Richard Ferguson wrote:
I posted a note a while back about the buyer's guide in Canoe and Kayak
magazine, and the only response that I got said that whitewater solo
canoes are not intended to carry the person and 100 pounds of gear,
food, and water. I weigh 175 pounds, and sometimes need to carry water
on muddy rivers, so the 100 pound cargo number is probably in the ball
park. 7 days of water, at 1 gallon per day, weighs 56 pounds.



Lots of good advice in this thread :-)

I'll second the recommendation for a big Dagger Caper. This is a REAL
whitewater boat, with lots of room and rated to carry 800lbs with 6" of
freeboard, and it has 5 inches of rocker That's important for
turning in whitewater. I will not disrespect the Explorer as it's a
fantastic tripping canoe, but it's just not designed to be very
responsive. Hundreds of people use them, and like them, and they do get
the job done - but, nothing beats a ww boat with rocker if you want to
manuver.

That's said, let me address your reason for needing a big boat to carry
water: Can't you just fill up a big tub of water and let it settle
overnight, then use a filtering pump in the morning to stock up your
water supply for the day? Plus, I think your estimate of water usage is
low. More like 2 gallons a day if you are using water to cook, clean,
etc. Maybe almost a gallon a day just for drinking when you are working
hard on the water. And, who needs 56+ pounds of extra dead weight in a
canoe? You have to pack a certain amount of gear and food to be
comfortable. You should be alble to filter water at camp each day.

Hope you find the boat you are looking for. Good luck :-)