I have a second trip planned 2nd week of August. There were originally going to be 4 of us. Mr. Trix, his 17 yr old son & his buddy, & myself. His buddy is not able to go now so it will just be the three of us. My question is: should we rent a 3 man canoe say the MN III, or go with our tandem & rent a solo? Money wise it would be cheaper to just rent the solo & we could probably all take turns. (or I keep it for myself & I am just a mile or two behind them) I rented the Wenonah vagabond for my solo trip & really liked it so I am leaning towards doing the tandem & the solo. If we went with the 3 Man, how much gear will fit in that?

We have three heading in next summer and are going the 3 man canoe route, so I am interested to learn more about the differences.. pro and con.. for a 3 man canoe.

We are rookies, so we wouldn't even consider a solo canoe (at least I wouldn't!), and I think with the 3 man we would build more camaraderie.

Will there be any problems hauling gear, etc? I saw a thread here not too long ago that talked about them and it seemed pretty split as to whether it was easier/harder to fish with the 3 man.

I would go with the solo but with a kayak paddle so it could keep up. This would be more versatile and if one wants to go out fishing or exploring he/she could just use the solo. With the larger canoe you need at least two to tango. :)

If your all good paddlers I would say the solo and the two man. Fishing from a three man could be difficult, especially in the wind.

Solo canoe! After going on a solo trip you had to ask? I also recommend using a yak paddle. You'll keep up just fine.

Last year we took our 22 year old son with us and were lucky enough to rent a 3 person Bell. It was great. We had four packs that fit well in the canoe, it was very stable in the water, and when all three of us were paddling we could really move! Fishing wasn't our priority, but we did do some fishing and had no problems. Enjoy your trip with your son - kids seem to leave home just when you start to really enjoy them!

No wrong answers, but I'd go with a tandem and the solo. Solos are easy to paddle, pretty stable and I think a lot of fun.

3 solos? :)

Hmmmm, Jan is on to something. An option not considered before, but could be the way to go.

dave

It depends...

I took my wife, 4 daughters, and 2 dogs. We used two 3-person canoes. The canoes were Souris River 18.5's. They can really carry a lot of gear:





If you think you'll all get along, the one 3-person canoe is much more efficient (you only have to portage 1 canoe). You can take turns riding in the middle.

As others pointe out, the 2 canoes does give you the option to split up if parts of your group want to see/do different stuff.

I like the idea Kanoes presents. My daughter and I never considered it. Again... no wrong answer.

I gotta say solo as well.

I am going to say go with the 3-man canoe. We did a similar trip a few years ago when someone backed out at the last minute. I think it worked better to trip with the three man canoe. One less canoe to portage and you do not need to worry about the person in the solo not being able to keep up.

Just my 2 cents,

If fishing is a priority go with the solo. My canoe is a 18.5 wenonah and the fishing was tuff with three people. Theres not much space so you may have to pack lighter. I don't go 3 in a conoe anymore unless there's no other option.

I think kanoes idea or put the strongest paddler in the solo is your best bet.

I guess you could take turns fishing if you go 3 to a canoe,with one person shore fishing.

Go with the solo. It adds a lot of options to the trip. All can try the solo and get away for some me time.

tony

I did a three-person, one canoe trip once. It was really nice. Plenty of room for our gear. I especially liked how FAST it was (MNIII). But I can see the benefits of the other way, too.

Have you made a decision yet?

Decided to go with our heavy tandem & the solo. I really enjoyed paddling the solo & that way I can get away from those two when I want to. We will probably take turns but I am sure I will try to keep it for myself unless I get too far behind them or if the wind picks up on the lake. They will more than likly be doing alot of fishing so they can take the tandem out for that. Thanks for all the replys. I do like the idea of 3 solo's but the 17 year old is an inexperienced paddler & with those two in the tandem they can do their father-son bonding. He is a strong kid tho so he would probably do just fine in a solo. Maybe for future trips.

We went with a 3 man, very stable, it also allowed us to single portage every time. It made for fast travel on and off the water.
Fishing was not really a problem because most our fishing was done when the gear was not in it.

For the past three-years two of my buddies and I have rented a Minnesota III canoe and could not have been happier. The MNIII has no problem holding the gear of three adults, and as an added bonus, three people paddling make boat go fast!