The Secrets of Crab Lake

Trips

Photo: Scott MacGregor — The Secrets of Crab Lake

Noel’s requests were quite demanding for his son’s first canoe trip. He wanted a quick and easy route only a couple of hours drive from his home near Toronto; maybe a short portage so five-year-old Walker could experience, for a brief moment, what it felt to shoulder all your belongings on your back; and a choice campsite set on a remote lake that happens to be populated by monster-sized bass. Noel has been on a number of trips with me before and I knew he wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear that such a perfect trip didn’t exist. But it did. A place called Crab Lake. And it’s a gem I couldn’t wait to share with him and Walker.

Crab Lake is reached by Wolf Lake a left turn off Highway 28, north of Peterborough but just south of Apsley, Ontario. Wolf Lake is a perfect destination on its own. Only a few cottages crowd the lake, mostly along the south shore, and a strip of Crown land along the north shore, as well as a number of small islands to the west, provide some excellent campsite possibilities.

Crab Lake is much more isolated and is easily reached by way of a short 107 meter portage located at the far end of Wolf Lake’s southwest bay. Getting to Crab Lake seemed like a relatively easy process, but with the last road not being marked we found ourselves lost. Our group missed the turn for Wolf Lake twice and even somehow managed to begin paddling across a totally different lake for half-an-hour before we resorted to asking a local cottager to steer us in the right direction.

BEGINNER’S LUCK

Crab Lake has five main bays that head off in all directions and is much larger than it first appears. Each inlet also has one or two prime campsites, complete with an exposed chunk of granite to catch a breeze and escape the bugs and a snug canopy of pine, maple and birch to pitch a tent under. Our group chose an out-of-the way spot directly below where a rough trail heads up to the top of Blueberry Mountain—an exposed hill that’s literally covered in thick blueberry bushes. On any other trip the blueberries could have been the highlight but this trip was all about the fishing. After quickly setting up camp, we headed out in the canoe again in search of the lake’s monster bass.

We cast our lines out the moment we entered the first weedy bay; Noel and I with our fancy plugs and spinners, and Walker with his half-dead worm stuck on a bear hook. It was my idea to give Walker the defunct bait, thinking the lake’s healthy population of sunfish would keep him occupied for at least long enough for Noel and me to catch some decent-sized bass for supper. Of course in no time at all Walker had caught three bass, averaging around four pounds each. Noel and I hadn’t received a single bite. Quickly we switched to the decomposing worms and, in exchange, allowed Walker full rein on our lure boxes. Ten minutes later Walker had caught two more trophy bass—one on my scent-impregnated rubber frog and the other on Noel’s pink-coloured Holla-Popper. Noel and I remained fishless.

I doubt Crab Lake has ever given up so many fish. In fact, Noel and I were quite mystified by Walker’s success and had to blame it on beginners’ luck to settle our egos. Walker, on the other hand, had a different reason for catching so many lunkers. Each time he lowered his line into the water the intrepid angler would whisper the secret code, “Here fishy, fishy, fishy.” Walker insisted that without saying this magical phrase, no fish would ever bite a hook. So, whether we agreed to play along for the fun of it, or that we just became completely desperate to catch fish, both Noel and I tossed out our lines and repeated the expression,“Here fishy, fishy, fishy.”

Thinking back, the trip to Crab Lake wasn’t a complete success according to Noel’s set criteria. The route was actually a two-and-a- half hour drive from his home near Toronto;Walker only carried his personal pack halfway along the portage before handing it over to his father; and Noel and I never did catch a trophy bass. Crab Lake did manage to fulfill his main objective though—Walker can’t wait until next years trip. And according to Noel, a father can’t ask for anything more perfect than that.

Kevin Callan is the author of numerous guidebooks for canoeists, including the bestseller Cottage Country Canoe Routes. The Crab Lake route, along with a number of other great weekend getaways in the Kawarthas, is included in his latest book Gone Canoeing: Weekend Wilderness Adventures in Southern Ontario. Callan’s newest book project Ontario’s Lost Canoe Routes is scheduled to be released this Spring.

This article first appeared in the Summer 2002 issue of Canoeroots Magazine. For more great content, subscribe to Canoeroots’ print and digital editions here.

Guides and Outfitters: Trip Planning Made Easy

Stories

Photo: Don Standfield — Guides and Outfitters: Trip Planning Made Easy

The easiest way to plan a canoe trip is to not plan the trip at all. It’s much easier if you can get someone else to plan it for you. In other words, employ the services of an outfitter or guiding company. You can gain a little convenience by hiring someone to help with some trip-planning aspects; or, you can pay to have a company run the entire trip and gain a lot of convenience. Believe it or not, there are times when even the most die-hard independent canoeist with all the gear can use the services of a guide or outfitter. Most paddlers would probably agree a trip taken is better than one postponed until next year.

REASONS FOR USING A GUIDE

There are numerous factors that can hinder your efforts to run your own canoe trip—if you let them.

If you’re new to canoe tripping, an outfitter is always a great way to go. It’s like on-the-job learning; you experience the joys of a trip and avoid problems novice trippers often encounter. At the same time, you can pick your guides’ brains about gear, paddling tech- niques and canoe camping.

We’ve all experienced incredibly busy summers when you meant to sit down and plan a trip, but somehow the time just disappears.

