Indian Canoe (Mohawk) Viper 11 canoe review

Mohawk Viper11 specifications

Length 11’6”, Beam @ gunwale 27”, Beam @ 4” waterline 27.25”, Approx weight 45lbs, Rocker 4.5”

Length: 11'6 - 3.50m
Weight: 45lbs - 20.5 kg 
Rocke: 4.5" - 11.43 cm

The Indian Canoe (Mohawk) Viper 11 is the boat I paddle currently. Many people say the design is outdated, but I don't believe that. The Viper 11 is still a very nice whitewater playboat!

I must also say I do not agree with the statement that it's an upper intermediate to expert only type of boat. I definetly wasn't an expert when I bought it, and I'm still paddling it.

True, the Viper 11 has agressive chines, making it very responsive to tilt, the good ones and the bad ones. But those agressive chines are located at the midship. Bow and stern chines are smoothed out due to the hull shape.

Due to his sharp bow and stern, this boat is relatively easy to accelerate. The disadvantage is that this boat isn't the most dry running design. When hitting waves or drops, the bow tends to dive in, filling the boat with water as a result. Good paddling skills and picking the right line could save you a big deal there. Designs like the Esquif Nitro will runn dryer, but accelerate slower.

Stability

As mentioned before, the  Viper11 is a pretty stable canoe due to it's flat bottom. The hard chines make for a tippy point, but secondary stability of this boat is also pretty good. Not the best on the market, but sure good enough

Dryness

Due to the relative narrow bow, this canoe is definetly not a dry canoe, even if you're running dry lines. The bow tends to dive in pretty deep into the waves. But I should not exagerate how much water this boat takes in. There are definetly canoes that take in more water then the Viper11

Turning

Turning with a Viper11 is a plesure, put it on it's chines and go for the turn. The rocker is not too extreme, so it's not the fastest turning canoe on the market. But it's definetly a nice responsive canoe when it comes to turning.

Speed

It's a playboat, right, so really fast is none of them. But for an 11 foot playboat the end speed is actually quite good. It's not a pleasure to paddle this canoe for longer stretchens on flatwater, but as I said, it performs wel for a playboat.

Acceleration

No complaints here, it's easy to accelerate this canoe in 2-3 strokes to a good speed. And that's what you need in a playboat. Good acceleration so you can get up to speed exactly when you need it.

Boof

11 foot is still long to boof, so boofing is rather moderate. But if you get the timing exactly right, you can do pretty nice boofs with this canoe. After all, this has been a long time favorite for steep creeking.

Rolling

I learned to roll in this canoe, so it will be colored anyhow. I think that rolling the Viper11 is just like many of the other characteristics: Not bad at all, but certainly not outstanding either. I'd give it a moderate appreciation for rolling.

Conclusion

Every design has to make compromises. A design element that is good for dryness, might have a negative impact on speed or whatever combination you take. I think the Viper11 is still one of the most versatile open canoe designs on the market. The viper11 doesn't really stand out in a particular area, but for me it definetly has the best combination of compromises for an allround canoe.

If you ever get a chance to try this boat, you should definetly do so. But actually every boat is worth giving a try.