Yes. One personal can absolutely paddle a two-person kayak. But don’t be fooled, paddling a tandem kayak by yourself is not optimal and comes with a unique set of challenges.
To paddle a two-person kayak by yourself, you need to either adjust the seat location or weight distribution of the boat, select a longer-than-typical paddle, possibly use a rudder and paddle in open water while avoiding tight creeks and fast rivers.
Table of Contents
Why would you choose to paddle a two-person kayak by yourself?
There are several good reasons why you might try your hand at a paddling a two-person, tandem kayak by yourself. Most, but not all of those reasons are because you simply don’t have access to the boat you really need.
Paddling a two-person kayak by yourself is usually a stop-gap solution.
Your partner isn’t available and it’s your only boat
Maybe you really want hit the lake early Sunday morning but your significant other is sleepy. The two of you invested in a tandem kayak so that you could spend quality time together on the water. (Undoubtedly you first read my article entitled How to Paddle a Tandem Kayak (and Avoid Opposition, Mutiny and Divorce)).
Now you’re stuck with a tandem kayak and quality time by yourself. Well, that’s still a pretty good reason to try and captain a two-person kayak by yourself.
You need more legroom
If you’re a particularly lengthy paddler with a 38” inseam (or more), I understand why you’d want a longer kayak. Your typical boat often won’t have sufficient real estate to house those lengthy legs of yours – particularly if you paddle a sit-in kayak.
Generally, it is accurate that a tandem kayak provides more leg room for the rear-paddler. But there are significant trade-offs for solving the challenge of extra-long limbs with a tandem kayak. Suffice it to say though, that a longer boat does indeed provide more room.
You want more storage
If you enjoy kayak camping or even the occasional expedition, then a two-person kayak provides all kinds of extra room for packing more gear. In fact, the longest kayaks (not built for racing) are tandem boats, so if you camp with a lot of gear, then a tandem kayak, powered by a single paddler allows for all kinds of opportunities to jam gear into the boat.
You want more stability
The surface area of a tandem kayak’ hull that rests in contact with the water is significant. Furthermore, two-person kayaks are usually wider than their individual counterparts. As such, tandem kayaks do tend to feel more stable.
This is particularly true with respect to primary stability, which is the initial stability one experiences when first entering a kayak.
You want to kayak with your dog
OK. This reason really resonates with me. If your best friend is one of man’s best friends, then giving your dog space at the front of your kayak to enjoy quality time on the water works.
Of course, there are many complexities to consider if you want to kayak with your dog, but sticking him in the front seat of a tandem kayak could be an effective way to spend the day.
What would keep you from paddling a two-person kayak by yourself?
For all the reasons that you might choose to paddle a tandem kayak by yourself, there are many problems that you’ll experience as you do so.
Weight distribution problem
If the seat locations in your tandem kayak are static, then you’ll be forced to navigate a weight distribution problem once you enter the kayak.
With all the weight at the very back of your boat (assuming you choose to sit in the back – and you should) your ‘trim’ (the running angle of your boat) will be out of whack. In other words, your tandem kayak will look like a motorboat with the back end sitting deep in the water and the front end sitting high.
Of course, this all depends on your personal weight as well as the weight limits of your boat.
Nevertheless, this situation will not be a recipe for safety and efficiency of paddling
Top speed is high but unattainable for one person
In a previous article I discussed how far a paddler can kayak in a day, by the numbers. Generally, the maximum speed of a kayak is determined by its waterline length. The longer the waterline of the boat, the higher its potential maximum speed.
With a long waterline, a tandem kayak can, in theory, attain a higher speed than a smaller individual kayak.
The problem is that a single paddler doesn’t have sufficient musculature to actually reach the craft’s potential top speed. One paddler is simply not strong enough to reach the top speed attainable by their tandem kayak.
Not only that, but the strength necessary to actually start and keep a tandem kayak moving forward is a lot more than that which is necessary to move a smaller boat. So, a tandem kayak actually feels heavier than a single boat when starting from a stopped position or creeping along at a slow speed.
Tandem kayaks are less maneuverable
Long kayaks are difficult to turn. To the extent that your journeys happen on big, uncrowded bodies of water, maneuverability is less of a problem.
As you might surmise, navigating narrow rivers and creaks – particularly fast-moving ones – is probably not the best choice for a tandem kayak paddled by one person. In fact, it is actually highly problematic as the probability of getting tangled in a river hazard is really high if you can’t turn your kayak.
Heavier to transport
Tandem kayaks are heavier than their single-paddler equivalents. This is logical, given that two-person kayaks require more material to build.
With that said, the problem is felt more acutely when your tandem kayak is of the hard shell variety.
Generally speaking, single-paddler hard-shell kayaks range in weight from modestly heavy to heavy. Tandem kayaks range in weight from heavy to quite heavy. And their length makes them awkward to transport.
Lifting a tandem kayak onto the roof of your vehicle can be a particular challenge. Not to worry, though. My post about how to lift any kayak by yourself shows you how to get the job done.
How one person can paddle a two-person kayak
What can you do to give yourself the best chance at a positive experience when paddling a two-person kayak by yourself?
Adjust the seat towards the middle, if possible
If you had the foresight to purchase a tandem kayak with moveable seats, well congratulations. Many of your problems can be solved in 23 seconds.
