one of the very first Classic Space LEGO sets, The 918 Space Transport was released in 1978. | Photo: desdemona72 - stock.adobe.com
A canoe’s depth is measured from its gunwales to the bottom of the boat. Depth is measured in three places—the bow, stern and center. Adding depth to the hull adds capacity and adding depth to the bow and stern helps fend off waves. All other features being equal, the trade-off for a deeper boat is more weight and vulnerability to the wind.
Lego’s “Classic” Space theme lasted from 1978 to1988. Its mostly monochromatic rockets and spacecraft were focused on deep space exploration. One of the minifigures from this era was popularized in 2014’s The Lego Movie. Vintage astronaut Benny had a cracked part in his helmet said to cause an oxygen leak, but not even hypoxia could quell his enthusiasm for building spaceships.
In May 2019, American undersea explorer Victor Vescovo dove a titanium-hulled submersible into Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean, located in the southern end of the Pacific. He holds the record for deepest dive at 35,853 feet (10,927 meters). The pressure is 1.25 metric tons per square centimeter at the bottom of Challenger Deep.
Q: Is this pool safe for diving? A: It deep ends.
Deep-fried soda is a frozen Coca-Cola-flavored batter that is deep-fried and then topped with Coca-Cola syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a cherry. Inventor Abel Gonzales Jr. introduced it at the 2006 State Fair of Texas, where he sold 10,000 cups in two weeks. It has 830 calories per cup.
A boat’s hull shape and depth affect freeboard, which is the amount of canoe between waterline and gunwale. The industry’s capacity rating standard is the maximum weight a canoe can hold while maintaining six inches of freeboard. However, this is often several times higher than a canoe’s optimal weight range for best performance.
Georgia’s Veryovkina Cave is the deepest known cave on Earth. It took more than 50 years and 30 expeditions for Russian explorers to reach its depth of 7,257 feet (2,212 meters). It’s a three-day expedition to descend and another three days to ascend. And speleologists—cave geeks—believe there is still more to be discovered.
Depth perception jokes are always near misses. Many evolutionary biologists believe most predators have both eyes looking forwards, to allow for binocular depth perception and judging distances when they pounce on their prey. Most plains herbivores have their eyes on the sides of the head, providing an almost 360-degree view of the horizon, enabling them to notice the approach of predators from nearly any direction.
This article was first published in Paddling Magazine Issue 62. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions here , or browse the archives here.
One of the very first Classic Space LEGO sets, The 918 Space Transport was released in 1978. | Photo: desdemona72 – stock.adobe.com
The Grumman canoe may not be glamorous, but it’s maintenance-free, stable, user-friendly, relatively cheap and nearly indestructible. | Feature photo: iStock
At the Canadian Canoe Museum, author and executive director James Raffan has little use for unrefined aluminum canoes. “Canoe trippers love to malign aluminum canoes,” he says. Yet, if you put aesthetics aside the humble Grumman aluminum canoe was a trailblazer in canoeing history, opening up new horizons for adventurers and recreational paddlers alike.
As Raffan guides visitors around the museum, slides of his perennial-filled Grumman planter and the ice-flattened “aluminum hulk” he found washed up on the shores of the Coppermine River elicit chuckles and guffaws. “The photo of the planter always gets a laugh when I say this is the best use I’ve found so far for a Grumman canoe,” says Raffan.
The Grumman canoe may not be glamorous, but it’s maintenance-free, stable, user-friendly, relatively cheap and nearly indestructible. | Feature Photo: iStock
The aluminum canoe’s lack of refinement makes it an ideal target for verbal abuse. Aluminum canoes are obnoxiously noisy, numbingly cold and leave hands and paddle shaft coated with a metallic tinge of aluminum oxide. Despite its pitfalls, it can be argued that the hapless, American-made aluminum canoe did far more for the popularity of recreational canoeing around the world than stuffy museum-worthy specimens of cedar and canvas.
[ See the widest selection of canoes in the Paddling Buyer’s Guide ]
How the Grumman canoe found its niche
The Grumman was the first true recreational canoe. It’s maintenance-free, stable, user-friendly and relatively cheap. Its lifespan is virtually unlimited, and it can be stored on sawhorses behind the garage or on the ground beneath a snowdrift.
It typically takes only brute force and liquid solder to return it to a reasonable likeness of its original form.
Should a Grumman get damaged—either pinned by a mid-rapid boulder or crushed by a fallen tree—it typically takes only brute force and liquid solder to return it to a reasonable likeness of its original form. As much as many canoeists would hate to admit it, “truth is that aluminum canoes float just as well as any other, they are seriously durable and, in the case of Grummans, have quite elegant lines,” concedes Raffan.
From fighter planes to aluminum canoes
In the beginning, canoe building was a novelty sideline for the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, which was the world’s largest producer of World War II aircraft carrier-based fighter planes.
In 1944, Grumman vice president William Hoffman came up with the idea of a lightweight, stretch-formed aluminum canoe—after lugging a waterlogged wood-canvas canoe across one too many portages on a fishing trip in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. A year later, Grumman’s Long Island aircraft plant produced its first canoe: A 13-footer said to weigh 30 per cent less than a comparable wooden canoe.
“Grumman learned to bend and rivet flat sheets of aluminum into elegant, complex curves as a result of making aircraft wings and fuselages,” explains Raffan. The process of using panels of hand-riveted, stretchformed aluminum alloy translated ideally to canoe construction.
