In general, I find that the single-blade canoe paddle works best even
for soloing with my 17 ft. Sawyer X-17.

The exception comes when I have to fight the wind. When I have to turn
this canoe into a brisk wind my double-blade paddle which I take along
when fishing is worth its weight in gold.

With my 16 ft. Wenonah Aurora which has some rocker and about a 15 ft.
waterline when paddled solo the canoe paddle seems better under nearly
all conditions because the boat is much more maneuverable.

Try both kiinds of paddles with your boat in a variety of conditions
and draw YOUR OWN conclusions. It's not the same for all boats or all
paddlers.

Dan


Kathy D'Errico wrote:
I have a 16 foot hybrid canoe that I can use solo or tandem. It
really takes a lot of work paddling solo and I was wondering if
a kayak paddle would work better for me? or what would better than
the traditional lightweight paddle?