To the extent that your seat positions are moveable, slide the rear seat up to the middle of the kayak. This will allow for better weight distribution and fix the problem of lop-sided trim that can make your tandem kayak look like a long, skinny motorboat.
Add weight(ballast) to the front of kayak
It may be that you purchased a hard shell tandem kayak, or at least one that doesn’t allow you to reposition its seats. If you did, all isn’t lost.
Howewever, you do have a weight distribution problem that needs to be rectified to re-balance your trim. To do this, add some weight to the front of your kayak.
It might need to be more than 50+ pounds. You can use bottles of water (that are actually buoyancy-neutral) or some other material with concentrated weight.
Position the weight as near the tip of the bow as you can. If you’re paddling a hard shell, sit-in kayak, carefully wedge the weight in the furthest reaches of the kayak.
In a kayak that does not provide access to the bow end of the boat, then secure the weight in the nearest available hatch to the bow.
If your kayak is a hatch-less inflatable sit-on-top boat, you may need to get creative about how to stow/attach weight at the front of your boat and keep it from sliding around.
Suffice it to say that adding weight to the front of your kayak will rectify your trim and keep your boat in better balance.
Install a rudder or skeg
A kayak rudder is a blade that you install at the stern of your kayak.
It’s two-fold purpose is to 1. Help you keep your kayak on course in difficult weather and strong currents, and 2. To help you turn your boat.
My article about how to use a kayak rudder discusses when you might need one and how to use it.
Strong crosswinds can be particularly difficult for tandem kayaks to navigate. This is because tandems have more surface area than a conventionally-sized kayak. Furthermore, if the trim is unbalanced due to poor weight distribution, the front-end of the kayak could actually sit well out of the water, creating an even larger surface area for the wind to accost.
Using a rudder can help a single paddler direct a tandem kayak in heavier winds with less physical effort.
Alternatively, a skeg is a blade housed in the bottom of your kayak. It can be engaged whenever needed to help keep the back end of your kayak from slipping out when crosswinds blow.
A skeg won’t help you turn corners, but it can help you track straight when the winds are a-wailin’.
A rudder however, will help you turn corners. It’s not intended as a replacement for good paddling technique. But when you find yourself in a tight jam, a rudder can offer you a little more control over the directionality of your kayak.
A rudder or skeg can both be used to improve control and manoeuverability of your tandem kayak, when paddling by yourself.
Use a longer paddle
If you are fortunate enough to own a tandem kayak with moveable seats, well done.
However, one of the challenges you might note is that the new location of your kayak seat – in the middle of the kayak – is wider than the old location. The knock-on effect of this might be that your paddle stroke becomes shallower and less efficient.
If this is the case, you might benefit from a longer paddle. This will allow you to adjust to taking shallower strokes without reaching for the water and losing your balance – something that could happen with a shorter paddle.
A longer paddle might also allow you to keep your power strokes more vertical – again without losing your balance by leaning too far over the edge of the kayak.
Use in open water, avoid river and creek paddling
We discussed this earlier but it’s worth touching on again. One person can undoubtedly paddle a two-person kayak and make a good show of it.
However, if you are this person, you are more likely to find success in large areas of open water, with few hazards and little need for evasive maneuvers.
What are better alternatives to a two-person kayak?
If you are one of the few people in the world with unlimited resources, then there are better alternatives to captaining a tandem kayak by yourself
If you need more length, then buy a longer individual kayak
You don’t need a tandem kayak to fit long legs, you just need a longer individual kayak.
Sit-on-top kayaks are available in many sizes and quality levels to fit most budgets. Furthermore, the fact that there is no deck means that your long legs have plenty of space to further stretch, whenever needed.
If you require a sit-in kayak, touring kayaks can be found as long as 18 feet. That provides a lot of room for long legs and big feet.
If you need more storage capacity, then buy a longer individual kayak (or pack lighter)
Same thing. Individual kayaks are constructed to position your weight approximately in the middle of your kayak. Manufactures design big, long kayaks to pack lots of gear, while still maintaining the integrity of the kayak as well as the paddling experience.
If you don’t have enough room for all your gear in an individual kayak, then: 1. Sign up a touring buddy to carry some of your extra gear; 2. Make do with less gear; 3: Tow a ‘gear-trailer kayak’ behind your boat.
If you want more stability, buy a longer, wider kayak – even a fishing kayak
If you’re looking for a more stable paddling experience, consider a longer and/or wider individual kayak.
Depending on the type of kayaking you do, you might even consider a fishing kayak. Some of those kayaks are really long and really wide – so much so that they’re designed for anglers to actually stand up when fishing.
There is a whole world of kayaks designed for stability that still provide a safe and balanced kayaking experience.
Want to paddle with your dog? Alright, go for the tandem!
If you spend time on the water with a furry friend, and this friend is large – weighing more than 50 lbs – I would argue that, while an individual sit-on-top kayak might still be optimal, a tandem kayak is perfectly appropriate.
Parting Thoughts
One person can absolutely paddle a two-person kayak.
However, doing so sacrifices paddling speed, boat stability as well as maneuverability. It takes more effort to move a bigger boat with its bow sticking up in the air.
Some of these problems can be mitigated with a rudder, a longer paddle and a seat that moves.
Most importantly, if your dog is sitting in the passenger seat of your tandem, then paddle with my blessing!