Shortly after Hoffman’s personal canoe was built, there came lines of 13-, 15-, 17-, 18-, 19- and 20-foot canoes. Grumman quickly captured market share based on their durability, reasonable weight and no-fuss maintenance.
Grummans were once the boat to beat
In the 1970s, former Grumman employee and veteran marathon canoeist Dale Fox says the company employed 200 canoe builders and turned out 50 canoes per day. Fox, who now crafts FoxWorx canoe and kayak paddles in Bainbridge, New York, had only been in a canoe once before he took the job of turning gossamer sheets of stretched aluminum skin into canoes with a drill press, rivets and hammer. He picked up marathon canoe racing shortly thereafter, and remembers a time when 18-foot Grumman Lightweights were the boat to beat in New York’s General Clinton Canoe Regatta—a 70-mile race in Bainbridge.
Aluminum canoes were equally capable wilderness trippers. Eric Morse, known to history as the first to popularize the notion of long-distance canoe tripping in the Canadian arctic in the 1960s, paddled a 17-foot Grumman on many of his explorations of the Far North. Bill Mason, the famed canoeist and filmmaker most noted for his rapt love for traditional wood and canvas Chestnut canoes, called the aesthetics of aluminum canoes “the pits,” their handling “sluggish [and] noisy.” Still, he chose a Grumman nicknamed the Queen Mary for family trips on the French River, Georgian Bay and Lake Superior, and paddled aluminum on his first trip down the Northwest Territories’ South Nahanni River.
Similarly, Raffan remembers guiding Black Feather trips in the 1970s on Arctic rivers in aluminum canoes and went on to outfit the outdoor education program at Queen’s University with a fleet of Grummans. Fox says most canoeists still have a Grumman in their backyards, which serve as indestructible memories of their paddling past.
Grumman has an undeniable place in canoe history
This is perhaps the aluminum canoe’s ultimate legacy: Long after the last cedar-ribbed Prospector rots to pulp, aluminum canoes will still be going strong. Archeologists will unearth Raffan’s aluminum planter, pry, lever and patch his river-worn wreck back into shape, and future generations will enjoy the wonders of canoeing.
This article was first published in the Spring 2010 issue of Canoeroots Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
The Grumman canoe may not be glamorous, but it’s maintenance-free, stable, user-friendly, relatively cheap and nearly indestructible. | Feature Photo: iStock
When Jeremy Laucks landed a spot on the U.S. Freestyle Team to compete in OC-1 at the 2007 World Championships, there was just one problem. The pro kayaker and C-1 paddler couldn’t find an open boat that felt quite right, so he designed his own prototype Blackfly boat. Now, three years after successfully bringing his first prototype to market, Laucks returns with the Blackfly Option canoe.
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: see all whitewater canoes ]
The Blackfly Option is a designed to move
Armed with some modest shaping and moulding experience gained from dabbling with composites in grad school, Jeremy Laucks built a prototype based on a shortened Spanish Fly, named it the Blackfly and paddled it to a bronze finish at the Worlds. Two years later, Laucks and his refined prototype took the gold medal, and long-neglected OC freestylers took notice.
Production was a logical, if risky, next step. “With the small market for these boats, the cost of an aluminum mould was prohibitive,” says Laucks, who used his skills working with composites to produce a short-run fiberglass mould. He built the first Blackflys in his garage in the New Hampshire foothills. Nearly three years on, the canoes are moulded at a shop in Pennsylvania, but Laucks still finishes each one in his 800-square-foot, backyard barn-cum-boat factory.
Comparing the Blackfly Option to its peers
In 2011, Laucks introduced a new design to the growing Blackfly Canoes line-up, the Option. At 8’8”, this poly creek boat is positioned as an obvious rival to the popular Esquif L’Edge.
The Blackfly Option is just six inches shorter than the L’Edge and, according to the spec sheets, weighs the same 56 lbs, but the overall impression is of a much smaller and lighter boat. It accelerates faster than the L’Edge and glides amazingly well given its length. There’s no need to drive it forward on every stroke, and it doesn’t stall or spin out like many shorter boats. This makes it a great option (pun intended) for paddlers looking for a creek boat that can do double-duty as a river runner.
The Option loves to be paddled from the front, but won’t punish you if you lay down a less-than-perfect forward stroke. The short waterline lets you snap it into micro eddies, surf small waves, slide over rocks and boof almost anything with ease. Driving it down boulder inclines and over drops on the Tellico Ledges, the predictable stability took the focus off keeping the boat upright and put it where it should be, on hitting the line.
Feature Photo: Virginia Marshall
Inspired by kayak creek boats
Thank the Blackfly Option’s unique double chines for its blend of continuous, confidence-building stability and must-make-eddy maneuverability. Inspired by kayak creek boat design, these stepped transitions strike a balance that’s somewhere between boxy boats like the Nova Craft Ocoee and L’Edge and rounded hulls like the Rival.
At nearly two inches wider and a hair deeper, Esquif’s creeker edges (zing!) out the Option slightly on stability and dryness, but only slightly. Laucks suggests a dynamic paddling style to match the Option’s inclination toward snappy performance over Pampers dryness, “It’s responsive to leaning forward or backward to adjust the trim and keep the bow up through waves and when punching holes.”
