Jonathan Hanson Jonathan Hanson Jonathan Hanson is a writer whose lifelong appreciation of nature shows up frequently in his work. Meet Jonathan Previous Answers

The Aleut is a 12-foot folding kayak that weighs about 40 pounds. You can order it with two carrying bags, meaning there's never more than 20 pounds to tote, and it assembles in the real world in about 15 minutes (you can also carry it assembled on a roof rack if you choose). The Aleut has a cockpit almost four feet long, so there should be room for your dog if he or she doesn't squirm too much.

I'm not going to claim the Aleut is a high-performance kayak — it's not. But it's perfectly adept at navigating lakes and gentle rivers, and it's extremely stable. There's enough room for a long weekend's worth of camping gear, assuming you stay below the recommended 250-pound load capacity. And the Aleut is affordable at around $1,200, plus $150 or so for the expedition kit, which includes a rudder, spray skirt, compass, and deck lines.

Since you mentioned kayaking, the Folbot is what came to mind first. But have you considered a small touring canoe? You might take a look at something like the Dagger Reflection 14. It's set up for solo touring with a standard center seat, and there's definitely more room for the dog in an open canoe than a closed kayak. The Reflection's only downside is weight.

Its Royalex construction is durable, but a bit porky at around 60 pounds. Still, that's not too much for one person to handle, and getting it on top of a Civic is much less of a challenge than if you drove one of those seven-foot-tall sport-utes. Plus the price is right at $950 with vinyl trim or $1,150 with wood trim (which is prettier and a bit lighter). By the way, Dagger does have a significantly lighter solo touring canoe called the Sojourn (43 pounds), but it's not as stable as the Reflection.

Good Luck!

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