How to Trim a Canoe

Stern trim in my Wildfire

How your canoe is trimmed can have a great impact on the way it paddles. I have dedicated solo boats for flatwater and whitewater, and both are trimmed slightly stern heavy. It wasn’t a conscious decision on my part, that’s the way they were set up when I got the boats. Moving around to change the trim really isn’t an option without moving the seat or the pedestal, and I’m fine with the trim as it is. I’m also a little heavy for these boats so they sit a little lower in the water.

For normal paddling, having the boat slightly stern heavy frees the bow and weights the stern so it is easier to go straight. You can lean forward to engage the bow and release the stern for turns. Healing (edging, leaning, whatever term you use) will also release the stems when you turn. Some asymmetrical canoe designs build this feature into the boat (more bow rocker like my Yellowstone Solo or Outrage) so you can have a more neutral trim.

Stern trim in my Outrage

For river paddling, a slightly stern heavy trim makes it easier to paddle upstream, to surf or to do upstream ferries. I do mostly river paddling. In wind, stern heavy is OK when paddling in a tailwind, but problematic in a headwind or even a beam (side) wind. The bow is going to tend to get blown downwind requiring lots of corrections. If you have gear in the boat that you can use to adjust the trim, that helps. Otherwise you just have to deal with it.

In waves you want the stems as light as possible to allow them to ride up and down the waves, so neutral trim is best. In my case I paddle mostly rivers, and I can usually manage by leaning back to lighten the bow when going through wave trains. Once again, some asymmetrical canoe designs build this feature into the boat with a fish-form design (widest section forward of the centerline like my Outrage) to increase buoyancy of the bow for rising over waves, so you can have a more neutral trim. It is all theoretical until you get out and paddle to figure out what works for you with your boat.

My old Impluse has a new home – September 2, 2019

Glendale Rapid on the Branch in 2006

With the purchase of my new Outrage, it was time to make room in the boathouse by passing on my old Impluse to a new paddler, and Danny seemed like the perfect choice. I met him this morning at Lincoln Woods and he took it for a spin – deal done.

I bought the the Impluse in the fall of 2005 after taking the NHAMC Whitewater School in the spring. The first trip that I did in this boat was the fall draw-down at the Pcat, which I have done many times since. The next trip was the icebreaker trip on the Upper Winni the following spring, and then I did my first trip on the Branch with Bill Luther in June. The first picture that I have in this boat is running the Glendale Rapid on the Branch.

Shepaug in February 2008

In the fall of 2007, I started paddling with Matt and Scott, and took many trips to CT to run the Farmington. One of my favorite pictures in the Impluse is a winter shot from February 2008 on the Shepaug.

In 2008 or 2009 I bought my first Encore, and the Impluse became my spare boat. I used in for a few months in 2011 when my original Encore got stolen. Fortunately, I was able to purchase another Encore from Tommy, and the Impluse went back to being my spare. I think the Impluse will have a good new home with Danny.

Danny in his new boat - have fun!

Links:
My Pictures

Mad River Outrage – August 18, 2019

New boat arrives home

I have a new boat – a 15-year old, but like-new Mad River Outrage. I bought it from Nancy Gero, and picked it up this week. A great find.

Mad River Canoe was founded in 1971 by Jim Henry in a shed at his home near the Mad River in VT. In its early years, Mad River was known for innovative designs and the use of new materials. Mad River was among the first to mold Royalex canoes in 1973, and introduced Kevlar to the canoe industry in 1974. Its best-known canoe, the Explorer, was introduced in 1975. Mad River merged with Wilderness Systems in 1998 to form Confluence Watersports, which would later acquire the Dagger, Harmony and Perception brands. 

Bags installed - ready to go

In 1995, Mad River introduced the Outrage whitewater canoe, which was designed by Tom Foster and Jim Henry. The Outrage is a fish-form design (widest section forward of the centerline producing a buoyant bow that is ideal for paddling upstream and rising over large waves) with soft chines, a shallow arch hull, and lots of rocker. Specifcations are:

• Length: 12'
• Gunwale Width: 25.5"
• Depth at Center: 15.5"
• Weight: 52 lbs.

