C-Forum

I am a class 3 kayaker with some flatwater canoe experience. My wife loves renting tandem duckies but has no desire to kayak or go solo. We also have an 18 month old that I would like to start introducing to the sport. Is there a 14' OC that we could tandem paddle on rivers like the hiwassee, nanty, and cartecay, but still be okay for me to solo on the Ocoee and Middle Tellico? Budget constraints are the main reason for wanting the do it all boat.

Yes, for sure. There are many boats that can meet your goals. I would recommend checking out a caption. It's an awesome 14' tandem and solo boat. I hear the Esquif Vertige X is and Blast are great boats too but I haven't paddled either one of them.

Vertige x being on the wet side and blast being more lively, perhaps dooleys recommendation of a caption is the best choice, but those others, and also the venerable Mohawk probe 14 would still be good choices.

Whatever 14' boat is selected, the seats should be placed a little farther apart than is fashionable nowadays, so that the kid can be placed in the middle without excessive risk of bopping him/her in the head with the paddle.

Otherwise, go for a 16 or even 17 foot boat. Our Old Town Tripper was excellent for family whitewater. I could solo the boat from the middle with the kids at either end. Or, my wife and I were in the tandem positions with the smaller kid in the bow and the larger one in the middle. The Tripper spins relatively easily and can be managed well enough in technical water.

mohawk probe 14 w/ the triple saddle is a fun boat for both solo or tandem.

got to second on the Probe 14 with a Tri Saddle

Cool, sounds like I have some looking to do. I've been browsing Mohawks site. Whats the difference between the probe and the XL series. Nice that they are local too.

My vote is for the Probe14 as well. Difference between probe and xl? probe probably much more fun in whitewater especialy to solo. imo. If your doin some flatwater, the xl 15 is a good all-arounder.

Well, after discussing it with the wife, she's not interested in riding with me. She said she would rather rent a ducky when she goes. So now I am looking for something a little smaller that I could stuff my young son in the front of for at least the next 6 or 8 years. Maybe a probe 12 or some other brand?? I would be paddling solo more than not.

The Probe 13 is 12'8. It'd work for you. It is a nice solo boat and would work as a tandem for a father and young son. The current Probe 13 used to be sold as the Probe 12 (the current Probe 12, at 12'2", used to be sold as the Probe 12 II). If you want one, I can probably find you one at a nice price.

I still say go for the Probe 14, I take my 7 Year old daughter in the Probe 14 on Hiwassee and Nantahala Often and still Run it down the Ocoee Solo Occasionally