using a 30lb trolling motor. Switching to a longer motor cable allowed me to place the battery as far forward as possible which helped with weight distribution. The motor was mounted a couple of feet behind the seat which made for slow turning while under way. However, max hull speed was easily obtained when moving in a straight line. I didn't have the GPS that day but my estimate was at least 4 mph.

My Vagabond weighs 43 lbs per the bathroom scales and thus is easy to load / unload from a SUV. I've used the Vagabond to fish from on local lakes where I had a couple hundred yards portage downhill to launch. Over one shoulder and overhead are both of the carry techniques used. The canoe was easy to tote for that short distance but I would add a temporary yoke if ever planning to do longer portages.

I demoed this canoe (Royalex version) a while back along with several other solo canoes. This was one of my favorites. Really good choice for fishing,camping and hunting. Easy to handle in and out of the water. Good stability, speed for boats of this type.

My only gripe is the wood thwart behind the seat rubs against my back. That's easy to correct but you shouldn't have to. I don't see how they missed it during development. Certainly no excuse for not having corrected it by now. Otherwise a really nice canoe.

After reading many of the reviews, I am beginning to wonder if we are really talking about the same canoe. I love the weight of the Vagabond, but when it comes to STABILITY, there is not. I read where people took a dog along -- I can barely keep it from capsizing when it is just me and calm water. It dumped my twice this weekend.

The thwart directly behind the seat hits me right in the back. If i try to get something out of a pack stored behind me, i have to pull up to shore or risk dumping again. It paddles well, carries well, is strong and well made, but i think it is unstable. TRY IT OUT BEFORE YOU BUY IT!! I had a 17/15/13 Coleman in years gone by. This is much better quality, and paddles much better, but I'll take the Coleman for stability.

I use the canoe for river fishing, and that is all. Maybe if i road the rapids or jumped damns it would like the Vagabond, but it will be on Craigs list soon.

I bought the Vagabond this year to replace my Necky Alsec kayak because I wanted a boat that my dog could ride in. The Vagabond was a good choice. I have yet to take it on an overnight trip but on the last day trip I had everything but the tent and sleeping bag (but I had the 43lb dog).

The boat handled great on 2-3 foot lake waves and 10mph winds. It is not a rocket but hauls me (and I am pretty big), the dog and lots of gear for a day or sparse weekend. I have the Tuf Weave Flex Core which is nice and light and easy to portage and car top. Great boat and I am glad that I bought it.

After a decent amount of research for a solo canoe I decided on the Vagabond. I paddled 8.5 miles with a 10 to 15 mph headwind a majority of the trip on my maiden voyage a couple of days ago. I found the boat to be everything I had hoped it would be, stable, maneuverable, tracks perfectly, and light, as well as good looking.

I am 5'11" and 190 lbs. and carried approx. 15 lbs of gear with me. Often times we buy things with a well known higher than average priced name/label and that is the majority of what we are paying for. Not We-no-nah, in my opinion. The craftsmanship, engineering, and beauty are very much evident in their products. Couldn't be happier.

I love my Vagabond. I own the royalex because I mainly use it in the Ozarks and the streams are shallow and rocky. It is maneuverable and a joy to paddle. I use it for fishing and camping as well as just floating. I also have sit on tops, other canoes and the Vagabond is a wonderful, responsive and versatile boat. I would highly recommend it.

I cannot get enough of this little boat.
I use my canoes primarily for fishing and have found this canoe to be a joy to use for this purpose. I also own the Kingfisher in Kevlar and love it also.

However, after fishing from the Vagabond, I find myself craving the solo performance more and more, and rarely try to find a fishing partner for the tandem. My friends are highly annoyed. I suggest they buy a solo canoe and share the experience. The boat is a daytripper, and is perfect for that. It is highly maneuverable and quick. I carry a kayak paddle to cover water and the canoe paddle to maneuver the weed beds and shallows. I LOVE THIS BOAT!

If you're looking for the PERFECT solo canoe, the Vagabond is it! I can't say enough about this amazing boat. Ideal for overnight trips with lots of gear, it's extremely stable, delightfully manuverable, rock sturdy, tracks perfectly, & light enough for portages. But still it's narrow enough that I use my double bladed kayak paddle. I'll never buy another canoe again!

After 24 years of executing my solo paddling in nothing but tandem canoes, I broke down and purchased the Vagabond in a Royalex layup. Following several paddling trips on both the Snake and Columbia Rivers, this baby passes all tests. It's light, stable, manuverable with excellent glide. To further ensure my choice was right, I recently participated in a paddlefest where I was able to pilot several comparable hulls. The Vagabond proved to be far superior to the Bell Yellowstone Solo and Wildfire in both turning, glide and comfort. The Yellowstone Solo was so effected by the slight breeze and chop it was a distracting labor from the pleasures of canoeing. The Wildfire was only measurably better. In the same conditions and with high expectations, the Vagabond performed at the level that kept the satisfaction one receives from canoeing intact.

Wow!!! This boat is awesome. I want to start off by saying that I hadn't paddled a canoe since summer camp as a kid (A while back). I have been a sea kayaker for 7 years and recently trading in my 17' touring boat for this little guy.

