C-Forum

I bought a 79. Outfitted by Bernie Farley at Whitewater Warehouse. His outfitting is rock solid and very well done. I find the boat very quick to turn, almost too quick for an old boater. It's pretty fast, too. Easy to roll and you have to watch for over-rolling, but that's a good thing. Hard to get...

Any time either arm is fully extended to the side of the body, that shoulder is vulnerable. I was speaking of the shaft hand as that one is most likely to be extended in any sweeping move.
Bill

What I was trying to say is that the best position for a roll when you flip to the offside it the normal offside position. If you put your paddle on the deck, you then have to sweep it into position. Any such move puts the shoulder in a potential dislocate position and hitting a rock at the wrong ti...

When you flip to the offside, you're much better off being on the offside stroke. If you're flipping from the onside stroke, you're doing something wrong in all likelihood. Not leaning enough, not being on the correct side of the boat, etc. If you are on the offside stroke, the move is very simple. ...

I just bought a boat from Bernie, too. A LL ReMix 79.
Bernie's a class act and does a great job outfitting these boats.
Bill

It's been done with epoxy and others. However, it adds a lot of weight and never looks quite right.
Bill

What the video doesn't show is what a great play run the Savage is at this level.
Bill

ezwater is right. I forgot to add that I always figured total length of a stick based on the blade shape and length, but the most important dimension to me is the shaft length.
Thanks for the correction to my poorly wording.
Bill

I always sized paddles by the length of the shaft, not the entire stick. My thinking was that it was the distance between your hands and the lower hand and the water that were important and didn't change much from paddle to paddle. If I recall, all of mine were 36". You might look at this dimension ...

Robert Harrison, one of the pioneers of open boating, used to paddle with NO seat cushioning at all. He put his butt on his heels and let it rip. He was a fine, smooth boater. I am not suggesting this for a c-boat, especially a freestyle boat, but merely throwing it out there to suggest a low seat m...

I always rotated my torso toward the offside, not onside, but the main thing is to lean forward. When you make the cross over, the upper hand will have to move backward, but this requires no conscious effort as the torso rotation will move it to the correct place. Try it sitting in a chair. Hold you...

Lean out to start the stroke. Further than you might think. The stroke will keep you upright. Keep the paddle perpendicular at the outset. This will set you up for a straight stroke. In many cases, you want a slight draw as the bow has swung to the onside a bit which is why you went to an offside in...

I personally don't think you can lock yourself in a boat and still retain the ability to get out easily. At least, not with something like ratchets. In addition, such a system would be pretty uncomfortable for a c-boater because of the extra pressure it would put on your legs. Pressure = pain. In my...

I bought a Pocket Canyon this year. I paddled it solo on a three day trip on the John Day River in Oregon. Class III the first day at the 3600 cfs we had. I reversed the boat and used the rear seat. No special outfitting other than knee pads. Nice boat. Very maneuverable. Held plenty of gear for one...

I don't see the point of ratchets. You don't want straps that are extremely tight as it will impede wet exits and make your legs fall asleep much quicker. I don't recall ever adjusting straps unless I changed to heavier or lighter clothes on my legs. The main consideration is to get the straps in th...