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brownft
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  Quote brownft Replybullet Topic: Open Boaters?
    Posted: 07 Dec 2012 at 1:37pm
my friend and i, both kayakers, are trying to learn to whitewater canoe...

where are some good moving-water sections we could run? 
we're thinking the snoqualmie in fall city. 

are there any open boaters out there who want to boat with us while pointing and laughing at our carnage?

right now we have access to a big rec canoe, which will do just fine for the time being, but we'd like to get in something legit one of these days.

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Jed Hawkes
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  Quote Jed Hawkes Replybullet Posted: 07 Dec 2012 at 1:43pm
Not many OC-1ers around these parts, there is a big contingent in PDX. Myself, HINDS, and Wiggins are the only ones I know of around here, Wiggins get's more OC days than both Nick and I combined but I've been known to throw a crossbow stroke out there from time to time. One of these days I'd like to get out in my open boat again, but I've been pretty focused on a different skill set the last 6 months or so.

I think that it's either Portland Canoe Club or Oregon Canoe Club, they might be a good place to look for a OC-2 if that's what your looking for. Otherwise it might be tough getting your hands on some OC love. If you get really desperate you could always convert a creek boat to a C-1.
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chipmaney
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  Quote chipmaney Replybullet Posted: 07 Dec 2012 at 3:40pm
I am sure the people in the upper gorge are Dave and Peggy Mainer and their friends, the resident master open boaters in the area. Very nice people. The best way to contact these folks or other canoeists is thru PaddleTrails.org.

Jed has a few more friends than he mentioned that are capable using a bliss stick, me and Kris Wilson to name two. Jed has probably never seen me in a canoe before, though...also, the Montana boys always show up for the Salmon la Sac slalom race in June. Those races are great places to hone your canoe (and kayak) skills.

Good rivers to hone your Class II+ canoe skills in order of preference include the

lower SF Snoqualmie,
upper sf skykomish
skykomish railroad to big eddie
upper mf snoqualmie (taylor to concrete bridge),
mf snoqualmie from tanner down (club stretch),
powerhouse snoqualmie (open?)

i assume you can find the correct river reaches and avoid all the death waterfalls. Don't grab the gunwales!

Edited by chipmaney - 07 Dec 2012 at 3:41pm
sitting all alone on a mountain by a river that has no end
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Dale
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  Quote Dale Replybullet Posted: 08 Dec 2012 at 7:19am
Like someone else mentioned, the Paddle Trails group would be the folks to hook up with.

You mention that you're kayakers, but you don't mention whether you're whitewater kayakers or not, so, I'll say something you may already know... It can't be stressed enough how dangerous the combination of trees in moving water can be. That's your best chance to get killed on the river.

If you're really wanting to do the whitewater thing in canoes, you're going to need proper whitewater canoes and they are a bit rare in this part of the world. The rec boat won't do what you need it to do, when you need it to do it. I would suggest NOT messing with the rec boat much. My first whitewater craft was a Coleman RamX17. Luckily, I started out on very forgiving class II and I was already familiar with the dangers of moving water. Still, I managed to wrap it around a tree at least once and cheated death only by the grace of the protection God provides to fools(don't count on THAT!!!).

Dale Bonson had a Dagger Caption for sale that would be a great first boat.

My taste runs more towards the Dagger Quake and the Robson C U Fly(favorites from my past) and the new generation of small playboat canoes like BlackFly Canoes and Esquifs L'edge' Taureaur and Spanish Fly. This in class II-III water.

If you really want to learn to canoe, I'd suggest an extended vacation to Tennessee to hang out with the GDI gang. Canoes are much easier to come by there and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a canoeist.

I think rolling a canoe is easier to learn than the kayak roll, though, paddling an open boat full of water is a handful.

If you'll buy Bonson's canoe for me, I'll give you guys 37 lessons each.

If anybody is interested, I've got a Dagger Saddle that will bolt right into a kayak and make an instant decked canoe. $75.00 buys you the pain.









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  Quote Wiggins Replybullet Posted: 12 Dec 2012 at 5:25pm
In my younger days I used to take a rec boat down the upper portions of the Winchester Wasteway where it is more like a class II creek until I almost killed myself in a obstructed culvert. My recommendation is to avoid rec boats.

If you are going to try your hand at tandem canoeing and OC1 I recommend getting a good mid sized tandem like a Vertige X, Caption, or a Nexus. If you and your partner are no more than about 150 each you can include boats in the 12-13' range in this category. Then you can outfit them with movable saddles to allow for tandem and solo paddling. See my photo album called Capable Caption for a better explanation.

If you want to OC2 only then stick to the midsized and small sized tandems (like the Octane92). The big 16' and bigger boats are a little too unwieldy for most of the runs around here. That being said, if you can find a decent Dagger Dimension jump on it.

In the OC1 category I would recommend looking at the edgier boats out there since you already have a kayaking background. The Viper, Ocoee, Quake, Spanish Fly, L'edge, Option, Ion, and there ilk will be boats you will get much more out of and will keep you interested longer. Stay away from the Maxim and the Prelude unless you want a really steep learning curve.

Once you get your gear in order you should be fine on any of the beginner kayak runs in the area. If you are class III kayakers then you probably won't need to spend as much time as you think in class I-II water to get a good feel for canoeing.

My biggest piece of advice to anyone who takes up the open canoe is to get a bombproof roll. For some reason rolling is seen as optional by many canoers. Many more learn to roll but never get a combat roll. If you have a roll you will find a lot more people who will boat with you on a wider variety of rivers. Even a OC2 can be rolled.

I have a Probe 12 solo, a L'edge, and a Caption that is set up as a tandem. If you want to boat sometime let me know and we can go hit something like the lower Sky, or the lower Chilliwack. I'll bring the boats.

In addition to the resources that have already been listed there is the Beaver Canoe Club in Canada, and the Lower Columbia Canoe Club in the Portland/Vancouver area. Paddlenet is a Vancouver based canoe version of PP. They organize trips, and hold pool sessions (albeit north of the border). Their website is http://paddlenet.myfastforum.org/index.php.

Kyle
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brownft
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  Quote brownft Replybullet Posted: 15 Dec 2012 at 5:25pm
Awesome! thanks for all the info- i'll be getting in touch with you guys and paddle trails.

as predicted we swamped the rec boat in a relatively small wave train and had a cold swim to shore  hahaha.  promise we won't take it out on anything ill advised- we're both super safety whitewater instructor types. 


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  Quote Fry1982 Replybullet Posted: 15 Dec 2012 at 6:28pm
If you are ever north of the border, there are tandem and single OC'ers that regularly boat on the Chilliwack Canyon with a group of regulars most Saturday's when it's below 1.7 usually and down to about 1. Wiggins comes up here a decent amount as well, often with the canoe. The are on paddlenet and Vancouver Kayak Club forums.Lately they've been in L'Edge's and Octane 92's. They've been at the canyon for a couple years now and have it pretty dialed I think, good to learn some class III with. They are usually up for the classic (easier) section as well.
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