Outfitters offer pre-scheduled trips that you can jump right into. The options are endless, as the packages range from interpretive afternoon excursions to thirty-day expeditions. Pick one that fits your schedule; or, if you have a group large enough, most outfitters will guide a trip specifically tailored for your group and date.

Maybe you just moved across the country and you’re new to the area. Complicating matters is the fact you can’t determine which boxes contain your equipment. However, you have to get in at least a five-day trip to feed your paddling fix or risk serious soul deprivation. Hiring an outfitter is a great way to learn about a new region and meet new people.

Perhaps your paddling or tripping skills are rusty. Maybe you want to go to a wild, remote place, but want the security of an expe- rienced and qualified guide. Perhaps your palate revolts at the prospect of eating more freeze-dried food. Or maybe you and your significant other recently split up, and he/she got canoe-custody.

The list is almost endless. Regardless of the reason, if you cannot plan a trip because of any of the above situations, or a myriad of others, but you need to get out and paddle, that’s the time to call an outfitter or guiding company.

TYPES OF PACKAGES

There are different levels of outfitting services, ranging from simply picking up a canoe for the weekend to all-inclusive adventure vacations. Most outfitters offer several options. It is up to you to select the most convenient arrangement based on your needs.

The simplest way outfitters can help is by offering equipment rentals. Perhaps you don’t own some of the necessary equipment; or perhaps you own it, but it’s too difficult to transport. Rent a canoe, paddles, a car topper, perhaps a tent and you’re ready for adventure.This still involves planning on your part, but the convenience of not having to purchase, store and maintain a boat keeps cash and storage-strapped canoeists active and happy.

It is common to use your own equipment, prepare and pack your own food and stop by the outfitter for last-minute weather details and a shuttle. Letting someone else worry about negotiating the shuttle roads of the Canadian wilderness can save more than your vehicle.The time it takes to run a shuttle to reach even some of our most accessible routes can whittle away at your precious trip time. Hiring a company to run shuttle for you also expands your options so you don’t have to restrict yourself to another looping trip. Of greater importance, you can still go on your desired trip without having to find another driver with a car.

The all-inclusive packages are by far the most hassle-free type of outfitted trips.You pick your trip, pay your money and let the guiding company handle all the logistics, route-planning, equipment and food concerns. Bring your personal effects, pack a few extra rolls of film, and maybe a harmonica, if you’re musically inclined. And whatever you do, don’t forget to fill in your meal preferences and whether you would like to sleep in a solo or dou- ble tent.

Once you’ve done all this, you’re ready to take a trip where all you have to do is paddle, leaving plenty of time to paint, write, explore or simply socialize with new and interesting people.

You may even become addicted to hiring an outfitter, and wonder why you ever spent the time and effort to plan your own trips in the first place.

This article first appeared in the Summer 2002 issue of Canoeroots Magazine. For more great content, subscribe to Canoeroots’ print and digital editions here.

Boat Review: Pyranha Spanish Fly

Photo courtesy Pyranha — Boat Review: Pyranha Spanish Fly

Colin Broadway started a company in England distributing Savage V boats around Europe. His personal interest was the Skeeter and the Super Fly designed by Frankie Hubbard and produced by Savage V. When Savage V appeared to have money trouble, Broadway investigated buying into the company. The deal fell through. Meanwhile Frankie Hubbard was unemployed and wanted to build a new boat; by this time the Skeeter and Super Fly were no longer in production.

Frankie moved to England and teamed with Broadway to design the original Spanish Fly. When Frankie moved on to Germany, Broadway switched from glass moulds to aluminum and made some alterations to Frankie’s design; it was still called the Spanish Fly—but branded Savage. Then, Broadway made some life changes, retired and worked a deal with Pyranha, who now produces both the Spanish Fly and another Hubbard and Broadway open canoe the Prelude.

Outfitting the Fly

One of the downfalls of traditional whitewater solo canoes is that few manufacturers were in the business of providing outfitting. Some shops used to outfit boats for customers but most have now stopped bothering with the service. How nice it is for the Spanish Fly to come ready to paddle.

The Spanish Fly ships with bags, a foam seat and bulkhead system and the classic aluminum and plastic foot pegs. Pyranha also foams-out the side walls to help displace more of the water from the cockpit area. The system works. To make it better we’d glue in the foam walls because the supplied two-way tape doesn’t stick. We’d replace the vinyl bags with lighter nylon ones. The foam seat pillar is pretty narrow, so we’d add more foam to each side and shape it for more butt contact. Only minor changes when you consider we were used to staring into an empty hull.

More than a hull boat

Not sure if any canoeists noticed, but the Spanish Fly took the top three places at the 2001 World Freestyle Championshop in Spain. The funny part is few open canoeists actually go into holes and the reason could be either the chicken or the egg. Have we stayed away from holes because there hasn’t been a boat worth paddling, or has there not been a boat worth paddling because we don’t paddle the holes? Deep.

In a hole the Spanish Fly stabilizes in a smooth side surf, letting you get comfortable and look around. The trick is to fight your ingrained tilt-downstream instinct is to fight your ingrained tilt-downstream instinct and level off your tilt. The Spanish Fly is short, very rockered and hard chined and an absolute blast to front surf. The Fly is slow so needs a fast, steep wave. It also doesn’t pin the bow in the upstream green water so you can finally carve the face of a wave.