[ Plan your next whitewater canoe adventure with the Paddling Trip Guide ]
The Blackfly Option comes completely outfitted with airbags and a foam bulkhead. If you’re a fan of the more precise fit of thigh straps, the bulkhead takes some getting used to, but it’s a mandatory compromise when paddling a plastic hull. Glue-on patch anchors simply won’t stick to polyethylene. Additional foam on the inside sidewalls helps snug up the fit.
The finish on the Option is not as polished as more mass-produced boats, which are manufactured in a metal mould. Laucks responds matter-of-factly to criticism of the fiberglass-moulded Option’s aesthetics, “There’s a reason my boats are cheaper. But I’m learning a lot very quickly and getting things figured out.”
Get a boutique boat with the Blackfly Option
Given the enthusiasm of Blackfly Option paddlers for their boats and the continuing growth of Blackfly Canoes despite an increasingly anemic OC whitewater market, larger volume production—and an aluminum mould—could be in Laucks’ future. Until then, for sporty, rough-and-ready creeking and river running performance without the weight and expense, there’s no better Option.
This article was first published in the Fall 2012 issue of Rapid Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
Video review of the Blackfly Option Whitewater Canoe:
PAKBOATS PAKCANOE 170 | Feature Photo: Gary McGuffin
Good things come in medium-sized packages. Isn’t that the old adage? It’s certainly true of the PakCanoe 170 by Pakboats. Rolled up, this 58-pound folding canoe measures about the size of a large camping cooler, but it’s a gateway to untold miles of adventure.
Pakboats PakCanoe 170 Specs
Length: 17’
Width: 38”
Depth: 14”
Weight: 56 lbs
Capacity: 910 lbs
Material: PVC skin
MSRP:$2,310
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See the Pakboats PakCanoe 170 ]
The PakCanoe 170 is still going strong
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the PakCanoe 170 has a rich and proud history on northern rivers in Canada and Europe, and has become a go-to model for paddlers who want bombproof reliability on fly-in adventures.
Pakboats claims that with practice you can set up their canoes in 30 minutes. However, in our experience, you should factor in double the time. Thirty minutes to set up the canoe and 30 more to field the questions of gawkers who invariably wander over to ask what it’s made of, how long it takes to build and if they can touch it. If you’re using the PakCanoe 170 solely to fly into isolated northern rivers, you’ll find your set-up time much improved.
[ Plan your next canoe expedition to Canada’s North with the Paddling Trip Guide ]
PakCanoe finds strength in flexibility
Constructed out of an ultra-tough PVC fabric skin paired with aluminum ribs and shock-cord poles to create gunwales and chines, the PakCanoe’s soft shell is a boon in rough conditions, riding up and over rapids and swells instead of barreling through. “The skin actually makes the boats more seaworthy,” says Pakboats founder and designer Alv Elvestad. “Paddlers who have these boats and use them on heavy whitewater and in stormy water tell me they feel more comfortable, and that they’ll go out in the PakCanoe when they’d rather not be out in a hard shell canoe.”
In our experience, this flexibility in the hull translates to a small loss of glide efficiency on the flats, however we’ve never had trouble keeping pace with our trip mates. While smaller models like the PakCanoe 160 are favored amongst trippers, weekend warriors and city dwellers alike, most 170s are taken home by serious expedition paddlers. And it’s no wonder—there’s more than 900 pounds of carrying capacity in its voluminous depths, room for weeks worth of gear and food. Factor in the cost savings of flying in and out a folding boat compared to strapping a hard shell canoe to a float and it’s possible the PakCanoe 170 could pay for itself on its maiden voyage.
Whether running technical whitewater, navigating large swells or being attacked by hungry wolves the PakCanoe 170 thrives in tough conditions.
PAKBOATS PAKCANOE 170 | Feature Photo: Gary McGuffin
While Elvestad says there are many standout expeditions that have used the 170, one that still resonates with him years later is Jim and Ted Baird’s 220-mile Kuujjua River trip through Arctic Canada’s Victoria Island. It was a grueling trip that involved dragging the partially loaded canoe for 25 kilometers, navigating whitewater and surviving 10-foot ocean swell. Though equipment broke down the brothers fixed it on route, and successfully finished the trip ahead of schedule.
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all Pakboats folding canoes ]
Blaze your own trail with the Pakboats PakCanoe 170
When Elvestad started manufacturing folding boats two decades ago there was a fair bit of skepticism regarding durability but, he says, much of that has since disappeared. As for the remaining dubious few, he says they just need to look at the evidence. “We have boats out there that are 20 years old still in use, they’ve proven over time that they can take a beating,” Elvestad says. “If you look at the track record it’s impossible to argue that these are anything but incredible boats for an expedition.”
This article originally appeared in the Canoeroots Summer/Fall 2016 issue.
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It is possible to launch or land a canoe in waves and rough seas, however it’s best to avoid these conditions altogether by getting off the water before waves build to a dangerous point. Even in perfectly calm weather, canoeists should be constantly assessing the shore for landing points, protection and campsites. Yet sometimes, rough-water launches and landings will still be necessary. Follow these tips to launch and your canoe safely in rough water.
If caught out in the open when conditions change, it may make more sense to keep your canoe in the water even amid small swells rather than risk navigating large breaking waves to reach land—it’s up to each paddler how to weigh these risks. Launching and landing in breaking waves can be an exhilarating challenge, but waves much larger than two feet tall give canoeists a very low chance of success. In most cases, this is considered an emergency situation on a canoe expedition—don’t paddle out in these conditions.
