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Nova 16
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Nova 16 Description
The Nova 16 is a canoe brought to you by Mohawk Canoes. Read Nova 16 reviews or submit your own review to share with the paddling community. Check out a few other canoe recommendations below or explore all canoes to find the perfect one for you!
Mohawk Canoes
Nova 16 Reviews
Read reviews for the Nova 16 by Mohawk Canoes as submitted by your fellow paddlers. All of the reviews are created and written by paddlers like you, so be sure to submit your own review and be part of the community!
We have had our Nova 16' in…
Overall, we've been exceptionally pleased. It is light, attractive, and on a small lake or twisty creek, it paddles great. It paddles great and sits stable in the water.
The Mohawk folks can't be beat! They are helpful, friendly, and easy to talk to. I'd highly recommend Mohawk. Canoe & Kayak did a great review of the Nova 16 which is on Mohawk's web page.
I recently purchased a Nova…
Review for the Nova 16…
I have a Nova 16, purchased…
'Tis Nova 16 been every-wher…
I've only had my Nova 16 RX…
I have had my Nova 16 for…
I purchased a Nova 16 about…
Paddling it, I sometimes find it a bit tippy. Not because it actually is; the stability is pretty good. I'm a bit top heavy and I find this boat easy to capsize in that it leans pretty far on the primary and by the time I get to the secondary, I've lost my balance and am falling over the side. I think losing some weight might solve a lot of this problem. I got the seats with the rod spacers that fit over the bolts. This causes the seats to wiggle just a little bit, but this is sometimes enough to cause me to lose my balance is I'm leaning a bit off center. Mohawk has since gone back to the metal L brackets they used to use, which work great.
Last year I got busy and didn't really 303 my hull like I should have. It seems the hull lightened a bit more than I expected it to. That is a characteristic of R84 skins if you don't continually 303 them. Royalex is a bit toughter to UV rays.
Paddling the boat gets high marks for the most part. It is very responsive and easy to turn. I had a buddy who went over a small homemade dam on a river in what was a healthy class II. The boat performed wonderful and didn't even hint at having a problem.
I've found that the bow seat is too close to the front of the boat. It's narrow and my 43 y/o knees aren't comfortable bunched up that close together. The result: I usually stern paddle and let my friends take the bow seat.
Paddling it solo has given me mixed reviews also. It is so light that it is easy for the bow to plane up if you don't throw a water bag or gear up front, even with the boat paddled backwards. I've found that the hull, as it is so light, tends to oilcan a bit without any gear to hold it down. This is a bit annoying. I can't say it has affected handling. Even though it has noteworthy tumblehome (Mohawk calls this "tucked in sides" to the novice), I am not that comfortable in solo paddling it. I tried to take it on a windy lake solo and without a load, and it weatherveined rather badly on me. However, I'm spoiled to my touring kayak a bit... I think some decent weight in the boat would solve this problem. The waves just picked up that light bow and slammed me back into shore.
A previous review noted it has no tiedown points. That's not true. Mohawk has excellent caps on the bow and stern. The front hole is for drainage, and the inside hole works well to tie a rope through. I use some prussik cord from rappelling that holds 1000# and is about the size of a pencil. Mohawk's gunwales are easy to maintain, and the finish on the yoke and seats is top quality and looks like oil, although it's actually polyurethane.
If I were choosing a canoe again, I might look at their 15' models for solo paddling. Overall, I've been exceptionally pleased with the Nova 16, small problems noted. It is light, attractive, and on a small lake or twisty creek, it paddles great. A buddy is on his second Blazer 16, the livery fiberglass Mohawk. It paddles a bit better than the Nova as it has a sharper bow and by being heavier, sits better in the water, particularly the bow plane.
The Mohawk folks can't be beat! They are helpful, friendly, and easy to talk to. I'd highly recommend a Mohawk to somebody. I'm looking forward to paddling more in mine, with some gear and a buddy who knows how to paddle. Canoe & Kayak did a great review of the Nova 16 which is on Mohawk's web page.
Email me if you want to discuss this any more.
I've had my Nova 16 Royalex…
I bought my Nova 16 R84 from…
I've had my Nova 16 for about…
Overall, it's a great boat. It's very stable and has held up well. The factory direct ordering was a big plus. Mohawks overall are very attractive because you get a good boat at a reasonable price. You'll also want to add grabhandles in the bow and stern if you car top it. The endcaps that come from the factory have no place to tie on to.