The Spanish Fly is more than just a hole wave and toy. It deeks in and out of the smallest eddies, holds a line and easily corrects with a quick offside tilt. The flat bottom provides a stable initial platform and the sharp chine and little flare on the sides allow the Fly to fall over to its rock solid secondary stability – stability that saved us on more than one occasion. With little glide, your stroke rate needs to increase and you need to be constantly driving the boat around the river. The covered bow and stern decks and raised gunwale line make for a fairly dry ride and the above mentioned stability allows for aggressive wave blocking.

The bottom line

With Dagger’s Quake and Savage’s Skeeter and Super Fly out of production the choice of small plastic open canoes is dwindling. The Spanish Fly is not likely to suck traditionalists out of their real solo baots. But, if you are willing to try something new, run smaller rivers, paddle a little harder and drop into a hole once and a while, you should give the Spanish Fly a try.

Specs

Length: 8’9”
Width: 28”
Bow height: 12.5”
Centre height: 16”
Weight: 46 lbs
Suggested paddler weight: 132 to 220 lbs
MSRP CAD: $1975

This article first appeared in the Summer 2002 issue of Rapid Magazine. For more great boat reviews, subscribe to Rapid’s print and digital editions here.

Boat Review: Dagger’s ID

Photo courtesy Dagger — Boat Review: Dagger's ID

Outfitting and Comfort

Early releases of the 2002 whitewater kayaks brought with it much attention and hype about Wave Sport’s and Riot’s adjust-on-the-fly outfitting systems. Moveable outfitting is ideal for rental programs and schools but we’d say that if you don’t want to share your boat (and who does really) Dagger has perfected fixed foam outfitting. The Clutch Outfitting peel and stick hip pads and shims are essentially what paddlers have been carving and gluing for years. Seat adjustments are a snap, the backband works, the Thigh Booster extends the seat and offers a base for adding foam if you need more lift under your legs. The Pressure Plate foot blocks are again just what we’ve been doing for years but are now supplied from the factory. Compared to the Egos and G-Forces the foot box is quite narrow and the foot bumps are pretty shallow. Size 10 plus feet and long legs begged for the larger 7.0. Having the luxury of three sizes this year allows paddlers the opportunity to better match volume and comfort.

The Hull Story

Dagger’s Egos are incredible flat spinning boats but the compromise was extreme wdth and edginess. Looking to compliment their line rather than replace anything, Dagger redesigned with some different principles in mind.

The ID’s planing surface was made as short as possible with hard rocker break. Shortening the planing surface reduces hull speed but brings the rocker closer to the body making the boa respond quickly and easily. To overcome the wide, edgy feeling of the Egos, the ID’s hull was also brought in closer to the body, the edges were lifted and it was given more curvature across the bottom. This results in quicker edge to edge transitions and less wathunking at the expense of some looseness. The nose narrows more like an Ultraguge and the volume is distributed more evenly rather than all around the knees. The stern is slightly wider, but still very Dagger looking, no radical changes there.

On the Water

The theory of the smaller boat the better is dead! The three sizes of the ID are very close to one another designed around the weights of 125, 160, and 195 lbs. Getting in the right size is important and the right size is one that allows you to trim the boat properly. The short planing surface means you can teeter forward or back on it very easily with upper body tilts, so you want to begin in a centered position.

If we had the label the ID we’d say it is a hole boat. The short length and narrow, slicey ends improve the huckability of the ID resulting in smoother end to end transfer without the beach ball bounce. Flatwater wheels and tiny hole play are very rewarding. Being able to balance the ends rather than fight to keep them down improves freewheels and splits.

On a wave the ID feels narrow under the cockpit and the picked-up edges are less catchy but limit the planing surface. It feels skippy to green grind, and bouncy in the trough of the hole. Flat spinning is still relatively easy and more in line with the Wave Sport Ace than the Dagger Ego or G-Force. Back surfing, the rockered stern seldom catches.

While we spent more time playing in the ID than river running, we did notice the boat is dry and predictable. The bow stays on the surface, keeping the boat and paddler dry and not getting squirreled around and squirted on little cross currents.

The ID is soggy on eddy lines. It tends to absorb into eddy lines and mush across or even slide downstream. Really nailing a tight spot requires aggressive paddling and a big, pulling, glide-draw to get nay snap in an eddy turn. Resorting to just plain old paddling across the eddy line without any fancy strokes is sometimes the most effective way to ensure getting out of the current. Slalom paddlers must be cringing as they read this

The Bottom Line

For a while it seemed kayak companies were building boats for their pro team paddlers. While this is likely still true, Dagger seems to have put more consideration into the end ser of the boats – intermediate paddlers. The ID series is no less a high end kayak, Dgger just dropped the bottom end of the scale making moves attainable to more paddlers by producing an easier boat to paddle. And more forgiveness allows advanced paddlers a wider margin for error so they can push the limits further.

Specs

Length: 6’10”/6’11”/7’
Width: 23”/24.5”/25/25”
Volume: 44/49/54 gal
Weight: 33/34/35 lbs
Paddler weight range: 80-140/100-175/140-215 lbs
Standard features: Precision seat and thigh braces, Clutch Outfitting system
MSRP CAD: $1649

This article first appeared in the Summer 2002 issue of Rapid Magazine. For more great boat reviews, subscribe to Rapid’s print and digital editions here.

