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I have had many canoes and Kayaks. At one time I had 15 stored around at different places. I have paddled and owned over 30 during the past 30 years. Very few boats would I label a super boat. While not all boats are built for speed the Mohican certainly was. I guess I wouldn’t have expected anything less from Ted Van Dusen. His Rowing Shells and ICF k-1’s have one thing in common they go fast. The Mohican is one of the few boats I would label super boat. In the six months I have paddled it the Mohican just seems to be getting better. While a middle of the pack racer and river runner I was amazed at what I could run with it. I took it to my first race with only 3 days of practice in the boat. I must say I did poorly. The waves from the other boats at the start just un-nerved me. On the downstream run it was a different matter. I took off and caught up with a much faster paddler in his RPM downriver boat. I had the feeling that if I wanted I could pass him at anytime. He got me on the turns but only because I didn’t want to press my luck and do a Huli before the big crowd on the bank.

If you are coming from a fast surfski or an ICF kayak, the stability would be no problem. However If coming from a sea kayak or even fast kayak to the Mohican you will have to spend some time in it to get comfortable (3-4 weeks). At first I was fighting the boat. It wanted to stay upright -- I wanted to dive off of it. It took a few weeks before I could say it was a stable boat. If you tip it on the side it wants to roll up, not over, like most ICF and adventure kayaks. I can sit and talk but still have trouble turning around and getting anything off the back deck when under way.

Don’t think I have to say anything about the craftsmanship it’s a Van Dusen. It has no Verturi drains like most surfskis. That was a major selling point for me. The Mohican has a canoe bailer like in a C-1. Now unless I want to open the bailer the bottom of the hull is flat. No more worries about breaking off a verturi when I run over a log or small dam. In big lakes or in deep water I just leave it open. It drains water out and makes a gurgling sound waiting for more water to be splashed up and drained away. To get water out just like the Verturi you have to be moving.

The bottom has already taken a lot of abuse. I run rivers where rocks are a common occurrence, too common. While running over rocks and small step dams I have never broken it open. I have put some deep scratches in the gel coat. The bottom of the Mohican is tough. If it would have been a surfski I know I would have gone right the hull. SurfSkis are made to race in the deeper water. The Mohican can handle both.
The only problem is that it is too fast. The friends who I paddle with are left in my wake. In a thirty minute run I might be 5 or more minutes ahead of them. I had to put bungee around the boat to slow it down to get some training time in.
The dimensions are: LOA - 21' 2.5" LWL - 21' B - 17.5" B @ 4" WL - 16.1"