First paddle at Lincoln Woods

Back in the old days a 12’ boat was considered short and a 13’ version, the Outrage X, was introduced for paddlers over 180 lbs. Today, 12’ is “old school”. Mine is the 12’ version with wood  gunwales, outfitting by John Kaz (Millbrook Boats) and hardly a scratch on the hull itself. All I needed to do when I got it home was adjust the straps and put in the bags.

I finally got it out on flatwater today. I am 50 lbs. over the old 180 lbs. max. weight, but it paddled fine. It is great at spinning and carving circles, but like all whitewater boats, it can be a challenge to paddle straight. I love the hip blocks and lack of foot pegs. I added a half inch to the pedestal, which is now 8 1/2 inches - much lower than the 10 1/2 inches in my old Encore.

Outrage from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:

My Pictures

My Video

Bell WildFire vs. Yellowstone Solo

The story of the development of the WildFire and Yellowstone Solo by Charlie Wilson from a 2009 post on P-net:

The Bell WildFire was conceived as a hull that would turn like the Yost designed DragonFly in moving/mild whitewater without being as tender. DragonFly was a race boat; 28.5 wide with a round bottom. Fast and maneuverable, it intimidated most intermediate and many advanced paddlers.

So WildFire, code named "Bubba Bug" during development, was shorter, wider and had an elliptical bottom compared to DragonFly's round one. Rocker was increased from 2", both stems to 2.5, both stems.

The project was a huge success, selling over 100 boats a year for a decade, but that stern rocker limited WildFire's sales to advanced paddlers. Anyone carrying their blade aft of their body, or keeping their top hand inside the rail, or directing their forward stroke along the rail instead of parallel to the keel would see all four corners of the waterway.

Interestingly, WildFire and FlashFire were designed to shoulders of the paddler-size bell curve. Fifteen years later, WildFire is at the center of the bell curve, and we need another boat to fit larger paddlers.

When we spec’ed the royalex version, we reduced the stern rocker from 2.5" to 1.5" to improve tracking, assuming that the lower price would attract entry-level paddlers.

The stems got blunter because royalex cannot be molded as tightly as composite materials. The shoulder got softer because the thing needed to come out of a vacuum-forming mold. Charlie Thompson made a multiple piece mold.

So heeling a royalex Yellowstone Solo to the rail doesn't lift the stems as high as can be done in a composite WildFire.

Many builders, when they decide to do a royalex version of a hull make a heavy glass boat, fill the stems with stiff foam and start in with a belt sander to arrive at ~ 1" radiused stems as compared to 1/4" radius on the original. This is one of two reasons that royalex hulls tend to be shorter than their composite precursors. Royalex shrinkage is the second.

So yes, with a paddler aboard to pooch out the bottom, royalex boats often turn faster than their composite version because they are usually shorter at waterline. Again, due to both skin friction and shorter waterline, royalex hulls are usually slower than their composite versions and usually do not track as well.

Mr Yost does no such thing; he starts with a straight line down the center of a long piece of paper, but he still has to live with the blunt stems and softened contours endemic to the royalex medium.

Excepting stern rocker, Yellowstone Solo approximates WildFire's performance more closely than most royalex variants do their composite versions.

And the later composite Yellowstone Solo:

WildFire was commissioned by me from David Yost as a 14-foot symmetrical hull with 2.5" symmetrical rocker at the stems and asymmetrical shear line in 1993. A stripper was tooled, a split mold was made. That mold, now flanged for vacuum infusion, resides in Colden NY.

In 1999 Bell decided to enter the ABS vacuum formed market. The WildFire sized boat was redesigned with lower shoulders and blunter stems to accommodate the thick ABS sandwich and was spec'ed with less stern rocker to improve tracking for what was assumed to be an entry-intermediate level paddlers. 
 