Open Boat Review: Esquif Detonator

Photo courtesy Esquif — Boat Review: Esquif Detonator

We had paddled Esquif’s first whitewater solo canoe, the Nitro, two years ago in a comparison test between the aging Dagger Ocoee and the newer Phantom. We found the Nitro had some fantastic performance characteristics such as solid secondary stability and a dry ride, but it was longer and consequentially more in line with the Rival and Genesis. The Detonator, at first glance looks like a shorter, 10-foot Nitro, but there is more to this new boat than first meets the eye.

Esquif has answered the call for a shorter open boat and has kept many of the charms of the Nitro. The most obvious are the completely flat bottom and four-inch double chine. This combination gives the Detonator a different feel. It doesn’t have primary stability as we are used to, rather it wants to fall to its early and bomber secondary stability.

The Detonator isn’t tippy, rather it is just more stable tilted slightly to one side or the other. The style of paddling is different from the smooth transition of rounded hulls; you are always tilted, which is okay because in whitewater that is most often the case. This is especially strange for timid paddlers reluctant to commit to a full tilt.

Esquif Detonator Specs

Length: 10’

Beam: 28”

Gunwale: 24”

Bow/stern depth: 23”

Centre depth: 17”

Bow rocker: 5”

Stern rocker: 6.5”

Weight: 46 lbs

Material: Royalex

Hull design: asymmetric

MSRP CAD: $1200 for shell

esquif.com

Front and side surfing is still a huge part of solo open boating and an area the Detonator shines. At only 10 feet, the detonator is nimble and tons of fun on short steeper waves.

The rounded, blunt bow is easy to keep free of the upstream current. The secondary stability is ideal for offside tilting for quick changes in direction on a wave. The double chine provides incredible forgiveness across eddylines and has the same soft effect that helps when side surfing in a hole.

Another interesting characteristic of the Detonator is that Esquif has shortened the thwarts in the bow to produce an asymmetrical shape. Boat builders determined long ago that boat speed is based on a number of factors; one is waterline length and another is the shape of the footprint. Esquif has changed to a faster asymmetrical shape to compensate in speed for the Detonator’s shorter length.

The narrower bow also makes the execution of strokes easier, and it makes us wonder why solo canoes have always been so wide. Further improving the ease of paddling, the sheer or gunwale line is almost level, making crossing the deck much cleaner and allowing the Detonator to fully turtle instead of getting caught on your offside when rolling. Like the Nitro, the Detonator rolls up with a minimum amount of water on board.

[ Paddling Buyer’s Guide: View all Esquif canoes ]

The bottom line

Esquif is marketing the Detonator as an advanced paddler’s or expert’s boat for Class III rivers and up. We think more advanced paddlers will have to try the Detonator first because its appeal depends on individual paddling style. We are sure they will enjoy the quick pivot turns of a short boat, the narrow asymmetrical design for efficiency, and the stability that will allow them access to more challenging runs without the worry of catching a hard chine.

On the other hand, many advanced paddlers look for a hard chine as a desirable carving characteristic on solo boats. The largest market and the best fit for the new Esquif Detonator may be aggressive intermediates and smaller paddlers who are sick of pushing around larger solo canoes.

This article originally appeared in Rapid‘s Spring 2002 issue. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions here, or browse the archives here.

Boat Review: Perception Full-Tilt

Photo courtesy Perception — Boat Review: Perception Full-Tilt

The Total Package

One of the first things paddlers of long freestyle boats notice when they hop into a corky design is the usual lack of vertical stability. The Full-Tilt measures in at 6’5”, but you might forget that when you are paddling it. It initiates easily, slices in and holds a vertical position stalling like a longer boat, especially on the tail. The increased balance allows you to slow down your rotation from end to end allowing you to think more about your paddle placement, and less about falling on your face.

In a nice foam pile the slicey, longer boat feeling continues allowing for less-than-perfect technique as you try to figure out how to get your rhythm going. We found the Full-Tilt needs to be paddled farther down the foam pile so get used to sitting on the seam of your favourite play hole. You also need to stay active in a hole, otherwise the ends load up very quickly, leading to many inadvertent loop attempts. After two days of playing with the Full-Tilt in Hass Hole on the Lower Madawaska and Earls on the Gull, we couldn’t wait to get it on a wave. But first we had to get it down the river.

River running in the Full-Tilt presents many opportunities to say “OOPS!” If you have paddled a Dagger Ego or Super Ego you know what we mean. The low shear line, combined with an abrupt transition from slicey ends to a full volume cockpit, creates a front edge that loves to bury itself in a seam line and hang on tight like a gila monster (that’s a lizard that hangs on really tight). Super-aggressive tilts, and well placed eddy crossing strokes are necessary to prevent this tendency. We had to pay very close attention to this boat to hit all the eddies that make a technical run like the Gull River so much fun.

On a short, steep wave, the Full-Tilt was disappointing. This boat surfs as if it has no edges. We could lay the boat almost to its side and still not generate a carve across the face of the wave. As a result of not being able to carve, blunts were mushy and mostly muscle powered. Competition boaters will appreciate the ride; big carving blunts may be impressive, but they are relatively low scoring and risky. The Full-Tilt allows you to hit a quicker, less risky bounce blunt and get on to getting vertical and racking up the points. Spinning was easy on the other hand. The Full-Tilt is as loose as any other boat out there and the front edges that make eddy crossing difficult didn’t seem to effect the spinnability. On a big, fast wave the lack of edges is a plus when trying to land aerial moves, and the rocker profile makes the Full-Tilt easy to get off the water and into the air.

