I just read on another board that on the 12th of this month Wenonah bought out Mohawk. The molds are being moved to Minnesota with the other wenonah molds and I suppose the mail order business will be gone. We’ll see how this plays out, but I’ll miss that outfitting, great selection and just about the best prices anywhere.
Such a move should make the shops happy
– Last Updated: Nov-21-05 1:58 PM EST –
Mohawk challenged the middle man model of canoe sales while still delivering service. While I like Wenonah, I don't think this would be a net plus for consumers.
That sucks
The Longwood Florida plant, was just down the raod from my old House. You could get soem GREAT deals…
Wow, if that’s true, I may get to test
a Solo 13. I’ve never even see a Mohawk boat here in Central IL. I’ve only seen one used one advertised.
I’m also concerned that there may be a loss in the excellent customer service that I’ve read so much about.
Hopefully some good would also come out of this merger.
Bummer
Mohawk had the best customer service of any canoe builder I’ve ever dealt with – bar none. At least they were bought out by a quality builder, as opposed to a really shoddy outfit - that’s something I suppose.
Markdc70, will you kindly list your source of information please?
Canadian Canoe Routes
Ah’ also seen dis mentioned on de Canadian Canoe Routes forum…
www.myccr.com
Fat Elmo
Mark, I just put two and two together!
… glad I bought that Mohawk saddle from you before you considered it a collectors item!
Thanks Mark
Bad news!!!
– Last Updated: Nov-21-05 4:57 PM EST –
I've posted this before, but I'm convinced that Wenonah doesn't have much expertise building with Royalex. The overall dimensions (rocker and length) of my Vagabond are not even close to what Wenonah's specifications say they should be, and the sharp bend where the Royalex curves around the stems isn't even CLOSE to being the symetrical (right side compared to left side). They make good composite boats, but I don't think they know what they are doing when it comes to Royalex. Simply having using the same molds as Mohawk doesn't mean the quality will be as good.
Finally, I agree with everyone else, that NO one even comes close to Mohawk's attention to customer service. When I ordered my Odyssey 14 from Mohawk, they actually went out of their way to avoid any delays in the shipping schedule when I told them I was going canoeing in the Ozarks in just a few days and hoped to take the new canoe on that trip. Who ELSE in the boat-building business would treat an ordinary customer that way? Heck, it's been posted here before that Wenonah won't even answer customer's e-mails. I'm sad to see the Mohawk line get transfered to a typical big corporation with a typical big-corporation mentality.
Oh yeah, what about the time it takes to get a boat? Mohawk starts building your boat pronto when you order it, and ships it right to you. The whole process only takes a few days. How long does it take to get a boat from Wenonah? A couple of months or more is what I've often heard.
Brian?!
I’ve read your posts on here all the time, now I’ll feel like talking to a friend when I read them! Did you get your package yet?
Yep
I’ll probably get it tomorrow.
Same here about your posts. Now all we have to do is get together and paddle sometime. I’d like that.
The customer loses
Time will tell how this shakes out, but I have a feeling the big loser in this transaction is us, the customers.
I have owned 2 Mohawks and was very satisfied with the trasaction and the canoes. In fact I may have purchased the last SOlO 14 made by Mohawk. When I ordered it a couple of months ago they told me they only had ONE in the warehouse.
I’ll will wait & see…
– Last Updated: Nov-21-05 9:28 PM EST –
I'll wait & see; but I fear the customers are going to be the "losers" in this deal.
The last boat I ordered from Mohawk was a Probe 12 II; I had Mohawk outfit it for whitewater. The Mohawk customer rep spoke on the phone with me for nearly an hour, discussing the specifics of how I wanted it outfitted. I was loading it on my truck in Springfield, Missouri (it came from Florida) less than 5 days after I telephoned in my order. It was exactly as ordered. I asked the rep if he'd send me a free Mohawk hat with my order; he sent me two!
The Odyssey 14 I ordered in 2004 arrived 4 days after I ordered it. It was the second one I'd owned; the first one is now on it's 3rd owner & still going strong.
I also owned a Solo 14 which I bought used.