ABS vacuum forming molds are very different from composite molds. They are much thicker and have vacuum ducting and vents connecting to a significant vacuum plenum.

When Ted and I tore the blanket, The WildFire name and mold came East, Ted changed the newer hull's name to Yellowstone Solo, and requested a composite plug from DY, which was tooled and a two piece composite mold made. The composite stripper has sharper shoulders and tighter stems than are possible in ABS but retains the tripping differential rocker of the ABS hull. When DY draws asymmetrical rocker, he claims the hull comes out slightly swede form, so both Yellowstone Solos are probably also slightly swede form.

There are two Yellowstone Solos, the ABS and the composite. First year ABS Yellowstone Solos may carry a WildFire name plate. No composite Yellowstone Solos carry a WildFire nameplate.

Pictures of the WildFire and Yellowstone Solo

My Yellowstone Solo Outfiting 

Finally got my WildFire - February 20, 2016

Back in 2005 I went looking for a solo canoe. I was new to canoeing, and didn’t have the knowledge or connections to find a used boat. Fortunately there was a dealer in my area who carried Bell and Mohawk canoes. I fell in love with a black gold Wildfire with cherry trim, but I ended up buying a royalex Yellowstone Solo because it was in my price range. The other option was a Mohawk Odyssey, which came in a close second.

I paid $800 for a 2004 Yellowstone Solo with a couple of scratches, and for the past 10 years have paddled it just about anywhere you can take a canoe. It’s a great boat, but I have still wanted a composite Wildfire – and now I have one.

A local paddling friend sent around an email around looking for advice on a used solo boat. He ended up with a Mad River Courier from DougD – the king of bringing wrecked boats back from the dead. That email got me corresponding with TommyC1 about his Wildfire. Tommy was looking to shrink his fleet. He offered me the Wildfire at a fair price, and I grabbed it. 

Tommy apparently purchased the boat from a gentleman named Tony Figuerido who advertised it on P-Net. Apparently Tony was an old-time P-netter who pre-dated me.  Tommy says:

She's a sweet boat, especially suited for freestyle. But for tripping and touring, I prefer paddling the Osprey, Magic, and Independence. So the Wildfire needed a new owner. I think she and Erik will get on just fine.

Its a 1997 white gold Wildfire with wood trim. There are a few scratches on the bottom, and a couple of nicks in the gel coat in the stern, which I have since repaired – a boat with character! I picked it up after a hike with Tommy and Bill at the Leominster State Forest, and raced home to get it in the water.

For all the talk on P-net about the skegged stern on the Yellowstone Solo, I didn’t find that the Wildfire paddled much different than the Yellowstone on the flats. To me, they both track easy. 

The Wildfire did heal over a lot easier than the Yellowstone, and felt a lot steadier. It was 50° here yesterday, but the water is in the mid-30’s, so I didn’t try to push it down to the rail. I will when it gets warmer.

My turns were about the same – I still only got to about 90°, but maybe I’ll do better with the Wildfire healed to the rail. Bow prys seemed a lot easier with the Wildfire – not sure why that would be.

I'm looking forward to a lot more flatwater practice in this boat. Few pictures of the (red) Wildfire next to my old (green) Yellowstone Solo here. I’m sure it’s just the pictures, but the Yellowstone Solo looks narrower than the Wildfire.

Links:

Royalex Yellowstone Solo vs. White Gold Wildfire
Gel Coat Repairs

My new boat is ready - May 8, 2011

Actually, its an old boat – older than two of my three kids.

I bought my first Dagger Encore a few years ago. Unfortunately, it got stolen last December from one of my local park-and-play spots when I left it by the side of the road and walked back to get my car. I won’t make that mistake again.

I was happy to get this one from Tommy. For a 20-year-old boat, the hull is in great shape. The outfitting was set up for someone smaller than me, so I ripped it all out and replaced it - Mike Yee outfitting with a 10” pedestal. Tommy would call it a “tower of terror”, but I like it. Its like paddling a Barcalounger.

Now all I need is some time to paddle it. Unfortunately, won't be today.

