I am looking to buy a new Mohawk solo 13 and I was wondering what size paddlers are using these boats and how you like it.I am 6ft 200 pounds and I think I may be to heavy for it but I really like a nice small boat for small creeks and playing around.Any help would be greatly apreciated.I did a search but didnt really find much.
Thanks
Mike
I have one
I’m 5’8" and 165# and have no complaints.
Mike
Advise Solo 14 instead.
You will appreciate the extra capacity, and you won’t lose anything important with the extra length and capacity.
Freedom 14
I have the Freedom 14 & love the versatility. I go around 190.
Second that opinion…
I am 5’10" and 205 and enjoyed my solo 14 on local class 1 rivers. Ran Class II occasionally also. Great stability and only draws a few inches of water. Great for fishing also!
If you stay with Mohawk …
Get the Solo 14, or an Odyssey 14.
I have both; prefer the Odyssey 14.
You'll appreciate having a "little more boat" than the 13.
BOB
P.S. I'm 6'4" & about 200; so our size is real close.
P.S. #2 Just remembered........If you care too; go to Mohawk Canoes website & check out the paddler's page for photos of myself in my red Odyssey 14, and also Terry (Pnet's WildernessWebb), in his red Solo 14. Terry is a 200 pounder too. Terry is a great "secondary stability tester"! LOL!
My 2 cents
I’m 6’2” X 195 lbs, we have a Solo 14 in the family fleet. I’d recommend the 14 over the 13 for your use.
The MoSo is a pretty good Freestyle boat, so that covers the “playing around” criteria.
Mohawk is a great company to do business with – they’re quick and have top shelf customer service.
Thank you
Thanks for all the replies.
Mike
mohawk 14
i have a mohawk 14 and paddle solo with tandem canoe friends if i need speed i use my kayak paddle. the 14 holds plenty of gear for the weekend for me. its a good boat for class 2+ and less also have air bag floatation for solo fun the folks @mohawk are good give them a call bobj
smaller
I weigh about 210lbs. My interests are more class II-III river running and playing, so I’ve gone for a narrow 12’ boat (MR Outrage), my weight feels fine in it, I don’t find it wet or feel like a cork. And I know lots of big buys who paddle 10’ playboats and c-1s. So, the size, per se, of the M 13 is not an issue, more to do with your interests.
An advantage of going to the 14 is that it won’t paddle much differently, you’re tall enough to handle it, and it gives the option of tandem. But if you’ve got a line on a 13 for solo use, go for it.
Pat.
13
The reason I wanted the 13 is the smaller size and I dont usually carry anything but a six pack and some cigars and snacks.
Don’t know …
Don’t know where you are, or the availabilty of varied Mohawk canoes for you to test paddle? I always suggest tests paddles whenever possible.
Consider these things, even if you do not get a chance to test paddle:
Difference in price between a 13 footer and 14 footer? Not much…
Difference in weight between a 13 footer and 14 footer? Not much…
Difference in handling between a 13 footer and 14 footer. Not much…especially with a decent paddler.
Difference in varied usage of 13 and 14 footer.
You say you’re going to haul a 6 pack, lunch, & a couple of cigars. Both 13 & 14 footer will do that. With a decent paddler on board, both will handle low water, rocky, twisting & turning rivers. Both will handle high class 2 & some low class 3 whitewater, with proper outfitting. But what if you later decide to move into longer, heavier loaded outings “down the road”.
The 14 footer might be a little more versatile.
Have a pet, or a small child, or grandchild you might want to take along? Now which one do you want? Just a thought.
BOB
Good points
Very good points,I always have such a hard time buying canoes.My last boat was a Hemlock Peregrine and that was one beautiful boat.I sold the Hemlock last summer and now I want a boat that I’m not afraid to get scratched up.
Have had …
Have or have had:
Mohawk Odyssey 15
Mohawk Odyssey 14
Mohawk Solo 14
All have handled a lot of non-intentional abuse well. Solo 14 in R-84 layup is still suspect in my mind, but it is paddled by wife, and often she doesn’t go where I go in a canoe.
Just couldn’t pass it up at 4 hundred, with factory installed portage strap, foot pegs & in new condition.
BOB
Bob-- check the Courier review on the
review page. First a guy in Atlanta talks about how he and his buddy ran their Mad River Couriers on the Ocoee and Chattooga 4. Then another guy chimes in and says he uses his on class 3 and 4.
The Courier was similar to the Guide, but wider and more V-bottomed, kind of like a miniature Explorer. I believe one paddler won the combined class (same boat, slalom and downriver) in a Courier. A guy I know won the combined in an Old Town Mini-Tripper. But that said, open boat slalom is usually on class 2-3 water, and the same is true for downriver.
