Profile

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!