Links:
My Pictures

Retrofitting the Impulse – December 18th

I spent some time yesterday getting my old Impulse ready to paddle. At some point, I’d like to replace the pedestal and straps, but that’s a big job, so it will have to wait.  For now, I spent $8 on tie-downs and $6 on para cord and re-rigged the bag cages. It came out OK. I would have preferred black para cord, but all I could find locally was blue - maybe it will grow on me.



I took the boat out this afternoon for some flatwater paddling down at Rivers Edge.  It doesn't turn like the Encore, or carve as tight a circle, but I'm starting to get use to it again.  I'll have lots of time off for the holidays, so hopefully I’ll be able to get some paddling in.

BRWA Canoe Race - May 15th

I had a good time yesterday at the Blackstone River Watershed Association Canoe/Kayak Race. A total of 49 boats entered, and I was surprised to see that half were tandem canoes. I was the only solo canoe.  Here I am at the starting line.

It was my intention to paddle my J-200 racing boat, but as I was getting ready to leave for the race, I noticed a large crack in the gunwale. I had time to glue up the gunwale, but decided to take my Bell Yellowstone Solo instead. Not exactly a racing boat, but it turned out to be a good choice considering the conditions.

When I arrived at the put in around 10:00 there was already a good crowd. I saw a few familiar faces, and talked for a little while with Ranger Chuck Arning who was helping out on the safety crew. When I commented that I hadn’t paddled the upper sections of the Blackstone very often, he suggested that the section from Riverlin Street in Millbury down to Grafton is also nice when there is more water. Add that to the list of places to paddle.

Registration went quickly, as did the safety talk. By 11:00, boats were lined up at the starting line. Kayaks started first, followed by canoes. Since I was the only solo boat, I was a division of one – guaranteed a first place finish. I started in the middle of the pack with the Tandem Mixed (men and women) and Tandem Masters (both paddlers over 40) Divisions.

The race starts in Grafton where Main Street (Route 122A, Google Map - 53 Main Street, Grafton, MA) crosses the Blackstone, and ends at River Bend Farm in Uxbridge - 12 miles with lots of twists and turns. Water level was low – about 2’ on the Millbury gauge, 3’ on the Northbridge gauge. The race course can be divided into three sections.

From Grafton down to Plummers Landing is mostly flatwater with two portages. The first is a dam at Depot Street which is protaged on river right.  The second is a dam at Riverdale which is protaged on river left.  I held my own in this section, and even passed some of the slower kayakers who started before me. I also got passed by several of the faster tandem teams that started after me.

The section from Pummers Landing down to River Bend Farm was extremely scratchy. This turned out to be an advantage for me since I could float over many of the shallow areas that forced the tandem boaters to get out and walk. Even when I had to walk, my small solo was a lot easier to maneuver. It was actually nice to take a break from paddling and stretch the legs.

The loop through River Bend Farm went quickly. My Yellowstone was perfect for the river section. After portaging over to the canal I still felt good, so I did my best to stay in front of a tandem team that was right on my tail. They weren’t able to pass me.

I ended up doing the 12-mile course in 2 hours and 33 minutes. Respectable time, good people, and I won my division - can’t beat that.

A snowy day on the Shepaug – February 27th

Had a great day yesterday on the upper Shepaug in western CT. Six boats – 3 Encores (Matt, Aaron, and me), 1 Detonator (Craig), 1 Vertige (Jeff) and 1 Explorer (Tommy). Boats were getting passed around quite a bit - once Aaron got in the Detonator, I didn’t think Craig was going to get it back.

The Shepaug is one of the prettiest rivers around, but it can be tough to catch. With last week’s rain, we watched it hit 4 feet, 700 cfs on Friday – a great level if you like short fast runs with long wave trains (and who doesn’t). By the time we got on the river Saturday morning, the level had dropped to around 3 feet, 250 cfs – no big waves but plenty of water for a fluid run. 