Now, these people are probably entirely honest about what they did with their Couriers, but my question is, are they smart??? How much bailing did they do, and swamping, and dumping? How many important eddy turns did they miss? How many complex moves did they blow? If two guys in Couriers, or in Mohawk Odyssey 14s, approached me at the Ocoee put-in and asked to accompany me in my Synergy, am I going to take them on? No, not even if I think they are really good. Not any more than I would go mountain biking with people riding “urban” bikes.
The Ocoee
Would I run the Ocoee in an Odyssey 14? Nope. Would I do it in a Courier? Nope. Could it be done? With the right paddler in it, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind.
The Ocoee, depending on who is grading it, has multiple class 3 & class 3 plus rapids; among them Broken Nose, Double Suck, Double Trouble, Tablesaw, Diamond Splitter, Gonzo Shoals, and Powerhouse.
I did "not" say I would run class 3 or class 3 plus rapids in a Mohawk Odyssey. What I did say is that I "would" run high class 2, and low class 3 rapids in a Mohawk Odyssey 14.Would it be as dry as my Outrage X? Nope. As a matter of fact; I have already run high class 2, and low class 3 in an Odyssey 15. Have run (on multiple occasions), the Nantahala, French Broad, Hailstone on the Buffalo, the St.Francis shutins, and the Mulberry and Piney in an Odyssey 15. All mentioned are capable of producing high class 2 and low class 3 rapid. No doubt in my mind it would be easier in a Odyssey 14. In all liklihood, if I don't get another dedicated whitewater boat by next summer, I "will" be running the Nantahala in a Mohawk Odyssey 14. The only places I'd be even remotely concerned about would be Pattons run & the falls. Want to come & play? Maybe you could borrow somebody's Courier!
BOB
P.S. Frank (aka Scupperfrank) has a pnet paddler's mug shot album. One photo is of me running Nantahala Falls in a green Odyssey 15.
Don’t need to borrow a Courier if I have
my Guide. About time I tried it on the Nantahala, anyway. Just need to get the seating position shifted a tad forward (previous owner was running it with gear) and lace in some bags. My Guide also came with a spray cover, but that would be cheating.
I didn’t mean to imply that YOU would or wouldn’t run anything in particular in an Odyssey. But an Odyssey 14 is a “little” better than a Solo 14 for whitewater, and I needed an example of a combo boat which is still sold, rather than the Courier, which has gotten rare.
I just found it funny that the one Courier paddler would cite its cruising ability on Tugaloo Lake as a reason to use it on Chattooga 4. I guess that straight line speed would be a real help in getting past Goforth Creek, too.
Cheating …
Cheating;I had to laugh at that! At my age, I am well past giving any thought to the idea that I am cheating. Anytime I do whitewater, anything that gets me from point A to point B a little bit dryer, with a little less effort, and with a lower probability of damage to my boat or me (in particular me), is fair & above board. If putting on spray covers will keep me from bailing less, and wallowing around with a boat load of water; I say “put em on”. I’ve never been one who was enthusiastic about doing whitewater swims(accidentally or on purpose), and I grow less interested in doing any with each passing year.
BOB
P.S. Hopefully will be on the Nanty in late July, or early August 2005, with 2 or 3 other paddlers.
If you’re on the Nanty in July or August
I can GUARANTEE you will have more than 4 or 5 paddlers with you !!
Yeah!
Yeah! I know what you’re talking about. We were there in early August this year. It really wasn’t that bad. Just had to watch out for the rafts at some of the spots where we stopped & played. We had 2 solos, and one tandem, and followed our usual procedure of having someone standing by with a throw bag, acting as safety, and “raft spotter”, so you don’t get “covered up”. With so many on the river there in July & August, we usually stop below the falls after running them. Get out the throw bags, watch the carnage, and do some throw bag practice. Most of the “pilgrims” with the saucer sized eyes (first whitewater swim/unplanned) are more than willing to be on the receiving end of our throw ropes. We call it the “rope-a-dope” game. Fun! Only real problems was me coming around the last right turn (picking up speed) before the falls & finding a raft high centered in the middle with a rope stretched between the raft & river right. Made some fast jukes to left to avoid that. Then buddies in tandem Blue Hole got into truck stop eddy above the falls, and couldn’t get out for about 10 minutes due to raft traffic; waiting for clear shot for peel out to run falls. If you’re not in any hurry (we never are), it’s kind of a festive atmosphere, and I always enjoy running it in the heat of summer afternoons; that river is cold! Still enjoy the large population of “eye candy” during the summer; I’m old, but not old enough to stop looking.
BOB