C-Forum

Somebody mentioned doing corrective strokes and direction changes at the wave crests- you might also want to try timing your power strokes to coincide with the wave crests.

The ends of your boat will be up and out of the water, so you can accelerate quicker. And you can use the "downhill" part of ...

when I referenced the 'low brace' i was talking about those that are learning.... they'll need that low brace until they understand and 'feel' the outside to inside shift... otherwise you flip

If a beginner is trying an outside edge eddy turn with the paddle in a position where they can use it to ...

I plan to work on it some more once I feel I can actually drop a meaningful brace

with an outside edge eddy turn, there is no reason to do a low brace- your paddle should be on the other side of the boat (on the inside of the turn)- essentially doing a high brace in the eddy.

Watch Graig's video ...

Werner does make a breakdown- I have a 2-piece bandit.

NOC special ordered it for me.

When I teach my OC1 instructionals, I tell my students "the 3 most important strokes in solo whitewater canoeing are the forward stroke, the forward stroke, and the forward stroke".

A good forward stroke makes everything else easier; a sloppy forward stroke makes everything else harder.

If I had ...

I use the Mohawk system (single strap) in all my boats. I've tried boats with the double strap, and didn't really notice much difference.

I have no trouble rolling with it. I like the fact that it's quick and easy to loosen and tighten- good for quick scouting, and I like to loosen the straps on ...

Be careful in the "normal line" in Haystacks. When i paddled it with creeker (AKA wayne) one of the kayakers in our group got recirculated a bit in the hole.

I don't recall whether he got out on his own, or via throw rope, but he was in there for an uncomfortably long time.

I have a Bell Ocoee I am looking to sell. I'm in NJ; email me at cwviani@gmail.com.

Chris

PS- We're all named Chris??

I paddled one for about an hour a couple of weeks ago. Ran Zoar Gap on the Deerfield, and played in the waves for a while.

I really liked it. Very dry, great secondary stability, very responsive. Surfs and ferries really well. I thought it was at least as fast as my Ocoee.

The chines engage when ...

Welcome to Joisey, Jottsee!

There is a surprising amount of good paddling within 1-3 hours of northern NJ. In addition to the previously mentioned Lehigh, we have:

The Mongaup (NY) Cl 2+, with regular summer releases;
Esopus Creek (NY) Cl 2+;
Scudders Falls and the Wingdam (NJ) Cl 2+ play spots on ...

I'm just a tad lighter than you, and it fits me fine.

Gumpy (and Mark)-

You might also want to try this group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/njnyww/

A bit less extreme a group than the PAcreekers, but we do NW PA runs like the Shohola, Brodhead, and Tohicon, pretty frequently. Mostly kayakers, but there are a handful of open boaters.

I start to ...

If you want something short, light, and responsive, but with decent primary stability, you might want to look at something like a Taureau/Spanish Fly/Quake...

My Quake has has a lot better primary stability than my Ocoee, and is not nearly as grabby with the edges. And it doesn't weigh much more ...

I use a Mohawk single thigh strap in my quake.

On each side, I use a piece of nylon webbing to hold a metal d-ring. the webbing is attached to the side of the boat with two rounded-head screws and bolts. I put a wide washer on the outside, under the screw heads.

I've been using this set up for ...

I live in Flanders, NJ. Didn't know there were any other openboaters in this town.