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I love the orange Mohican with both rudders and rear hatch. It is slightly faster and lighter than the t-bolt I love so much. In the t-bolt I had small out of way thigh braces so I could lean over until water came in the cockpit. I do not have that option with the Mohican. It is cooler on a hot day with lots of air to hit my chest. Get the rear bungees for water storage. If you are on a budget, then a used t-bolt is a better value. Add a rear bulkhead and small out of way thigh braces for start of race or when you get nailed by big waves.

Van dusen boats have won many gold medals. They are the best in the world but it helps to have size 10 feet or smaller for portage. ICF boats are made to be paddled barefoot. Not much room for the feet. My big disappointment is that getting back in might take a paddlefloat. Wide plastic sit on tops are easy to remount. This boat is not easy even in flatwater. You learn to go fast by Smile relax and wiggle your hips. J lean the boat to the left and right. learn how you can really lean it over and recover. Its weakness is that it is like a bike, it needs to move to be stable. Stopped, I like to let my legs hang out just like pontoons. You can make a hairpin turn by dragging one foot. Huki makes rear pontoons that might work. It really is about time in the boat. Near shore on a small river I like getting nailed by big wakes.

The Mohican is much more stable than you first think. Smile relax and wiggle those hips. Rocket fast. I wish I could attach an outrigger as a convertible OC1 or kayak. I wish Mr van Dusen made a more stable version to compete with the epic sport or marathon master. I love tiller steering and will never buy anything but tiller steering. Even my Seda Glider has tiller steering

Orange Van Dusen Mohican with tiller steering, toe straps and both rudders. Just 2 minutes to switch rudders because the understern fits thru a tube. The narrow nose is so fast but the main drawback is narrow place for feet. Hard to make buoy turn until you figure how to lift your foot out to slide bar across. I love the seat with no pad. The footstraps are so efficient at pulling your hip forward for the next stroke. Stability - similar to orion or t-bolt but t-bolt had small out of way thigh braces so I felt very stable in big water in t-bolt. With the Mohican you can let thighs rest against side to get some support or at start put feet outside boat to paddle sideways. Mohican might be one minute per hour faster for me on flatwater than t-bolt. T-bolt turns better for me around buoys because of wider footbox. Have not yet learned how to get back into Mohican without paddle float. PFD makes it harder to get in. The Mohican is so ergonomic that it is easier for me to paddle at 7mph for an hour. If you are on a budget, a used t-bolt might be a better value. I added rear bulkhead to t-bolt.

What a rocket is this boat. Maybe the fastest open water kayak ever built. It wins races such as www.saranaclake.com (90miler) and blackburnchallenge.com I added a rear bulkhead after hurting back trying to flip water out. And I added thigh braces from dagger animas so my old whitewater knees will have something to grab onto. And added 4 Ibolts on rear deck for platypus hydration pack with water tube that velcroes to top left of pfd. Do not even think of setting down your paddle to open water bottle in this boat. Mine has kickup rudder for shallow water racing in adirondacks and run of charles. Rudder is not long enough to touch water when surfing so you go paralell with waves. Also has olympic fin rudder that is no good for shallow water. Maybe you could let a long feathercraft type rudder hang off the back. My wing paddle and I are born to rip holes in the water as we blast along in the power of God Almighty at 10 mph. In the olympics they do the 500 meter sprint at one minute 35 sconds or 16 mph in a 17 ft boat that is so tippy they tip over when empty.

Mr Bushnell may reign fire from Zeus upon those mere mortals who make any changes to his boats. His boats are worth the effort of just keep your mouth shut and acknowledge his omniscience. "You do not need a bulkhead if you do not tip over." Doug would build the winning race car at indy500 but no roll bar because you would not dare scratch his car. "Do not put paddle on rear deck to attempt reentry lest you sratch it." Mr Bushnell is always right and you are always wrong when you even think of disagreeing with him. He has threatened to chain saw my t-bolt in 2 with chain saw because i made unauthorized changes.