fitness paddling: exercise, train, race by kayak & canoe

Pam Browning answering my questions about KayakPro Vampire in the Blackburn Challenge reported a debut of VanDusen Mohican, a cross between surfski and sea racing kayak:

Two VanDusen Mohican skis made their debut at the Blackburn sprints, both coming in ahead of the Vampires.

It's a question as to whether the Mohican is a ski or an unlimited kayak, the initial prototype is an unlimited kayak, an open boat with a platform, rotating seat. The next two boats have the same deck & hull as the prototype, but have a bucket/pod attached to the deck & hull, which seals the bow and stern from water. Sitting in the boat, your feet are under part of the deck, so it's more of a sit-in than a sit-on. There is a suction bailer similar to canoes for draining the bucket area.

The Blackburn race organizers were not sure which class was more appropriate, they opted to place both as surfskis.

If you look at the USCA 2006 Nationals results, the Mohican was the fastest boat of all single and double kayaks and canoes on the marathon course (with Erik Borgnes paddling).

The Mohican remains somewhat mysterious since there is still no information about this kayak on Van Dusen webpage. I believe that only four prototypes exist at this time.

The picture above (courtesy of Donna Lind and NEsurfski.net) shows Bill Baker paddling one of the Mohicans in the 2006 Blackburn Challenge. You can find more pictures of the Mohican, including two versions of cockpit, in photo files at Yahoo Olympic Sprint Canoe and Kayak group. I believe you need to join this discussion group to get access to the pictures.

Ted Van Dusen was kind enough to send me some information about production plans for the Mohican together with some technical description and specifications:

We should have a web page up and running in two weeks with some more information and pictures on the Mohican.

We've put quite a bit of effort into getting the first few boats made for people to try. We need a little more time to get pictures and a description of the boat.

We have started taking a few orders and have priced the boat at $3400 for all carbon, cored, epoxy autoclave cured construction with an under stern rudder. Replacing the rudder with an over stern kick up rudder is an additional $200. We are working of the pricing of various other options. Enclosed is a simple description of the boat that I have been passing out.

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The enthusiasm in the Mohican has been very pleasing. We will be making the boats to order and expect that an order received today will be filled in early November.

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The Mohican combines the best features of an unlimited racing kayak with the safety and seaworthiness of a surf ski.

• Sealed self bailing cockpit
• Autoclave cured carbon/epoxy/core construction under 28 pounds
• Convertible tiller or pedal steering
• Convertible between under stern or kick up rudder

Design Features:

• More stable than most racing surf skis and unlimited kayaks
• Less resistance than any known production ski or unlimited kayak
• Less resistance than fastest ICF kayaks at marathon speeds of 6.5 - 8 mph
• Efficient paddling position & narrow at paddle catch position

Dimensions: LOA - 21’ 2.5”, LWL – 21’, B – 17.5”, B @ 4” WL – 16.1”

Finally, Eric Borgness posted a very good and detailed review of the Mohican on the Yahoo Kayak group and in the product reviews on paddling.net.

He had occasion to paddle the Mohican with a bucket seat and a venturi drain like a surfski, footboard and tiller. The hull was very flat right under the seat area. There was some resemblance to a sit-down type C1 canoe, only longer and narrower. The foredeck had nice cutaways for a close entry.

He found that its stability was exceptional and would compare it to a trainer ICF K1 like a Kirton or or slightly tippier than a Mako XT surfski.

His review summary:

Overall, I thought it was the nicest hull I'd ever paddled on flatwater and worth a look if you want speed and need some measure of stability and can live with a non-ICF boat. It would be a great boat for an intermediate paddler to learn to get faster in as you'd be much more stable than in a racing ICF K1. Plus, you would never need a faster marathon boat when you do get better. The build quality was also among the nicest I've seen. Solid and true as an old Struer I once had.

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