The first to introduce a wrap around thigh brace system, kudos to Perception for further improving with the Full Tilts outfitting. Perception has removed the front and rear foam bulkheads and instead the deck is molded to fit with a pillar from the seat rail. The new and improved Thigh Master thigh braces are the best thighbraces we have ever used; they are rigid and adjust in multiple directions. Today, in the days of just stuffing foam at your toes and quick release moveable bulkheads, the adjustable rail bulkhead system introduced in the Amp/Shock is outdated but works.

The Bottom Line

The outfitting in the Full-Tilt isn’t an instant fit, but once time is spent to tweak it out, few boats offer a more custom fit. Often the short kayaks that are ideal for shallow pour-overs are too corky for pleasingly balanced cartwheels. The Full-Tilt is ideal for someone wanting to try out a spud boat, but still wanting the vertical stability of a longer, slicier boat. This is great combination, one that we think will put Perception back on the Canadian map and the full-Tilt and Spin on the river.

Specs

Length: 6’9”
Width: 24”
Volume: 47gal
Weight: 36 lbs
Cockpit: 33.5”x19”
Paddler level: int-adv
Suggested weight: 130-190 lbs
MSRP CAD: $1695.00

This article first appeared in the Early Summer 2005 issue of Rapid Magazine. For more great boat reviews, subscribe to Rapid’s print and digital editions here.

Boat Review: Massive’s Mojo

Photo courtesy Massive — Boat Review: Massive's Mojo

The hull story

One of the nice things about launching into the whitewater market is that you don’t have an old way of doing things so you can dream up new ones. Massive had a fresh start and has taken a completely new approach to hip pad adjustment, mounting the hip pad to a slider with a fastening nut. This allows the hip pads to be moved in and out as well as turned forward to contour to the angle of your thigh as it enters the aggressive thigh braces. The seat is simple and comfortable but finicky to adjust because the nuts are hidden behind the thigh braces. Massive has chosen o use an older style plastic foot brace system.

The Mojo paddles much like it looks—a cross between a playboat and a creek boat. In fact, just for a size reference, the Mojo is only two gallons less than the Perception Java. Anyway, this isn’t a bad combo. For anyone new to paddling—if you’re not, think back—the most difficult thing for new paddlers to think about is everything. That’s right, everything that is happening all at once. Massive has taken many of those bad things out of the mix improving new paddlers’ chances for success. The rockered and blunt bow seldom pearls, instead it rides up and over waves. The high volume stern won’t trip you up if you waffle across eddy lines. And if you forget about tilt because you’re thinking about angle and paddling forward, no problem, the rounded soft edges are plenty of flare cover for you.

Many paddlers, once they learn to roll, wonder why it took them a whole weekend or every Friday night in the pool for an entire winter. Modern freestyle boats are like trying to roll a day-old pastrami on rye sandwich and the funny thing is, most of us have learned to like it. The Mojo, on the other hand, rolls right up, snappy like! Now that the roll is mastered where do new paddlers go? Straight to the first front surfing wave they can find and this is where the Mojo really shines.

With lots of rocker, the bow almost never pearls on a wave and despite the soft edges the Mojo is a good carving boat. This is a paradox really, soft forgiving edges and carving ability? Thompson attributes this to, and we cant argue, the dove-tail stern design borrowed from watersports like surfing. Simply front surfing or carving on the face of a wave the dove-tail is engaged for stability. At the end of your carve it releases allowing you to change direction and carve back. Once they’ve learned to surf, it isn’t long before intermediate and even beginner paddlers want to learn to spin or more likely are spinning in the Mojo looking to shore, smiling, asking you what just happened.

The final word

It seems for their first boat Massive has looked at the paddling market and identified paddlers who love to front surf, spin and run rivers. These paddlers may never get vertical unless it is an ender. It may be their style or the stage of the learning curve they are currently at. The Mojo is a combination of creek boat volume and friendliness with the play of a planing hull. This was a target market decision and it includes a price tag that is also appealing to new paddlers. If you think the designer who changed the Worlds is going soft, wait for the soon to be released Massive Mad Dog.

Specs

Length: 7’3”
Width: 25”
Volume: 56 gal
Weight: 31 lbs
Paddler weight: 130-220 lbs
MSRP: $1,299

This article first appeared in the Spring 2002 issue of Rapid Magazine. For more great boat reviews, subscribe to Rapid’s print and digital editions here.

Pushing Rubber: Raft Guide Life

Stories

“Left back, right forward …STOP… forward paddle… FORWARD PADDLE!” Initially slow, the crew responded as I cranked on the oars, and after a heart-stopping second the raft picked up momentum in the direction I wanted. Whew. I’ve seen other guides tossed right into the forward section of the raft after a lapse of attention near a big hole while the kayakers carving waves nearby smirked and nodded to one another. As a first-year guide, I wasn’t going to make the same mistake. Nope. Summers as a raft guide were going to be about spending time on the water, meeting lots of cool people, making some cash and paddling every night. Well, maybe.