Surf’s up! | Feature photo: Jen Gardiner
If the waves are spilling onto a low-angled shore, it is much easier to launch or land a canoe, as the height and steepness of the waves will not be outrageous and the run-out onshore will be long. If the waves are dumping on a steeply angled shore or onto underwater features, however, swamped boats will probably result.
[ See the widest selection of canoes in the Paddling Buyer’s Guide ]
One at a time, and no surfing
The ideal beach for learning how to launch and land a canoe is low-angled and sandy. If the waves are moving along the shore or at an angle, it will be fairly straightforward; waves moving perpendicularly in to shore will be more challenging but potentially more predictable. The key is for each boat to stay in control by not surfing, moving slower than the waves, keeping the boat perpendicular to the waves, and ideally paddling through breakers during a lull.
One boat should move through the hazard at a time. Helmets are a good idea in this situation. Avoid being in the path of a loaded canoe, whether or not it is under control or swamped. Try to choose campsites with multiple facets or undulating shoreline when possible, as no matter which way the wind shifts there will be areas of protection.
In the event of a capsized canoe, one strong team of paddlers should land, pull their boat well onshore then help the swimmers out of the water. The swamped canoe may be allowed to drift in, or a throw bag attached to it can be thrown to shore and the boat then pulled in. As boats come in, they should be quickly unloaded or suitcase carried out of danger.
This article was first published in the Summer/Fall 2016 issue of Canoeroots Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
When competitors show up at a marathon canoe race and see Serge Corbin at the start line they have good reason to feel discouraged. The 48-year-old part-time boat builder and pro paddler has posted a record of sheer dominance that few athletes in any sport can claim. Over the past 30 years he has maintained a winning percentage of 90 percent, notching 470 wins in 523 races. If you own a thoroughbred, seriously consider naming your steed Serge.
Serge Corbin is a world-class racer
Corbin’s Gretzky-esque dominance of his sport has been most evident in the three races that make up the Triple Crown of canoe racing. Corbin and various partners have won 17 of 22 attempts at Michigan’s 193-kilometre Au Sable Marathon. Closer to home, he’s come out on top in 25 of 30 attempts at Quebec’s three-stage, 200-kilometre Classique near Shawinigan.
Corbin’s history at the Triple Crown’s first leg, New York’s 113-kilometre General Clinton, is even more telling. He first entered and won the race as a skinny 17-year-old—the youngest paddler ever to win. He’s been first past the finish line each of the 27 times he’s entered. At the Clinton, Corbin doesn’t just take on all challengers, he also beats their descendants. When Corbin won last year he edged out a paddler whose father placed second to Corbin in the Clinton, a full 22 years earlier.
Though Serge Corbin is hardly a household name, marathon canoeing maintains a loyal—and growing—following across the continent. It is a sport without pretense in which one or two paddlers power a long, narrow, carbon-fiber canoe over distances ranging from 10 to 200 kilometres. Though the races often include portages, winning usually comes down to teams maintaining an efficient cadence of up to 80 strokes per minute, switching sides with bent-shaft paddles every eight to 12 strokes.
Born to paddle
At 5’11” and 160 pounds, the soft-spoken former electrician and welder from St-Boniface, Quebec, has the aerobic capacity of a fleet-footed Kenyan. With a narrow waist, long arms and skinny legs he is ideally suited to pushing a canoe. While there are far more muscular and imposing paddlers on the bank, Marc Gillespie, a long-time rival, suggests that Corbin was born to paddle. “His lats [back muscles] seem to go all the way down his back to his waist.”
Corbin wins while in the bow and stern. He’s a master in the shallows; adept into the wind and in rapids. He can burn from the beginning or sit in the pack and sprint at the end. He’s brilliant at the portages. He scouts the tricky sections of a course before a race like a cat burglar casing a joint. Mentally, no one is stronger.
Calvin Hassel, America’s most decorated C1 paddler who has teamed with a variety of partners, says he’s tried a variety of tactics to beat Corbin. “Nothing works,” he said. “He has no weaknesses.”
Of course, Corbin makes up only half a team. And it’s here that his reputation supplements his individual abilities. Not only do Corbin’s partners often toil in obscurity—it’s a little like appearing on stage with Cher, you don’t expect equal billing—they know they risk much in racing with him.
“If you lose with Serge,” says 45-year-old Jeff Kolka, who has teamed with Corbin to win five Clintons and eight Au Sable Marathons, “that’s what you’ll be remembered for. He wins every year not only because he’s an exceptional athlete, but because his partners take their game to the next level when they compete with him.”
Given Corbin’s historical dominance of the Triple Crown, his results last year left some wondering how much longer “le grand patriache” will continue his remarkable run. After edging Andy Triebold and Steve Lajoie at the Clinton in May, the two teams were side by side 15 hours into the Au Sable Marathon. Heading into a shallow section with the finish line looming, Corbin and Kolka missed a stroke; Triebold and Lajoie exploded and out-sprinted them to the line.
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all carbon-fiber canoes ]
In September, they went at it again at the three-day Classique. Corbin and Kolka won the first and third stages by a total of 20 seconds but were outrun at a long portage on day two and finished in second place again. Serge supporters point out that Kolka had a bum knee and Corbin a sore foot.