I always thought of canoes to be relatively tippy and slow and highly effected by the wind. The vagabond is none of these things. It has great stability, both initial and secondary. I paddle it mostly in the Connecticut River which is very open and windy. This boat is great with a bent paddle in these conditions. I just paddle two to three times on one side and then switch. I was out in it last weekend and took over a kayaker and a coule in a tandem canoe. What a glide!!! The adjustable seat is great to. Raise it up or lower it down on the go depending on what you're doing.

Granted, all I have to compare this boat to is my old sea kayak but I would rather paddle this little guy any day of the week. As the summer gets rolling i will post again after the barges throw me some 5-7 foot wakes.

I know when I was reading these reviews trying to figure out which boat to buy a big thing was the size of the paddlers so I am 5'11'' and 225 lbs.

I’m a very big fan of this canoe. I live near many small twisty streams and rivers in Southern WI and Northern IL. That’s what this canoe is intended for. It’s very stable. I must add that most of my solo canoe experience is in C-1 racers and an Advantage so that’s going to make this canoe feel rock solid to me. I bought it in Royalex because much of my paddling will have shallow water. It’s still very light at 45lb. This canoe gets a 10 from me because it does what I intended it to do. If someone purchased this canoe with whitewater or flat water racing in mind, then their review rating would be much lower. I must add that I will be using it on a BW trip this summer. It will be lightly loaded though.

I bought the Vagabond this past summer after experience with a compromise tandem/solo, the Clipper Tripper S (16'6"X33"). The Vagabond is a much better solo boat. It is both more responsive and less susceptible to winds with its considerably lower profile as well as shorter length.

My only reservation is that the good tolerance for winds leads me into waves that make me nervous. I have experimented in shallows and find a distinct point of no-return in the righting moment. This is very unlike the rounder-bottomed Tipper S. It can be heeled well over and remain stable. I have wondered about the oil-canning of the bottom others have mentioned and I have noticed. I weigh 185 lbs. My boat is the more flexible Royalex (or is it Royalite?). I have wondered if its 'shallow arch' bottom becomes shallower, flatter, with flex? Could this be reduced with a strut between the seat and an inside keel, a keelson?

I am impressed that at least one reviewer, heavier than I, has used his boat in white water. I too have purchased and will be installing float bags; mostly in hopes of improving self rescuing capability for the coastal waters I like to paddle here around Vancouver Island (British Columbia). I am 'bucking the trend' here by not paddling a sea kayak.

I have had this little boat for a few weeks now. I purchased it in tuf-weave to run local rivers and be stiff on flat water. Thus far the rivers have been flooded out since I bought it so I am speaking simply on its flat water abliities.

This is my first solo canoe though I have been soloing in a tandem for a few years now. I was quite impressed by the canoe. I took it to a local lake and quickly found myself in 3 to 4 foot cabin cruiser wake. This was the second time I had paddled the canoe and was rather scared. However it bounced like a cork and I stayed dry. I even got hit by a serious wake directly on the side. I am not sure the Echo I have paddled for years would have done any better.

I am also a fisherman and find that it is nice and stable as a fishing platform. I even got the guts to stand up for a few casts. It is a rather short boat so it is not the fastest thing on the water but man it feels fast. One paddle stroke sends you off. I have been practicing hit and switch and it works well in this canoe.

This canoe is not a flat water trip boat or a whitewater canoe. What it is is a canoe that will work for everything I have though of. It does not track as straight as some canoe or turn as fast as some but it is exactly what i wanted... so far. i will post another review after it has been on the river a few times.

(limited to two 2-hour flatwater outings so far) This is my 3rd solo. Had an Old Town Pack, which I loved, but wanted more glide, so got a WNN Sandpiper. I liked it well, but I'm a clumsy oaf, and the Sndppr is a bit wobbly. On the basis of the other comments here, I ordered a Vagabond, and so far, it's what I wanted. It's got even more glide & speed than the Sandpiper, and is definitely more stable. I got a factory footbrace, which also adds a lot. Only negative so far is the weight, at 43 lbs I think, 10 more than Pack and 5 more than S'piper. No problem loading at home & offloading at the lake (pickup bed), but I could really feel the weight when I got home. Would not be a problem for someone younger & fitter, I'm sure. I'll add more when I've had more time in it, particularly on the twisty Class I river I like.

I spent nearly a year looking for THE boat to fit my needs. I found what I was looking for in the Vagabond. The Vagabond and I have a couple hundred river miles, 1 BWCA 5 day trip, 1 Superior National Forest 5 day trip, and many days exploring and fishing local lakes here in Minnesota. This boat is not suitable for heavy tripping and feels very sluggish when loaded with 5 days of gear, myself(175lb), and my dog Bubba (30lb+gear). It is suitable if you take the occasional trip and pack lightly. For my needs it tracks sufficiently well yet is very agile. It is not the fastest boat, but does have decent speed and some glide. I was really torn between the Vagabond, Wildfire, and the Merlin. I really liked the Vagabond compared to the Wildfire for its added stability(for fishing and bringing the dog). The Wildfire, however,is an awesome boat and I would certainly suggest you test paddle it. If I were to become more interested in camping and tripping I would have gone with the Merlin for addded capacity and length. But for my couple of trips per year, the price, and performance I am pleased with the Vagabond.