At Mocean, we are American through and through. Our founder is a former Marine and a patriot: someone who loves, defends and supports his country. Here, he’s showing his “stripes” by providing the market with a truly Made in America produced outrigger.
What’s more, his goal with Mocean is to provide full access to canoeing to a previously unserved market. In the past, owning a canoe was primarily for the more affluent. Because of cost and design, buying an outrigger through Mocean—and a high-quality one at that—is far less expensive than ever before. And maintaining it is far easier and more affordable.
We strive to be the embodiment of patriotism. You could say our blood runs red, white and blue! Our canoes are made in America and built by Americans. We build relationships with and seek to serve veteran organizations and communities. It’s one of the things that makes our company unique—and that gives us pride.
Innovator Michael Carey is a man on a mission. A guy who was bored with stand up paddling and wanted to explore the water anew. While sitting on a beach in Hawaii, he saw some men glide fast through the ocean not far from shore. They were on an outrigger, and it was cool and fast. “That’s for me!” he instantly decided.
But, back in the States, getting ahold of a fast canoe was slow. Most of the manufacturers were in China. So, Michael picked up a used, but still fairly pricey, racing canoe off Craigslist. He took it out and quickly rediscovered his passion for being on water. Unfortunately, two days later, he hit a rock and learned something else about his pricey, “eggshell” racer: it would be a small fortune and at least three to four weeks to repair—all because he needed a fiberglass specialist to do the job. Worse, given the relative fragility of the canoe, the high cost repair and inconvenience would likely recur. Michael didn’t like the idea of frequent sidelining from his new favorite activity—or of blowing through lots of money just to stay on the water.
That’s when Michael, a carpenter, got an idea: he’d make a better canoe. One that still performed great, but was designed to be stronger, more durable, and easier to repair than a standard racing boat. While he was at it, he’d also reduce the size to about 18 feet, nearly three feet shorter than canoes used in competition, and a foot shorter than the average U.S. garage, to make the canoe portable and easy to store. For added utility, he’d create a “hatch,” a compartment behind the seat, so the rider could store their phone, six-pack of drinks, or whatever they wanted to on their paddling adventure.
Most importantly, he’d make his canoe in America with American-sourced parts, to introduce a domestic—and affordable—outrigger brand to the market and speed the entire order to delivery process.
Once Michael had the vision and a design concept, he made the prototype using advanced, environmentally-conscious sheet-forming technology that uses 100% recyclable plastic to create the canoe.
A year and several improvements later, the Mocean canoe was perfected and ready for production.
Mocean has arrived and is ready to grant access to all who want to be moved by water and the benefits that come from experiencing “everybody’s outrigger.”