Serge Corbin’s run continues for now
Corbin isn’t sure how much longer he’ll stay at it, though he’s talked about winning the Clinton four or five more times. His credentials have earned him the right to be taken at his word, and that’s bad news for anyone lining up beside him in a canoe. Because as long as Serge Corbin remains true to form, nine out of every 10 races he enters will be, for everyone else, just another battle for second place.
This article was first published in the Summer 2005 issue of Canoeroots Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
You wouldn’t know it from looking at kayak ads, but most boaters gave up hopes of ever throwing big aerial moves long ago. Most boaters have a job off the river, appreciate being able to walk after a full day of boating and still see a long front surf as a worthy pursuit. Enter the Liquidlogic CR125 and CR250 kayaks.
Liquidlogic CR125 / CR250 Specs
Length: 6’7” / 6’9”
Width: 25” / 25.75”
Volume: 55 / 63 U.S. gal
Weight Range: 140-210 / 180-250 lbs
MSRP:$999 USD
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all Liquidlogic kayaks ]
Liquidlogic’s CR125 and CR250 surf in style
The CR, which stands for Cross River, is available in the 125 and 250 models. The names obviously don’t indicate their size in gallons; instead they are a play off Honda’s CR 125 and CR 250 high-performance racing motocross bikes. It’s a curious choice, since the CR boats are not high-performance competition designs, but are designed for the paddler that wants predictable river running performance, all-day comfort, and the ability to surf with style—more like Honda’s trusty Enduro line of trail bikes.
Run the river like a motocross track
Looking like a slightly stretched-out playboat, the CR125 and CR250 have a long and narrow planing surface that is almost seven inches longer than that of the Liquidlogic Vision. They also have sidewalls that flare more toward the stern and less kick rocker than most modern playboats.
With these design features the CR delivers performance but remains forgiving and comfortable. The wide stern—without kick rocker—provides easy edging and predictable eddyline crossing. Up front, the prominent rocker keeps the nose riding over eddylines and weird water. Compared to freestyle boats, it’s like running rivers with training wheels.
Ferrying the CR is a joy. Noticeably faster than other sub-seven-foot boats, the long and narrow planing surface allows the boat to plane quickly. The higher top speed allows you to nail river-running moves with fewer paddle strokes and more smiles. On big water this reduces the pucker factor while getting around the nasty stuff.
Carve the waves in complete comfort
As a playboat, the Liquidlogic CR125 and CR250 will inspire you on some features, and limit you on others. It shines on a wave, with the speed and looseness needed to play waves that are too flat or slow for most short boats. Sit up and use the front edges and the CR can lay down some serious carve. Sit back too much and it feels a bit sluggish, but very stable, edge-to-edge. The CR blunts almost as well as more dedicated playboats. The extra speed and stability will encourage boaters that have been trying to master the flat spin to go for it with gusto.
On eddylines and in small holes the CR is not going to open up the world of vertical play for the average boater. The large sidewalls make it difficult to get vertical without applying plenty of muscle and perfect technique. In more retentive holes the boat is a well-balanced cartwheeler and delivers impressive loops.
Feature Photo: Ian Merringer
According to Shane Benedict—head designer and lifestyle consultant at Liquidlogic—lots of us are sick of cramming ourselves into small, uncomfortable boats for long days on the river. In response, Liquidlogic made the CR125 and CR250 as comfy and roomy as your favorite easy chair, with lots of volume around the knees, plenty of foot room, a large, easy-entry cockpit, and the “Cone of Comfort,” a thin foam lining in the bow.
[ Plan your next whitewater kayaking adventure with the Paddling Trip Guide ]
Stick some tricks with the Liquidlogic CR125 and CR250
If you want to get to waves easily, surf them in style, and still be able to walk to your car without looking and feeling like you spent the day on a dirt bike, give the Liquidlogic CR125 or CR250 a test paddle—one of them could be your new ride.
This article was first published in the Fall 2006 issue of Rapid Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
It’s funny how time changes perspective. A year ago, Liquidlogic’s shiny hulls and Lego colours were new and different, simple and seemingly at the time, unfinished. We felt like we were paddling a prototype. With familiarity comes acceptance, and with the amount of yellow and blue on the river it seems paddlers are embracing the Liquidlogic Skip and Pop kayaks with open arms.
Liquidlogic Skip / Pop Specs
Length: 6’4” / 6’6”
Width: 23.5” / 24.25”
Rocker: 7” / 8”
Volume: 39 / 50 U.S. gal
Weight: 29 / 32 lbs
Weight Range: 100-160 / 160-220 lbs
MSRP:$1,500 CAD
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: see all Liquidlogic kayaks ]
Liquidlogic’s Skip and Pop arrive in style
Liquidlogic started with the same spin surface used in the slicier Session and Session Plus, but the basic premise behind the hull design of the Skip and the Pop was to get air. Once they had a boat they figured would hop, they added back in cartwheelability and comfort.
Designer Shane Benedict separates air into three different types: hole air, wavewheel air and wave air. Hole air is used for moves like loops or space Godzillas. These moves happen by trapping volume underwater quickly, forcing the boat to explode back to the surface and catch air. Wavewheel air is more just keeping the boat on the surface paddling downstream over waves and drops and then being able to easily throw it around. Finally, wave air is for moves like ollies (hops) or blunts—air you can achieve from the surface of a wave.
