1st canoe purchase questions.

Hi
I live in western Kentucky. A lot of flat water, rivers and streams. I am going to look at a used mohawk odyssey 15t for $700. If it is in good condition is this a good price?
Thanks

As you probably know, Royalex hasn’t been produced for a few years, so the prices for used Royalex boats (when you can find them) has been going up. That doesn’t mean there are not good deals to be had. The Mohawk for $700 isn’t one of them. My feeling is that $700 is a bit high. I’d say $500-$550 might be a fair price. $400 and under would be a good deal. I could be totally wrong, though (especially since I’m not from your area.)

Not sure of your intent, but as to the boat itself, I think if I were planning to paddle a tandem, I’d look for a 16’ boat. If I were planning to paddle it solo, I’d look for a solo canoe. 16 foot Royalex canoes can easily be had for $700 without too much looking. 16 foot Royalex canoes can be had for $400 and under if you’re patient and willing to drive a couple of hours.

If you are looking for a tandem canoe, I wouldn’t consider the Odyssey 15T to be a highly desirable model, and like Scott said, something in the range of 16 (or 17) feet would almost certainly be better. The Odyssey 15T is probably a decent choice if the paddlers are rather small, like say, teenagers. On the other hand, I don’t think that price is unreasonable if it’s in good shape and it’s a model that would work well for you, but if you would be better served by a longer tandem canoe (which is quite likely), then in that case the price probably is too high. It’s best not to pay fair market price for a boat that’s a poor fit to your needs.

I highly recommend that you take the boat for a test paddle; in conditions similar to where you’d most often use the boat.

I remember paddling one. I thought that it was too heavy for a solo, lacked maneuverability, had little glide, and way too much energy had to be expended to maintain a decent speed. The only way I’d use it as a tandem would be young kid, or a dog as a partner. I wouldn’t even consider using it as a tandem for 2 normal sized adults.

Based on what I feel are it’s shortcoming; the best I would offer would be $500.00, and it would have to be in excellent condition. I admit I am biased; I don’t like that model of Mohawk, and think you can do better for $700.00.

In my opinion, the only thing that model is suitable for is hauling one adult with one kid, and some light weight gear, for very short distances to fish, and camp a night or two.

If you are going to be going solo all the time; a 14 foot Mohawk Odyssey would be hard to beat


. May be hard to find one however…

BOB

Here’s a couple of more photos of the Mohawk Odyssey.
And of course, an old, but handsome.

BOB

Catfish Snagger, you should probably check in again and tell us if you are more interested in solo or tandem paddling. It’s pretty natural for folks to immediately think “solo” when they see “Odyssey 15”, though of course the “Odyssey 15T” is the same hull set up for two people. If you are going solo, converting a 15T to solo wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, though as a happy Odyssey 14 paddler myself, I have to agree with Bob that for most solo paddlers, the 14 would be far better. He’s also probably right that 14s are hard to find (I know I won’t be selling mine anytime soon).

Thank you all for your comments and ideas. It is a 15T . The owner added the middle seat to use solo. I am going to go paddle it this afternoon.

Thank you all. You have given me a lot to think about and look at. I think what I want is a canoe that isn’t to big to use solo but can also be used tandem. I am leaving in about one hour to go test it out. There are not a lot of used canoes in western Kentucky. Most are department store canoes. I hate to spend approx $500 on a new department store canoe and not be happy with it.

The good news is that any Mohawk canoe is so much better than the crappy boats you see at big-box stores, that you should be able to recoup your investment if/when the time comes when you might decide to replace it with something different. Also remember that no one who’s trying out canoes (or kayaks) before having a lot of experience can evaluate them as accurately as they will after such time as they develop better paddling skills. And there are some very good books out there as well as plenty of online videos that can make a world of difference in what kind of paddling skills you develop. The fact that you are thinking about choosing your boat in the way that you are makes me think you might be the type who will learn some basic skills instead of being the kind of guy who doesn’t give it a thought and therefore spends the next 20 years paddling really badly and not even knowing it. Good luck.

I am the owner of a Mohawk odyssey 15T. It is in very good condition! I am very proud of it. I have a lot to learn about. You all will see me asking more questions as i go!
Thanks

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Congrats. From the size of your arms, you shouldn’t have any problems lifting the canoe.

It certainly looks to be in great shape. Congratulations!!

Thank you all. I will get some better pics soon.

Catfish_snagger,
Congrats on your first canoe. Should be fine for yourself…and as a tandem, as others have hinted to, it may be a bit short for a less skilled partner, but it’s a pretty good boat for one’s first…
$.01

My daughter and myself get some canoe time in this afternoon.

Nice photos but there’s something very important missing: life jackets.

If you have some cash left after buying the boat (hopefully you do) you’ll want to get yourself a PFD and actually wear it. Injury can be part of a good time, but death certainly isn’t. :slight_smile:

I have to admit I am complacent about using a life jacket. I will take your sujestion seriously. I do have life jackets though.

I think you made a good buy. I don’t know how wide that model is, but if it were mine, I suspect I would be replacing those kneepads a little farther outboard, and angling the front of the solo seat down a little.

Just have to echo the last couple of posts though about the PFD. A good one will seem expensive at first, but should be comfortable enough to wear all the time while paddling. Remember - it’s not like you will have time to put it on when you really need it.