ON THE RIVER

Every day, eight to twelve new people put their lives in your hands. It’s a big responsibility, and although guests often say they want to go big, their enthusiasm diminishes when they find themselves underneath an upside-down raft. A guide is paid to read not only the river but also the guests, to pick the line that best suits all members of the crew. The introductory safety talk is your time to size up your people, and as with everything, first impressions count for a lot.

“It’s the first two minutes and the first rapid. In the first two minutes they like you as a person, and in the first rapid they respect you as a guide,” said Stacey Pepplar, 23, an Ottawa River guide with Esprit Rafting for the last four years. “If you can get a good relationship with them then, it’s going to be more like going with friends.”

The human factor is important for more than just attitude because the crew is the motor, and it can be tough to get the big hits guests are looking for without a prompt and effective response to commands. On a technical level a raft filled with people might weigh as much as a ton, and they just don’t stop or turn on a dime.

“I had trouble the first two weeks, I was just blowing it, “ said six-year guide Clyde Bersky, 32, a whitewater paddler and racer since 18. “The raft’s so big and heavy—there’s so much momentum. But then a senior guy took me aside and said, ‘All you need to do is exaggerate your ferry angles and set up a couple of seconds earlier.’”

Essentially, raft guiding boils down to reading the river and a six-second rule—two seconds to decide what you need to do; one second to call the command; another for the crew to react; and finally, two tense seconds for the raft to respond.

You need to take into account the slide of the raft during a manoeuvre and which parts of the raft are on different tongues of water. This means a strong emphasis on being able to read the water—and rafting is probably the best learning vehicle of any of the whitewater sports. Nyssa Golda, 27, a two-year guide and paddler, pointed out, “It’s safe, it’s big, it’s higher up and you can see the hydraulics much better. When you’re just starting on rivers it boosts your confi- dence level much faster.”

And sooner or later, you’ll need confidence. Mishaps happen on the river all the time, and this is where guides earn their money. Guests fall out and rafts flip. Guides have to be on top of their game and clean up rapidly and safely. West Coast rivers are often high-risk, with steep gradients, wooded banks and cold water. But even warm pool-drop rivers like the Ottawa or the Rouge have the potential for serious harm. “The insurance and the liability claims are on the upswing. The thrills and spills and flips and stuff—that’s going on the back-burner,” said Bruce Reiger, river operations manager for Wilderness Tours on the Ottawa River.

With ten people suddenly in the water, two or three of them are going to be pulled away by the current, and the other guides have to get them. At the company I worked for, Hyak River Rafting of Vancouver, if you flipped you bought beer for all the other guides working that day.

OFF THE RIVER

Guiding is 20-percent river fun and 80-per- cent work. A guide’s day starts long before the first guest arrives. Boats need to be loaded, driven to the put-in and rigged. Anywhere up to 300 guests are checking in, signing waiver

forms, getting their lifejackets, paddles and pos- sibly helmets. Kitchen staff need help prepping lunch. All these tasks are repeated in reverse at the end of the day, and all the work is done by— you guessed it—the guides.

Actual job descriptions vary, depending on whether you’re working for a small or large com- pany. At a small company you’ll do everything from food prep to parking to cleaning buses in addition to your day on the river, and this can mean pretty long hours. A typical day is likely to be a five- to six-hour run down the river, plus two to three hours on land. At a large company running a big “compound” you’re more likely to have a designated second job depending on whatever skills you brought to the company. Off- river work is inevitable and although it may not be what you signed up to do, if you want to guide, you’re gonna do it.

WHY RAFT?

Guiding courses fill with people looking for some kind of change or just looking for cool work outdoors. I’d just finished nine years of service with the Canadian Forces and rafting seemed like a low-stress way to spend the sum- mer, meet some people and learn about the river. Although I’d never gone rafting, I did have my roll and had done just enough paddling to know I needed to learn more.

Jocelyn Dunstan, a.k.a. Jawz, an 18-year-old N’klapkap’muxw native, came from Lytton, B.C., where the Thompson River flows into the Fraser. “My parents, my family and everybody I know lives or works on the Thompson. The river’s part of our lifestyle, with the fishing and everything you just have to be there.” Then there was Sophie, a 22-year-old Quebecois who quickly earned the nickname, “Sophee not Sophie!”

“I did two outdoor trade shows for my old employer in Montreal and right in front of us was a kiosk for a rafting company,” Sophie said, “At a second kiosk another company was looking for guides. I wanted to do something else, and I didn’t want to stay in Quebec so I started looking on the Internet.”

A third student, Brad Braun, 34, a marine electronics technologist, said, “I liked rafting and also I was looking at options. I was tired of my job and wanted to explore something in the outdoors. It was something I had never really done before.”

Interestingly few western guides were there to find a way to be on the river and paddle during their off-time. In fact, among the guides I met, dedicated paddlers were actually a small albeit obvious minority. “Pathetic, isn’t it?” was the only comment of one of the Hyak paddlers who declined to be named. “So many people get into rafting and then don’t go paddling.”

This is not necessarily the case with out East, where most companies are full of paddlers. But if you’re deciding between your regular job and paddling on the weekends versus becoming a guide and living on the river, chances are you won’t paddle any more by becoming a guide. “In July and August I had maybe seven days off,” said Steve Plummer, 31, a senior guide at Esprit Rafting.

