Rapidfire, Vagabond
Posted by: pblanc
on Jan-03-13 8:09 AM (EST)
You can paddle many if not most canoes with a double bladed paddle if you want to, but if you want to keep up with folks in sea kayaks you are going to want something fairly narrow and sleek.
A Rapidfire would have the load capacity and is one of the fastest canoes out there that is not an out and out racer. But it would cost you a bit over $3K new. You might find one used in the $2-3K range, but there doesn't seem to be a big used market.
The Wenonah Vagabond a boat that a lot of folks who like to use a double blade seem to favor. While not as fast as the Rapidfire, it is reasonably efficient, can carry a load, weighs 38bs in Kevlar Flexcore and 30 lbs in Kevlar Ultralight, and is about $1K less than the Rapidfire new.