Storing your canoe

How you store your canoe is very important. You should always store your canoe upside down and out of direct sunlight, in a garage, hanging from the ceiling with pulleys or in a shed is a good idea, but if that is not possible try to keep it in the shade. A Popular way to store canoes outside is on a set of saw horses, conventional style or built with post buried in the ground.

It is always a good Idea to have your canoe tied down when stored on horses, canoes are easily blown around by just small gust of wind. For this reason the in ground post horse’s are more secure when tied down.

Covering your canoe with a tarp works if certain precautions are taken. Do not lay a tarp directly on a canoe if you are storing it outdoors. Due to the possibility of moisture being trapped between the tarp and hull, it is best to drape the tarp like a tent using supports , otherwise discoloration or other damage may occur to the canoe.

Maintaing the finish on Royalex/Royalite canoes

Whether your canoe is Royalex or Royalite, always maintain a coat if preservative on it. A good UV protectant will help slow the fading process and keep your canoe looking nice for years to come. It also helps to maintain a slick finish which helps to deter scratches. We recommend PROTECTANT 303, using a protectant containing petroleum can damage the finish. Give your canoe a treatment as often as it may be needed. For canoes stored outside, once a month is not to much, canoes stored indoors, once every 6 month is probably enough. 

Treat the hull as well as the gunwales and decks.

Hull interiors: We do not recommend any protectant treatment on the inside if the hull, as the floor of the canoe may become slippery and create a hazard.

Care of the wood in your canoe

Mohawk Canoes seats, thwarts and yokes are made of fine Northern White Ash finished with a custom satin Polyurethane. How you store your canoe will determine the maintenance requirements of your wood parts. If stored in a garage, your wood finish may hold for years before ant touch up is needed. On the other hand if stored outside, chips or scratches in the finish are more likely to discolor.

So more frequent inspections are required.

When blemishes are found, they can be fixed by lightly sanding and applying a coat Of exterior satin polyurethane to the area.

If your canoe is to be stored outside during non-paddling month seasons, you may want to remove the wood parts of the canoe and store them indoors.

Exterior care of a fibreglass canoe

Exterior care for a fiberglass canoe is much like that for a Royalite or Royalex. One of the differences being, you can use a car wax or boat wax to protect the exterior finish, or Protectant 303 will work also.

Over the years, Mohawk has offered two styles of seat adjustment. Until the year 2000, it was with 6" bolts and vinyl spacers. Now we are hanging our seats from the side on aluminum side plates. Both are adjustable, below are examples of how to adjust both of these systems.

The seating in your Mohawk canoe was designed to offer you a variety of adjustments. For most people the seat position is fine as is, but by arranging the spacers as shown below you can have a low high or angled seat.

A. This is the standard position. It gives good stability sitting, and when kneeling. enough foot room under the seat for most people.

B. Hanging the seat below the sideplate lowers the seat for better stability while sitting, but allows less room between the seat and the floor to get your feet in and out of the kneeling position

C. puts the seat even lower for more stability while sitting.

D. This puts the seat in a higher position than the standard sitting. When kneeling. It will be easier to get your feet in and out from under the seat. However, this puts the boat at its most unstable position.

E. This would be the most comfortable for kneeling, but due to the angle, sitting may be uncomfortable.

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