We put in on Valley Road (off Route 341 in Woodville), and took out at Steep Rock on River Road (Washington Depot).  There is also a put in at the Rumsey Hall School on the Bantam River.  Bee Brook (on Route 47 in Washington Depot) is the usual meeting spot, and the take out when the upper is jammin' and people are doing laps. Hodge Park is the take out for the longer downstream run.

The upper reaches of the Shepaug are narrow – in some places no more that a canoe length wide. At yesterday’s level, we did a little rock dodging, but it was still fun. About half way down, the Bantam empties into the Shepaug increasing the flow significantly. There are a couple of nice surf waves on this stretch – including one along the face of a huge granite cliff. Craig caught this wave perfect. I missed it twice, bouncing off the cliff, but staying upright. On my third attempt, I took a swim – just like last time I paddled this section.

Overall – a great day.

Links:
My pictures
Video of Shepaug run from February, 2008

Paddling below the Woonsocket Falls - January 23rd

It was a nice day today so I headed down to River Island Park for a couple of hours. I carried my boat up to the Woonsocket Falls and was surprised to see very little water coming over the dam. Almost all the water was running through the old Thundermist Hydroelectric plant. It's the first time I've seen that. To be honest, I thought the hydro plant was closed. There were a couple of waves below the hydro plant, but otherwise it was pretty low (800 cfs, 2.8 ft). I still had a good time.

Woonsocket Falls from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:
Paddling beneath the Falls in August 2009
Paddling beneath the Falls in October 2009

A New Year Begins - Farmington River - Jan. 1st

Jeff, Andy, Steve and I headed out to the Farmington River yesterday for a New Year’s Day run from Collinsville down to Route 4 in Farmington. The open boats were outnumbered on this trip – 3 canoes, 13 kayaks - but definitely a nice group. The level was OK (950 cfs), but nothing spectacular – mostly a class I. Crystal had some nice surf waves, and Boateater was a fun ride.

I can report that the First Swim Award for 2010 goes to.....(insert drum roll here).....Andy - but only to check for leaks in his new drysuit. No leaks were reported.

Scenery was pretty with new snow on the ground, but it was colder than I expected.

Hope everyone has a great 2010.

Links:
My Video
River Description from American Whitewater

Scouting the Natchaug River

There are so many nice rivers in eastern CT that I have yet to paddle.  I checked out one yesterday on my way out to the Farmington - the Natchaug.  There are three sections of the Natchaug in the AMC River Guide and American Whitewater.  The river runs along Route 198 and Route 6, so the put-ins and take-outs are easy to find.

The upper section is about 5 miles long.  The run starts at the bridge off General Lyons Road and continues down to the bridge at England Road.  It runs through the Natchaug State Forest and is the site of an annual spring poling clinic.  At higher water levels (the river was at 3.5 feet on the Marcy Road Gage yesterday), it looks like this section would be mostly quickwater with a couple of class I/II rapids.

The middle section starts at England Road and runs down to the Diana's Pool Fishing Area (Diana's Pool Road off Route 198).  This section starts out with flatwater and some class II rapids, and ends with a series of small falls and cascades rated class III/IV.  This is a popular run for local kayakers.

The Lower Section is about 3 miles long.  It starts below Diana's Pool and ends at the bridge off Station Road on Route 6.  I couldn't see much of it from the road, but the river guides rate this section as quickwater/class II.

Definitely a river that I'd like to try this year.
  
Links:
My Pictures at Diana's Pool

Last Paddle of 2009 - River Island Park - Dec. 31st

I paddled for a couple of hours this morning with Andy down at River Island Park. The river was at a nice level for surfing, and it started to snow just as we put in - great way to end the year. I'm looking forward to the start of the 2010 paddling year tomorrow on the Crystal section of the Farmington River in CT. 

Salmon River - Dec. 27th

We had a great day yesterday on the Salmon River in East Hampton, CT.  The Salmon is a finicky little class II(+) river that's tough to catch, but is a blast when you do. It forms where the Jeremy meets the Blackledge and runs through the hemlock-covered hills of the Salmon River State Forest in central Connecticut.  With yesterday’s warm temps, the river was covered with fog which added a mystical feeling to the trip (but made it tough to take pictures). There were waterfalls running down the banks, and icicles on the rocks. The river was as pretty as it was fun to paddle.