Emphasis was put on making the boat perform best on faster waves. Liquidlogic feels this was achieved by paying close attention to the rocker geometry of the boat. Shane explains: “Rocker allows the boat to rock from the bow to the flat surface easily. If you wanted a good analogy you could say that having a slightly curving rocker through the ends of the boat is like having small skate ramps attached to the front and back of your boat. If the skate ramp is just straight from flat ground to 45 degrees it is very rough and hard to control, but if the ramp has a smooth curving transition from flat to 45 degrees it is much easier to control and carry speed into the move or jump.”
It’s as if Liquidlogic focused on the performance of the hull and left the outfitting for paddlers to tweak and play with. There is plenty of room in the Skip and Pop for your butt and feet but not quite enough room for our testers’ knees. The back band is ratcheted into the thighbraces and the front pillar pulls out to insert the one-piece foam foot block. There is little shape to the thigh braces, potentially creating pressure points and bruising. The seat and thigh braces do move forward and back but require separate tools to make the adjustment.
The Liquidlogic Skip and Pop come with a bare bones outfitting rig by today’s multi-adjust standards; designer Shane Benedict’s confirms, “We added the normal outfit kit and foam foot blocks because we found that most people still did their own custom outfitting. We weren’t going to rush into an outfitting system that everyone is just going to tear out and rebuild with normal foam anyway.”
Designers can do many things with plastic, but length of waterline equals speed. Short boats like the Skip and Pop, with their extreme rocker, are slow. But what does it mean to the average river runner? You have to paddle like mad everywhere you go.
Beginner and intermediate paddlers were frustrated with the lack of river running performance. River paddlers said the Skip and Pop paddled like a Kleenex box. We’d never heard that one before, but apparently a Kleenex box doesn’t hold a line, slides sideways, and its square side-walls catch every little current. The high sidewalls made it difficult to roll and paddlers kept smashing their elbows on them. Luckily for these paddlers, Kleenex boxes are full of tissues. There are tough choices to be made when designing and buying boats. Liquidlogic didn’t design the Skip and Pop to be river running boats, they were made to play.
[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: See all river running kayaks ]
Skip through the water and Pop in the air
With most spud boats you trade sliceability for wave bounce. Not so with the Skip and Pop; they are one of the most vertically slicey and stable short boat designs. The volume drops away from the cockpit like in traditional hole boats allowing the ends to slice cleanly underneath. Flatwater initiation and stalls are a breeze and put these boats in a small pourover and you’re in for piles of fun. However, it took some of our intermediate testers a few tries to get used to being further down in the trough when initiating the bow. And because the ends are so short and slicey, you have to be lightening fast to stay ahead of it. As the holes got bigger true cartwheels became more just tumbling forward toward the trough. Difficult to score but balls of fun.
Feature Photo: Rapid Staff
If surfing and spinning is more your cup of tea, there are definitely fewer waves in the world if you are paddling the Skip or Pop. Slower, green waves are just not accessible in these boats. Get them on something a little steeper or with a bit of a foam pile and they wake up into carving machines.
The Skip and Pop want to be surfed off the front edge just behind the rocker break, so get forward in an aggressive paddling position. One tester said it surfs like a watermelon seed—a quick lift of your knee and you are sharply squirting (like a seed, not a squirt boat) across the wave setting up for spectacular blunts. They are so short and the rocker so extreme you effortlessly roll up on the bow or stern and come around so quickly it is difficult to judge if you’re vertical. You quickly learn to use the edges and put less effort into every move.
Our reviewers were not seasoned pilots on the aerial frontier. We can’t tell you if they bounce better than other spud boats, and we’re not entirely sure if the pros have figured it out yet either. We can tell you that in a couple weeks in the Skip and Pop we figured out loops, bouncing, aerial blunts and are playing around with the rest. These boats are super light and learning the moves is as easy as bobbing your hips for some bounce and then just huckin’ your body in the direction you want to go—we’re still working on the timing.
Play your way with the Liquidlogic Skip and Pop kayaks
To say the Skip and Pop are boats for advanced paddlers isn’t really true; what is true is that they are boats designed for paddlers wanting to play. And they are one of the few designs that excel in a hole, on a wave and in the air.
Our moaning about Liquidlogic’s outfitting hasn’t seemed to bother owners of either a Skip or Pop. They’ve simply padded their knees and built themselves a solid fit out of foam.
With so few paddlers taking advantage of the aerial capabilities of these new boats we can’t help but wonder if Liquidlogic will let the Skip and Pop ride for another year while skills catch up to the boats.
This article was first published in the Summer 2002 issue of Rapid Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
Disclaimer: Towing this 75-pound relic is not editor recommended. | Feature Photo: Alexandra Cousins
Packrafting is the trend du jour in the paddlesports world. Yet, paddlers have been towing their boats to rivers on two wheels since the days of the penny-farthing. If you want to bike through the mountains then a space-age seven-pound packraft mounted to your handlebars is a perfect idea. Otherwise, you’ll want to use a canoe bike trailer or cart, along with all the proper fittings and accessories to ensure a safe and comfortable trip.
If you’re already inclined to pedal meandering roads and trails, explore environmentally-friendly options for getting to the water, or just want to expand your adventure horizons, you may already have most of what you need for a great canoe bike trailer.