Some paddling work is available as safety/video kayakers, or as instructors with some of the larger companies that run paddling schools on the Ottawa. The downside is the small amount of work. Only one safety/video kayaker is needed per trip, and paddlers are usually forced to combine kayaking with guiding to be employed full-time. Only high-end kayakers get the teaching positions.

In six months I met one guide who had signed up in order to paddle. Mark “Freik” Trueman, 30, said, “Rafting’s a great way to make some cash and be on the river. Its not paddling so I don’t get burned out, and it enabled me to take seven months of the year off to go paddling—but then I lived in a van.”

LIFESTYLE: THE PERKS OF BEING A GUIDE

It’s the People—Guiding tends to attract diverse personalities. One guide had dogs he sent to dog psychoanalysts. Another was a former Wall Street executive who took an early retirement (a very early retirement) for a new low-stress life. A third was perhaps the closest thing I’ve seen to a natural born leader—and didn’t seem to know it. These are the people you’re going to live with, share a single shower with, play Ultimate with, eat and party with. You’re going to get close.

“The core that I work with are just phenomenal,” said Steve Plummer. “I know my back’s covered and there’s great camaraderie between the guides. If someone’s hurting, you pick up the slack, and if you’re in bad shape, they’ll cover you.”

The team aspect is also true in the boat as well as in the company. Ginger Korba, 22, said, “Getting your crew together into a team … very few people come with a bad attitude, they all want to be there.” Giving guests a great day on the river often becomes the draw for the more experienced guides. After guiding for over 20 years, Dirk Van Wijk of OWL Rafting said, “Just seeing the level of enjoyment from our customers—that’s the best part for me.”

And you never know who you’re going to meet. One of the most unusual crews I ever had was a youth group from a Vancouver chapter of the Church of Zoroaster, a nearly extinct Middle Eastern church. Rafting was the activity the church elders had chosen for that weekend. Then there was the British tourist who turned out to be a forensic policeman who’d participated in the proceedings against Bosnian Serb war crimi- nals. But none topped the story of 63-year-old Ron Steers of Alberta, who had guided Pierre Trudeau. “He was excellent. A very fine paddler and a very nice guy. It was an honour to be with him for a day.”

Take a break from life—I worked in emergency management in the military, and after Sept 11 there were quite a few times when I could hardly unwind enough to sleep at night. Once I got to guide school and out on the water, I slept like a baby. As 31-year-old Robb Evis said, “After I come off the water, a bomb could go off behind me but I’d hardly care.”

For people reluctant to leave a career, you don’t have to live on the company property and guide every day. The weekend means more customers, and the need for weekend guides. Bruce Reiger said, “We have weekenders who are policemen, lawyers, teachers, doctors—one guide is in charge of ER at a Montreal hospital.” Guiding is a great way to step outside your hectic life, whether for the weekend or the whole summer.

Lookin’ for love—Guests arrive expecting to have a good time with their guide—both on and off the river. As a guide you represent a lifestyle most people would love to have. Add a little fire- light and your chances have never been better. Romance may be the least recognized but most important perk of all, and as one company owner put it, “It’s what keeps them coming back.” As a guide put it, “The job elicits hero- worship…which often leads to romantic implications.”

But romances between guides and clients tend to be short-lived, while more lasting relationships often develop among the guides them- selves where the scales are more balanced.

“I met my boyfriend at guide school,” said Stacey Pepplar, 23. “We’ve been together five years now and have been all over: England, Africa, Austria, India, and now back to Canada…It’s been good.”

THE DOWNSIDE

For first-year guides, the off-river work com- bined with the low financial rewards can be too much, as it was for fellow guide school student Brad Braun: “I didn’t expect to be a peon, and guides seemed replaceable to me. The money was a big issue and I didn’t see myself guiding past the summer anyway.”

Pay rates vary across the country more by region and less by company. For first-year guides, the range is from a low of $55/day (Que.) to a high of $105 (B.C.), with almost all Ontario companies paying in the $60–80 range when the on- and off-river wages are combined. Companies that require you to pay for training also pay more, so overall pay usually works out pretty evenly.

For me, my first paid day was July 7—pretty average among first-year B.C.guides—and my total taxable income for summer came to $3334. Out of that came $1200 for guide school, about $300 in licensing costs, plus my new river-gear. Essentially, I broke even. This is a realistic goal for any first-year guide in Canada. Senior guides can work as many days as they can handle and at higher pay rates, but consider your first sum- mer an investment.

Health issues can also arise for some. Although I gained muscle, guiding can produce repetitive strain injuries. Typical complaints are of shoulder problems from lifting heavy boats and gear, or muscular imbalance from always paddle-guiding on a favourite side. Accidents also happen. I fell off a stack of seven rafts onto a metal boat trailer and spent the next few days limping around at base camp.

NOW HIRING

Across Canada, the major employment opportunities are found on the Ottawa River, on rivers close to Montreal and Quebec, in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and on the Thompson River of B.C. If you have whitewater experience, whether kayak or canoe, you’re already ahead of the game.

Except for in B.C., most companies train their guides for free, and they’re looking for at least one or even two years of whitewater experience. You’ll also need to be a minimum of 18 years old and have Standard First Aid. Courses like Swiftwater Rescue will help you get selected but aren’t essential as you typically get these certifications during training. Submit your resume early; selection begins February–March to start training sometime in May, and although larger companies might be picking 20 or even 30 peo- ple, they receive hundreds of applications.

