Product Description
A solo tripping canoe for experienced paddlers with a modern asymmetrical hull shape and good manoeuvrability.
Based on the Freedom canoes, which can be paddled solo but are more often paddled tandem, the Freedom Solo is specifically designed for a single paddler. Intended to satisfy experienced paddlers, the Freedom Solo canoe is efficient and manoeuvrable but has a low freeboard and less stability than more beginner-friendly canoes.
This design began as an experiment in 2006, when designer Steve Killing decided to poll the opinions of paddlers and builders as he designed the boat. He discovered a common theme among the differences: they felt the boat should be short, narrow and light with low freeboard and medium tracking – and therefore medium manoeuvrability. Most accepted the tumblehome chine as a good, and attractive, solution. This produced a fine solo tripping canoe which requires at least intermediate paddling skills due to its lower-than-average stability.
The Freedom Solo canoes are constructed using the strip-planking method and sheathed in fibreglass for a light and strong hull without internal ribs.
Ted Moores of Bear Mountain Boats is the author of Canoecraft, the standard reference book for wood-strip canoe building. The book is recommended to accompany the kit or plans. It is packed with tips and techniques and has inspired countless first-time canoe builders around the world.
| Freedom Solo 15′ 3″ | Freedom Solo 16′ 2″ | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 4.65 m (15′ 3″) | 4.93 m (16′ 2″) |
| Maximum beam | 760 mm (30″) | 760 mm (30″) |
| Beam waterline | 675 mm (26½″) | 675 mm (26½″) |
| Beam gunwale | 665 mm (26.2″) | 665 mm (26.2″) |
| Bow height | 445 mm (17½″) | 445 mm (17½″) |
| Centre depth | 305 mm (12″) | 305 mm (12″) |
| Draught | 75 mm (3″) | 75 mm (3″) |
| Displacement | 100 kg (220 lb) | 100 kg (220 lb) |
| Wetted surface | 2.04 m² (22 sq ft) | 2.04 m² (22 sq ft) |
| Weight to immerse | 106 lb/in | 106 lb/in |
| Prismatic coefficient | 0.564 | 0.564 |
| Weight | 20-23 kg (45-50 lb) | 20-23 kg (45-50 lb) |
| Stability factor | 95 | 95 |
| Optimum capacity | 68-132 kg (150-290 lb) | 82-150 kg (180-330 lb) |
Watch us build a Bear Mountain canoe in this one-minute overview video:
Kits
We manufacture our kits to the highest standard using European-grown Paulownia for the planking strips. Uniquely, the strips in our Bear Mountain Boats kits have not only a bead-and-cove profile but also a pre-cut finger joint at each end, making the neat joining of strips even easier for builders at home.
The kits include:
- Plans
- Instructions booklet
- CNC-cut building forms
- Paulownia strips with bead-and-cove edges and finger joints on both ends
- Ash blanks for decks
- Ash stem strips
- Ash gunwales (inwales and outwales) with scarf joints machined for joining
- Two ash thwarts
- Cane seat
- Waterproof glue for the strips
- Epoxy resin and activator
- Dispensing pumps
- Digital scales
- Epoxy fillers
- Woven glass fabric on a roll
- Free technical support from a competent builder
Please note that the kit does not include the box beam strongback for mounting the building forms on. You can either use a straight length of suitable timber or order the box-beam strongback we supply.
Strongback
This strongback is made up of CNC-cut MDF panels that fit together to form a strong and stiff box beam measuring 200 mm × 200 mm and long enough to build the boat. You'll need a pair of trestles or sawhorses to raise it to a comfortable working height.
Plans and Instructions (not required by kit purchasers)
The plans contain sufficient information to make it possible to build the boat from scratch rather than a kit. The plans are printed in colour and include scale plans and full size drawings for all the forms.
Recommended Products
Canoecraft
Master canoe builder Ted Moores shares more than four decades of experience in this international bestselling reference book.
Brass Stem Band
Protect the stems of your classic wood-strip canoe with elegant stem bands of hard-wearing brass.