I’d paddled the Salmon a couple times before – last year with Matt and Aaron, and the year before with Mike B. Both times, the river was around 500-600 cfs. At that level, the river is more technical – still class II, but lots of rocks to dodge. The East Hampton gage was iced up yesterday, but the locals were estimating that the river was around 5.5 feet and 1,000 cfs which buried the rocks and produced long wave trains that were a blast to ride.

 
We put-in on the Jeremy River which added a mile of nice class II rapids to the trip. The toughest part of this section of the river was dodging the ice chucks that came floating down the river. It also required a tough portage around an unrunnable dam. Everyone helped out and we quickly got all the boats up the steep bank, around the dam and back in the water.

The toughest rapid on the river is a broken dam with 3 drops - each around 2’. The usual route is through a shoot on river right, but with the high water yesterday, a shoot on river left also looked runnable. Matt tried the shoot on river left in his 16’ Dumoine, got spun quickly, and ended up in the water. Matt’s son Aaron tried the shoot on river right, hit a rock below the first ledge, and also took a swim. Tommy hit the same rocks on river right, but made it through clean in his Explorer.


Salmon River from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

No swims for me – obviously I wasn’t trying hard enough.

Links:
My Pictures
River Description from American Whitewater
Matt's Ode to snow melt (and dry suits)

Bernon Mills - November 21st

It was other busy weekend without much time to paddle. I did get out for a couple of hours down at River Island Park. Level was good – 3.5 ft., 1,400 cfs.

I was surprised to see how much progress the developer of the Bernon Mill Estates condominium project has made. The number 1 mill still needs a lot of work, but the number 2 mill is ready for sale. I’m not a big fan of condominium developments, but condos often seem to be the only viable way to save these old mills. This developer has done a nice job maintaining the integrity of these historic mills which are two of the oldest in Woonsocket.

Links:
My pictures
Pictures of the Bernon Mill Estates from tblades810
History of the Bernon Mill Village from woonsocket.org

What to do on a rainy day - November 14th

Normally, I’d say paddle, but I’ve been fighting a cold this week, so I didn’t think that would be a good idea. I finally bought a new external hard drive to hold all my paddling pictures and videos, so I spent a couple of hours organizing my files.  In the process, I found some clips from a park-and-play session at River Island Park last spring that I put together in this video.


River Island Park from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Not as good as paddling, but not a bad way to kill a couple of hours.

Indian Summer – Ashton to Albion - November 8th

You couldn’t ask for a nicer day – sunny and warm - so I decided to take my canoe down to the Blackstone River in Ashton for a quick paddle. I usually paddle the canal/river loop from Ashton down to Lonsdale, but this time I decided to go upstream from Ashton to Albion.

I don’t paddle this section of the Blackstone very often – probably because its such a short trip. Its no more than a mile-and-a-half from the Ashton Dam up to the Albion Dam. The most prominent features on this section of the river are the two huge bridges that carry traffic from Route 295 over the river. On the Cumberland side, the pike bath takes landlubbers on a pleasant trip along the river. On the Lincoln side, the banks are steep with huge rock outcroppings that plunge down into the river.

I had forgotten how different the river looks once the leaves have dropped. With the leaves on the trees, the river feels isolated - like paddling through a green canyon. Once the leaves drop, signs of civilization are everywhere – houses, businesses and traffic. I am always amazed that the banks of the Blackstone escaped the development that occurred elsewhere in the valley.

I only took me 20 minutes to paddle upstream to the Albion Dam. The water was low, but I was able to surf some small rapids below the dam, and chat with a fisherman who was also taking advantage of the beautiful day. The trip back was even quicker, so I played in the waves below the Ashton Dam for a while. A small group gathered on the bridge below the dam to see if I would take a swim. Fortunately for me, the crowd was disappointed.