Your canoe bike trailer rig in 8 steps
Canoe. | Photo: Alexandra Cousins
1. Canoe
On a windless day, traveling flat and smooth-as-butter pavement, a cyclist will barely notice the weight of towing a canoe once up to speed. On a hill of any gradient, pedalers will gain a new appreciation for a lightweight layup.
The heavier your kit the more energy you must expend to overcome gravity—by the time a cyclist is faced with even just a five-percent gradient, 75 percent of pedal power is exerted combating gravity alone. Go light with you canoe bike trailer rig.
Trailer. | Photo: Alexandra Cousins
2. Trailer
Constructing a canoe trailer is a feasible weekend DIY project for handy folks. For the rest of us, Wike’s Canoe Trailer ($220 CAD) does the job admirably. The compact unit sets up and takes down in two minutes.
The trailer consists of two components—the Towing Tee connects the front of your to the bicycle seat post with a universal joint, and a two-wheeled cart supports the boat midship for ultra-smooth sailing.
Wike’s 13-pound unit has an adjustable width up to 36 inches.
Clothing. | Photo: Alexandra Cousins
3. Apparel
The only enthusiast group more particular than paddlers when it comes to gear is cyclists.
There are many good reasons for enthusiasts to wear sport-specific apparel, but for day-long and weekend adventures, there’s no compelling reason why your Patagonia boardshorts can’t double as cycling shorts, or why you’d need sport-specific fingerless gloves.
Leave the Lycra behind. Simply abide by the tenants of dressing for outdoor adventures everywhere—layer up, and leave cotton at home.
Waterproof panniers. | Photo: Alexandra Cousins
4. Panniers
You could throw all your gear into the canoe to rattle along behind you, but I bet you won’t pedal far towing that racket. Panniers are an excellent addition to your canoe bike trailer rig because they will efficiently distribute load on your bicycle frame—whether it’s snacks and an extra layer, or cooking pots and camping gear for an overnight excursion.
Waterproof panniers can do double-duty on rainy days and river runs. Arkel’s Orca 35-liter pannier pair ($209) can be mounted on most front and rear racks, feature welded seams and the Cam-Lock mounting system will keep bags on the rack, regardless of the load and rough road conditions.
Bike. | Photo: Alexandra Cousins
5. Bicycle
Any bike—even a skinny fixie—can tow a canoe trailer rig. However, you’ll enjoy the ride to the water more if you roll on tires a couple inches wide. Wider tires offer more traction, which will help you pull, and are needed for rougher roads.
A solid rear rack like Topeak’s Super Tourist ($40) will carry your panniers and larger, oblong objects—say, like a packed tent—on the top of the rack.
Bring the basics for tire repair, just in case. For peace of mind, pack along a spare tube, small hand pump, puncture patch and tire levers.
You’ll need either the skills to use the items or a data connection to stream a how-to video on YouTube. Your dad would recommend the former.
Throw-bag. | Photo: Alexandra Cousins
7. Safety
In all the excitement of combining two favorite pastimes, don’t forget standard safety equipment still applies, like a helmet, PFD, bailer bucket and buoyant line.
Though it’s more likely your strange load will attract attention and passing motorists will give you wide berth, mark the stern of your canoe with a red or orange bike safety flag.
A jack of all trades. NRS cam straps ($6 and up) are perfect for securing your canoe to roof racks at the beginning and end of the journey, your tent to your bicycle rack while pedalling, and your disassembled bike frame and wheels to the thwarts in your canoe while paddling. Cam straps are a key part of your canoe bike trailer rig, so never leave home without ‘em.
This article was first published in Issue 53 of Paddling Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.
Disclaimer: Towing this 75-pound relic is not editor recommended. | Feature Photo: Alexandra Cousins
kayakers on the lower Piatua River. Photo by Jeremy Snyder
QUITO, ECUADOR — On November 26, a coalition of civil society organizations and law professors submitted an amicus brief to Ecuador’s Constitutional Court calling for the protection of the Piatúa River based on the Rights of Nature and Indigenous rights. The Piatúa River is under threat from a hydroelectric project that Ecuador’s government approved without the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous Kichwa communities. The project is suspended as the Constitutional Court reviews the case.
Kayakers on the lower Piatua River. | Photo by Jeremy Snyder
While all rivers and other ecosystems possess rights under Ecuador’s constitution, the amicus brief recommends urgent protections for rivers with outstanding natural and cultural values, including the Piatúa River. The amicus brief also highlights other deficiencies, errors, and omissions in the hydroelectric permitting process. Finally, the amicus brief supports Kichwa communities who assert violations of their own Indigenous rights.
“Ecuador’s government must begin to apply the Rights of Nature in practice, including by rejecting unnecessary dam projects that fragment ecosystems and negatively impact Indigenous territory,” said Constanza Prieto Figelist, the Latin American Lead at Earth Law Center, which is amongst the groups that submitted the amicus brief. “Today, our coalition presented a blueprint for Ecuador to enforce the rights of rivers in a strong and practical manner.”
The Piatúa is a wild and free-flowing river which drains out of the rugged Andean cloud forests of the Llanganates Mountains in the Ecuadorian Amazon. It provides an intact ecological corridor as it passes through montane rainforests down to the humid tropical rainforests of the Napo River basin. The Piatúa River is one of the last rivers in this region to avoid contamination from widespread deforestation, gold and gravel mining, dams, and other threats.
