My wife and I have a double and several singles. We like paddling all of them (We sell the ones we don't like) The double is great for friends with little paddling skill - We can actually get some execise paddling with them. If you like photography, a double is great. Sometimes my wife and I like to just paddle together. Hauling one boat is easier than 2 as well.

One thought on the double is that he would be able to have a friend paddle with him. I think you need 2 singles and a double! That way you can both take friends along. Note that putting 2 singles and a double on a roof rack is a lot easier than 4 singles. We get 4 kayak seats on top of our Corolla.

: It does depend a bit on the design of the double. A good double is faster
: than a good single.
: When my wife and I paddle our Night Heron Double, she enjoys the fact that
: she only has to paddle about half the time for us to keep up with the rest
: of our group.
: When she paddles her own single, because it is a fairly efficient design, she
: enjoys the independence and being able to easily keep up with the rest of
: the group.
: I understand the independence thing, but I suspect that often doubles are
: given a bad name because some of them are slow tubs that are not much
: longer than a single and wide enough to be a pain to paddle.
: A double can be very useful for helping a paddler who doesn't have the
: strength, technique or confidence to paddle by themselves. On outings with
: a very leisurely group of paddlers, I have often had my front paddler swap
: with someone in a single who was having problems with sore shoulders or
: tiredness. I still remember a woman who had spent all day at the back of
: the group struggling to keep up. When she joined me in the double, within
: half an hour we had gone from the back of the group to the front. She
: repeatedly said that she was not competitive and didn't mind being way
: behind the group, but I did notice the smile on her face as we passed her
: husband as she pointed out to him that we had passed everyone in the
: group.
: Our group is not competitive (or at least everyone else isn't), but sometimes
: it is nice to be able to keep up and still have the energy to carry on a
: conversation and admire the wildlife and the scenery. A good double makes
: that easy.
: Doubles do have their uses.