Mohawk Intrepid 16 worth repairing?

Hi Everyone,
I'm new to this forum (man, it's so good to join an active forum that's not on Facebook) and relatively new to canoeing. We moved to Central Virginia a few years ago, and I started canoeing with my son afterward to complement our hiking and other outdoor activities. We managed to train my dog to ride in a canoe, though we've only paddled around a small lake in a nearby state park in a canoe that we rented. I'm now hooked and am looking into getting our own canoe so we can paddle other nearby lakes and the James and Appomattox rivers together.

I was talking to my brother in NC about canoeing and he said I could have the old canoe he's had for years. It's a Mohawk Intrepid 16, which is made from Royalex. At first, I decided to go down and pick it up from him since it was free and something I could probably restore if it needed it. He wouldn't send me any pictures of it, so I convinced my sister-in-law to send me a picture when she got a chance. After seeing a picture of it, I think I'm better off getting something like a used Old Towne Discovery 16 (which is the type we usually rent) from a local rather than trying to restore my brother's freebie. I know very little about restoring, care and upkeep of canoes or boats in general, and it seems that if I pick up this used canoe it could be something that sits around taking up space and not getting used.

I'm curious about what some folks with experience paddling and restoring canoes think of this used canoe and advice in general. I've attached the pic of the canoe that my brother has. I'm afraid that what looks like fiberglass around the skidplates is brittle after sitting in the sun for years, and that the yoke etc. is likely rotted from sitting on the wet ground. Thanks for any input and insights! -UM

This boat has definitely seen better days. Is it worth the drive? I suppose you could take it and work on it, it would a learning experience. But you would probably be happier finding something used for sale at a modest price so you can get out paddling now. This looks like the kind of boat that sometimes gets donated to the nature center where I volunteer. The director tends to take all donations sight unseen. I have gotten pretty fast with the Sawzall in reducing these kinds of boats to dumpster sized pieces.

Welcome. I'd probably look for something you can put on the water now and take a good look at this one the next time you visit your brother. I suspect that you're right about the yoke being damaged from ground contact. Might make a decent winter project and you can never have too many boats.

If you tackle the salvage job, start a thread. Not only can some of the members here lend guidance but it helps other who come along later with similar questions.

Hard to tell from the pics. Someone got a bit carried away with the resin when applying the skid plates and the resin has turned dark with age. I only see one patch on it. That doesn't mean the hull is compromised.

What does it look like when flipped over? Does it have wood (rotted?) or aluminum trim?

Wood yokes and seats are simple to replace (and build). Gunwales, if wood, are a bit more work but still pretty easy.

It might be a pile and it might be just fine to drop in the water as-is. Hard to say without a closer look.

I don't know how much room you have for canoes but I'd definitely give it a shot to keep around for local day paddles depending on how far the drive is.

Alan

My canoeing mentor and Virginia Whitewater guidebook author, Roger Corbett paddled an Intrepid 16. That makes me think it is a good boat for your area.

Royalex boats that are still in the basic shape of a canoe can almost always be repaired. I’ve fixed boats in far worse condition. In retrospect, it didn’t make a lot of sense, but I enjoyed doing it.

IMO, the aging of the canoeing population has spurred demand for lightweight boats, and depressed prices for used, heavier boats. So, you can probably easily find a good, royalex boat at an economical price. That would get you on the water faster and cheaper than fixing your brother’s boat.

Untrimmed Mobster said:

Hi Everyone,
I'm new to this forum (man, it's so good to join an active forum that's not on Facebook)

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UM, welcome to site membership! Feel free to ask any questions and to post messages, photos and videos, and to start threads, in our many forums. Please read Welcome to CanoeTripping and Site Rules! Also, because canoeing is a geographic sport, please add your location to the Account Details page in your profile, which will cause it to show under your avatar as a clickable map link. Many of the site's technical features are explained in Features: Help and How-To Running Thread. We look forward to your participation in our canoe community.

I'd like to see what the canoe looks like flipped over—the gunwales, thwarts, seats and decks. If they are as bad as the bottom, you'd probably have to be a very motivated restorer to get it all back into good shape.

That said, a used Royalex canoe in decent shape, if you can find one at a reasonable price, is usually a better choice than a heavier polyethylene plastic canoe, at least in my opinion.

You can do better than that for $150.

Glenn MacGrady said:

That said, a used Royalex canoe in decent shape, if you can find one at a reasonable price, is usually a better choice than a heavier polyethylene plastic canoe, at least in my opinion.

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I agree with the suggestion that a lighter Royalex canoe is way better than a cheaper polyethylene canoe like a Discovery.

I like aluminum better than polyethylene. Aluminum is about the same weight but stiffer, so it paddles better. They are often the same price as polyethylene.

A used Royalex canoe would be ideal for small lakes and rivers. Most are around 75 lbs, which is light enough for one person to cartop.