Species in this region are declining at breakneck speeds. The 2020 Living Planet Report found a 94% decline in monitored vertebrate populations between 1970-2016 for tropical subregions of the Americas, the most of any region in the world. The proposed hydroelectric project stands to exacerbate this trend.
Native Kichwa-speaking Indigenous families have inhabited the Piatúa watershed for centuries and lived in a traditional manner until the first road was opened to this area in 2007. These Indigenous communities have a deep respect and appreciation for the Piatúa River, which they rely upon for food and water and believe has special curative properties. They have always lived harmoniously with the river.
Pablo Shiguango, who was born and raised along the Piatúa River in the Kichwa community of San Juan de Piatúa, states “The Piatúa River has an incalculable value from the cultural perspective and cosmovision of our people. The Piatúa River provides life-bearing sustenance and well-being to our lives.”
The Piatúa River is also a destination for international paddle sports tourism. River enthusiasts share similar respect and values for the river and joined together with the Indigenous communities to present the constitutional demand to uphold the rights of the river, including its right to flow freely. They share a mutual respect for the river.
“The Piatúa River in Ecuador offers one of the most special whitewater experiences that I have found. The Piatúa River attracts kayakers for its crystal-clear waters, incredible forests and bird life, and the friendly local communities who call this river home,” said Darcy Gaechter, a prolific kayaker and author of the book Amazon Woman.“The Piatúa deserves to be protected for the benefit of future generations and for nature itself.”
In 2008, Ecuador became the first country in the world to constitutionally recognize the Rights of Nature. However, Rights of Nature advocates argue that these rights are neither regularly nor adequately enforced. Ecuador’s government rarely considers the Rights of Nature in permitting decisions on projects that have major ecosystem impacts—mining, hydroelectric dams, new road projects, and so forth. While the courts have upheld Nature’s rights on occasion, such as a 2011 case ordering the restoration of the Vilcabamba River in the wake of a harmful road widening project, such rulings are sporadic and inconsistent.
“Our amicus brief provides Ecuador’s Constitutional Court with practical guidance to enforce the rights of rivers and all other ecosystems in practice,” said Monti Aguirre, the Latin American Coordinator at International Rivers. “The Rights of Nature can successfully work in practice if we develop clear standards for its enforcement, which our amicus brief aims to help achieve.”
Globally, the Rights of Nature are now recognized to some extent in over a dozen countries. This includes Colombia, which has issued a series of major court victories for the Rights of Nature, and even the United States, where a handful of Native American tribes and local communities have passed Rights of Nature laws, declarations, and resolutions. The Convention on Biological Diversity’s post-2020 global biodiversity framework also recently promoted the Rights of Nature in its updated zero draft, which is up for adoption in 2021.
Andres Charpentier on the Piatua River. | Photo by Jeremy Snyder
Earth Law Center (earthlawcenter.org) is a 501c3 organization that works to transform the law to recognize and protect nature’s inherent rights to exist, thrive and evolve. They recently released the first-ever law school coursebook on “Earth law,” which is an emerging body of ecocentric law, including the Rights of Nature.
International Rivers (internationalrivers.org) protects rivers and defends the rights of communities that depend on them. We seek a world where healthy rivers and the rights of local river communities are valued and protected. We envision a world where water and energy needs are met without degrading nature or increasing poverty, and where people have the right to participate in decisions that affect their lives.
Ecuadorian Rivers Institute (ecuadorianrivers.org) is a 501c3 organization that provides technical assistance and support to help protect and conserve unique watershed resources in Ecuador.
Fundación Río Napo (info@rionapo.org) works to preserve strategic, free-flowing watershed corridors in Ecuador to conserve freshwater biodiversity and ecological connectivity, and organizes river festival events to promote the value and importance of these resources for sustainable economic alternatives based on tourism.
The Great Lakes Environmental Law Center (glelc.org) is a Detroit (USA)-based nonprofit that offers community education, policy support, and various legal services to address environmental, resource, & energy issues affecting communities in and around Detroit, all over Michigan, and throughout the Great Lakes region.
Amazon Woman (amazonwoman.net) is building a community of writers who aspire to spread the love of wild places. We interact with our environment through river expeditions and then share these experiences through the written word. We believe that preserving wild places is key to our survival.
Bluegrass Wildwater Association (bluegrasswildwater.org) was formed in 1976 to promote the safe enjoyment, access, and conservation of wilderness waterways for human-powered watercraft, and is one of the oldest paddling organizations in the United States. The BWA has designated the Piatúa River as a natural wonder and supports measures for its permanent protection.
American Whitewater (americanwhitewater.org) was founded in 1954 to protect and restore America’s whitewater rivers and to enhance opportunities to enjoy them safely. AW is the primary advocate for the preservation and protection of whitewater rivers throughout the United States, and connects the interests of human-powered recreational river users with ecological and science-based data to keep remaining wild and free-flowing rivers intact, restore developed rivers to function and flourish, and ensure that the public has access to rivers for recreation, and that river enthusiasts are active and effective river advocates.
Sign thispetition to urge the Ecuadorian government authorities to preserve the Piatúa River as an intact, free-flowing Andean Amazon tributary.
This article was first published in the Spring 2010 issue of Canoeroots Magazine. 
This article originally appeared in the Canoeroots Summer/Fall 2016 issue.