Links:

My pictures

Halloween on the Piscat - October 31st

Had a fun day today at the MVP/AMC year-end paddle and BBQ on the Piscataquog in Goffstown, NH.  RICKA was well represented with eight boats - six kayaks (Tom Jr., Tom Sr., Paul, Bob, Andy and Steve) and two canoes (me and Jeff). We were the first group on the river, and the last group to reach the take-out.  The Piscat is an easy class II with a couple of nice surf waves. I was doing pretty well on this one until I got spun sideways with my paddle on the upstream side (end of video).

Halloween on the Piscat from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

I didn’t get to stay to enjoy the BBQ, but I did get home in time to give out candy for Halloween.

Links:
My Video
River description from American Whitewater

"Love the Rock" Part 2 - New Boston Run on the Farmington - October 18th

When I pulled into the small parking lot at the Bear’s Den Rapid Sunday morning, there were already two cars in the lot. It was 9:00 AM, and we had agreed to meet at 9:30 AM, so someone had arrived early.

Walking down to the river I could see Jeff Budz and Geoff (GMK from NPMB) hard at work releasing a canoe that had gotten pinned the day before. Before I could get my drysuit on to help, they had popped the canoe off the rock. Good work.

After Saturday’s poling trip, I was back at the Farmington River on Sunday to run the New Boston section in my whitewater canoe. The run is about 7 miles. The first and last couple of miles are class II with one class III rapid at the end. The middle is class III – a narrow creek-like run with lots of rocks and several 2 to 3 foot drops.

We pretty much had the river to ourselves. I guess the lousy weather and low release kept people away. We had 4 canoes (me, Matt, Aaron and Jeff) and 2 kayaks (Geoff and Jeff).

 
I had done this run with Matt two years ago at a level of 4 feet, and did pretty well. I swam going over the biggest drop at Decoration Rock, but otherwise ran it clean. No such luck yesterday. Yesterday’s level was 3.7 feet which made for a boney, technical run. I spent the day bouncing off, riding up on, and flipping over on rocks.

I swam twice in the middle section – once below the first big drop after the slalom course, and once just above Decoration Rock. Both times I rode up on unseen rocks, got spun sideways, and was unable to hold the upstream gunwale out of the water – a sure recipe for disaster in a fast moving river. This is the section above decoration Rock.

By the time we got to the last rapid – Bear’s Den - I was cold and tired. Temperatures had only been in the high 30’s, and it had rained and snowed on-and-off all day. I watched as Scott and Matt ran the rapid, but didn’t feel confident. Sure enough, I flipped about half way through. Thanks goodness for drysuits.

Scott and Matt run the Bear's Den Rapid from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

I’d love to do this run again with a little more water – everyone said it would be easier. Maybe next year.

Links:
Jeff's video of my run above Decoration Rock
River description from American Whitewater
New Boston Gage

“Love the rock” - Farmington Poling – October 17th

“Love the rock”. That’s what they taught me in my first whitewater class. If you end up sideways in the current, broached against an obstruction, you need to lean into the obstructuction to keep the upstream gunwale out of the water. If you don’t, the boat will pin and you will never get it off.

That’s what happened to Joe.

I hooked up with Jeff, Matt and a few other polers for a fun day on the lower section of the Farmington in New Boston. We put-in around 11:00 and spent a couple of hours picking our way through the boulders as we worked our way up to the Bear’s Den Rapid. The river was not particularly high, but there were several class II sections with lots of rocks and ledge.

The last rapid below Bear’s Den is the most difficult. Marshall went first and took a swim. Aaron went next and almost made it, only to lose his pole. Joe went third. He got spun sideways and his boat quickly pinned on a large boulder. We worked for 20 minutes to get his boat off the rock to no avail. We finally decided to return the next day with more help. Then we will run the upper section in whiterwater boats.

More to come.

Links:
My Pictures
Jeff's video of Matt and I poling
Jeff's video of Joe about to wrap his canoe