I never had a problem with any of the 4 Mohawk canoes I owned: I was totally satisfied with all 4. I thought the prices were competitive with similiar boats.
Will the Wenonah rep talk an hour on the phone with me to make sure "I get what I want", have it to me in less than 5 days, and send me a couple of free hats to boot? I don't think so............
BOB
Don’t worry
too much. The service I got from Mohawk was comparable to Wenonahs (for parts and tech advice) Wenonah saved me a bunch of money on shipping for some parts and has always treated me well. Yeah we might lose a little but I think if it was going to happen then Mike Cichinkowski was the right buyer. Imagine what has happped with mudriver canoes…
I wonder what will happen…
… to some of these boat designs in the long run. The Solo 14 and Odyssey 14, for example, are absolute classics in their own right, but they are very unlike anything in the Wenonah lineup and not really compatible with what appears to be Wenonah’s design focus. I hope Wenonah really is looking to broaden its horizons and gear choices with this purchase of Mohawk, and that the Mohawk designs won’t simply get discontinued after a little while. I wonder if we’ll still be able to get those indestructable Mohawk rock-basher paddles? The really good rental-boat outfits would be lost without them! Again, those paddles are totally incongruous with the Wenonah gear philosophy, but they are the most obiquitous tough paddles out there which actually work really well too, rather than being only suitable to be sold as trashy discount-store fare. Same question goes for a lot of the outfitting gear that Mohawk carries. I sure hope all this stuff doesn’t just fall by the wayside because the owner’s whole image has been founded primarily on ultra-lightweight tripping canoes.
probably following Bell
My guess is that it’s a similar move to what Bell did. When Bell introduced a couple new whitewater boats (older dagger)they offered boats Wenonah couldn’t compete with. With the possible purchase of Mohawk, now they can.
Agree - I just hope they don’t do away with some of the smaller solos (solos and odyssey)
was thinking the same thing
I also wonder if Nova Craft’s inroads had a little bit to do with Wenonah’s decision to get more into moving water boats.
I wish Wenonah would basically have two lines (three if you count their competition line) instead of trying to reconcile Mohawk’s philosophy with their own for the sake of catalog and brand consistency.
no sale?
– Last Updated: Nov-22-05 1:15 PM EST –
a friend called Mohawk. He was told there has been NO SALE. But that it is on the market.
His e-mail:
From : Donaldson , R Worth
Sent : Tuesday, November 22, 2005 12:15 PM
To : "Jose Joven (E-mail)"
Subject : Mohawk Canoes
Mohawk has not been sold per Mark. He said the internet is a load of BS when
you get a couple of guys going. They would like to sell out. Will probably get
an order placed soon anyway. They have plenty of green solo 14's.
Worth
Yep
It looks like they’re pumping their product line-up. With the introduction of their Prospector series a couple of years ago We-No-Nah did somewhat of a change of direction – offering a maneuverable river canoe as opposed to their more typical “go-fast & straight” models. Tractor seated racing & semi-racing models, lake boats and a few chubby fisherman’s canoes has been Wenny’s stock and trade for a long time. As a river paddler I’ve always found their line-up of hull designs fairly boring quite frankly - not my cup of tea at any rate (with the exception of their more recently introduced Prospectors). I would however be the first to say their composite lay-ups and wood trims are well above average, they just haven’t offered many canoes that appeal to me.
The Mohawk line is/was a somewhat different animal in terms of hull designs. In addition to their “family/cottage” tandem canoes they’ve also offered a fine line of river solos and a WW line-up more wide-ranging than any other builder I know of.
I’d say it’s a forgone conclusion that Wenny will drop the Mohawk tandems like a hot potato. It remains to be seen what will happen to the Mohawk solo line-up. I suspect they will promote the WW line-up with vigor – which is probably why they bought the company.
The “Knife” followed the lemmings over the cliff, the Rabbit sold out and carries on in brand-name only – a shadow of its former self. That tired & stodgy old outfit up in Maine is completely out of touch except with the livery crowd. It certainly appears that We-No-Nah trumped their one and only remaining serious U.S. competitor with this one…
The field gets narrower… I still say it’s a BUMMER!