Maybe something similar in size to the Rodeo or maybe 10' even with a flatish planing hull with flare at the ends. Kind of a mix of Rodeo and Maxim.
PE boat would be nice, or use design elements ( harder or double chines, etc.) that might create more structural rigidity to offset the more flexy royalex that everyone seems to have today.
Some good ideas already,
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Consider a creeker, consider other materials (I'm not sure how big the creeker or other material market is)
Keep making and promoting your best designs as there is still a place for Probes and Vipers in the whitewater community
Get your good learning boats into the paddling schools
Investigate the C1 market, including but not limited to a versatile outfitting platform that would allow for easy adjustment and lend itself to encouraging others to try out or demo C1s. Current deck-canoe outfitting is not adjustment friendly and thus this is little sharing and trading off of C1s. And if you don't try other boats, you may not purchase them.
Great service is vital
And, thanks for asking--a great place to start.
And as a Canadian, we are not that far away, and yes, Esquif is making great boats and is show leadership!
I'd like to say that the boat shown in the above referenced thread was indeed a duff boat. I'm upset we never picked up on it's flexibility before shipping it out to the customer but we did refund every penny they spent within six weeks of them placing the original order.
We, along with other companies, have had issues with Royalex. It's my understanding this is not exactly a new phenomenon and is yet another example of the pitfalls of operating in an environment where such a critical component is at the mercy of a supplier with an absolute monopoly. This is one reason Mohawk is researching the viability of other materials. While instances like the floppy Viper 11 are a rarity we would prefer it if no customer had to return a boat because the materials we work with have very occasional lapses in quality, (I would like to remind Bruce of Viper 12 fame that intentionally misrepresenting a company is, to use the parlance of our times, lame).
Again, the shipment of that Viper 11 should not have occurred and the responsibility for that lies wholly with Mohawk, which is why we wholly refunded the customer. Other than the unforgivably structurally pathetic nature of the boat the aggravating communication issues he suffered are soon going to be addressed by bringing our entire operation under one roof. I'd like to personally thank the customer for acknowledging that the customer service issues he was unfortunate enough to endure are not pandemic.
On a more positive note, we are indeed looking for suggestions, both vague and specific, on what we can offer people in the future that would make Mohawk a more attractive proposition. We do not intend to arrogantly operate Mohawk in a top-down manner so we need to know what you folks want so we can provide it.
We have our own forum http://mohawkcanoes.com/phpbb/index.php where people are free to talk just about our boats. While we want to gather suggestions from as much of the willing community as we can we are also mindful that people might view it as a bit of an intrusion.
Last edited by Sam on Thu May 14, 2009 5:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
I could design and supply you with a plug for a 10.5 Creeker/River Runner for $1,500.00. If you wish refferences just ask here about my Woodie: Squirt C-1 made out of 4 different color woods. The Selway: High performance C-1, as k Charlie wallbridge about that one. I did 8 other prototype/one offs as well.
A hard chined boat like the Viper, but much shorter than the 11'6'' or 12'6'' model, that still has a fair amount of speed like the other Vipers. Also consider other new shorter designs. The 12-14 footers are just not the direction this sport is headed.
My interest in the market is a performance boat for heavier guys. I'm getting tired of the Outrage. At 220lbs I feel I'm too heavy for the Viper 11 (and Solito and Zoom), but the Viper 12 feels pretty big. Can there be an intermediate, a drier Viper 11? Something to compete with the Ocoee and Zephyr?
And too back-up both the Royalex and custmoer service comments - I was seriously considering a Viper 12, but given some of the comments on Mohawk's customer service, and the delamination of my friend's 2-yr old Viper 11 (and we're pretty conservative paddlers) - I'm no longer considering it; I will not spend that much money on something that will only last 2 seasons.
I also think the decision to go to direct distrubution was a strange one, I'd rather of better access to dealers/boats.
PY.
p.s. If this has been asked officially on behalf of Mohawk, perhaps you should get a username and subject line that make that clear.
How about a quicker / responsive boat for smaller paddlers (aka kids / teenagers / small adults)? Something light with performance and easy for them to move about on the water... and on land?
And then take such a boat and create a series for different weight ranges (L, M, S)?
Basically what Craig wrote....
Dooleyoc-1 wrote:
New designs. We definitely need more new canoe designs.
Paul C.
Cboats Moderator
Official TOG Member (Team Old Guy)!
xmas0c1c1k1
Make a plastic boat
Also make a c1 saddle like the old dagger pedestal
YES PLEASE!! You could make a killing offering a dagger style pedestal.
I got to second [or 8th] the plastic boat statement. I love a Roylex boat but they just WEAR OUT quick now-a-days. I had a Probe 12 for years that I paddled [dragged] down the summer lows of Sec4 at .7-.9 without a real problem, the Roylex boats now just look beat up after a run or two. I've been going between buying a Spark and Prelude for a few now but if Mohawk was going to mold a plastic Quake type boat I would definitely be interested in that!
Get a distributor/ dealer up in Canada. There are almost no Mohawk canoes up here, the main reason being that getting them shipped across the border including dealing with customs and such is such a hassle that people prefer to get boats that are available locally.
New designs would help, too.
TGG!
Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing - Henry David Thoreau
I agree on the shorter boats. That seems to be where the sport is going as far as whitewater goes.
Make a big showing at events, GAF, ALF, Gauley Fest, etc. If you can get some boat into the NOC rental/instruction fleet. Seems like Mohawk dropped off the face of the earth.
Comp some boats to paddlers over 6'6". lol
NEW DESIGNS, NEW DESIGNS, NEW DESIGNS
Try Twintex, PE, or whatever. Lighter, mohawk boats of old seemed heavy to me.
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to slide in sideways totally worn out, shouting "Holy large steaming pile of dog doo what a Ride" " Nolan Whitesell
I think that if royalex is crap nowadays, and cannot be specified to be more durable, can the boats be offered in royalite (is it any better?) Make a PE creeker or similar, offer outfitting kits to go along with boats, with proper adhesives for the parts. We need boats that last 5-10 years, not 1-2 yrs A C-1 would be a great add to your offerings.
KEEP MAKING THEM IN THE USA! We need the jobs and some pride.
Back when, NOC did have Mohawks in their instruction fleet. That's where I first paddled the Viper. But when Mohawk went to factory direct sales, and no longer had dealers, NOC was no longer interested in introducing a design to students that they didn't sell and thus weren't able to make a profit on.