In B.C., you’ll have to pay for training, and there are a few companies in the East who also offer a guide school. Paying for training does have some advantages. There probably won’t be more than a dozen people in your school, and companies tend to do the bulk of new hiring from the school’s graduates. As well, schools will be competing for your business. Consequently, I was able to choose the course that I felt would make me an all-round water professional rather than simply being trained to run a section of one river. Courses are typically from 10 to 14 days and cost $500–2000, depending on variables like food, accommodation, and certifications offered. If the guide school doesn’t include swiftwater rescue, count on another $500–600.

Currently, only B.C. is government-regulated, and failure to pass the written or practical exams means the only work you’ll get will be off-river. The other provinces are industry-regulated, which means that once you’ve passed the guide training program and additional requirements like whitewater rescue training or first aid, licensing is mostly a formality. Once you have your license you’re free to move around the industry, but remember that if you change companies, you’re usually starting at the bottom of the seniority list.

Transport Canada is developing a regulatory framework to standardize commercial rafting across Canada. Be sure to check with the companies you’re looking at to find out the latest on the bureaucratic hoop-jumping.

THE FINAL WORD

For me, raft guiding was hearing opera sung live in the company van, meeting a logger who pulled a 500-ton locomotive out of a lake, watching the bright white dot of the International Space Station pass over our island campsite on a two-day trip, and moulding a new crew into a team every day.

It wasn’t about the money. Raft guiding is a lifestyle.

Former naval officer Tris Winfield worked on the Chilliwack and Thompson Rivers and can’t get enough of blow-up boats—he is currently travelling by inflatable kayak in the Venezuelan jungle and will return to raft guiding this summer.

This article first appeared in the Spring 2003 issue of Rapid Magazine.

Boat Review: The Chilco by Seaward Kayaks

Photo: Seaward Kayaks — Boat Review: The Chilco by Seaward Kayaks

Seaward Kayaks has been building touring kayaks for twelve years and keeping with the times in 2002 they are introducing their first multi-chine design, the Chilco. Popularity of multi-chine designs is based on the fact this style of hull allows a compromise between the speed of a rounded bottom kayak and the increased stability, superior tracking and greater manoeuvrability of a single hard-chine design. Add a low profile deck and some clever outfitting and the new Chilco by Seaward is a great addition to their existing line of round bottomed expedition boats.

The Chilco is based on the Seaward Ascente and from a distance it is difficult to tell them apart. The Chilco is 18.5 feet long, 22.5 inches wide and available in depths of 12 inches or the higher volume 13 inches. The Chilco’s multi-chine design with a shallow V and long waterline makes this a boat that accelerates well and carries decent speed. The shallow V and low rocker also make for good tracking. The hard chines and a quick tilt are excellent for small changes in direction. The Chilco doesn’t carve an arc, it holds its edge and continues on course requiring further strokes to complete a full turn.

Because of the superb tracking, many of those who paddled the Chilco did not find it necessary to engage with the proven Seaward rudder system. Those who did found Seaward Kayak’s smartRUDDER foot pedals are braced solidly, with the rudder being controlled by tilting the pedals forward similar to the accelerator in a car instead of the more typical sliding action. We think this is a step above the traditional sliding system because it provides solid pedals for correction strokes and rolling while maintaining foot operated rudder control. The tilting pedals do, however, take some getting used to especially for paddlers with smaller feet who had to lift their heels to title the pedals forward.

The attention to detail on the outfitting on the Chilco is excellent. The composite hatch covers and neoprene gaskets are tethered by bungle cords to prevent loss. The fastening system of the cover is quick and simple – set it in place and criss-cross the cover with bungy cords.Seaward’s Self-Rescue System adds more rigidity than simply sliding your paddle under the stern bungy deck rigging when performing a paddle float self rescue; and new quick release straps make it easier to disengage the paddle once back in the boat. Instead of molding a seat from fibreglass and bolting it in place, Seaward contours a piece of foam and places it in a nylon shell. In a pinch, the seat can be removed from the boat and used as an emergency paddle float. Add to this setup the low wrap around backrest and the Chilco becomes one of the most nicely outfitted kayaks we’ve paddled.

Specs

Length: 18.5 ft
Width: 22.5 in
Weight: 56 lbs
Cockpit: 16×31 in
Bow: 72 litres
Stern: 122 litres
Total: 374 litres
SRP: $3460 fibreglass, $4050 kevlar

This article first appeared in the Spring 2002 issue of Adventure Kayak magazine. For more boat reviews, subscribe to Adventure Kayak’s print and digital editions here.

Boat Review: The Cortez by Dagger

Photo: Dagger — Boat Review: The Cortez by Dagger

The Cortez is Dagger’s highest performance polyethylene touring boat. The Cortez is sixteen and a half feet long with a narrow softly multi-chined hull. The deep hull is topped with a slightly rounded deck with little rise in the bow or stern giving the boat an overall pleasing but sausage-like like.

A rudder is standard, along with full deck rigging of thick stout lines. The carrying toggles are burly, comfortable pieces with a clever bungy system to keep the bow toggle tightly retracted against the deck when not in use. This prevents that annoying rattle during transport or in crashing waves.

The compartments store considerably large amounts of gear. One-piece, Sure-Seal rubber hath covers roll on easily and keep water out. The narrow hull allows for only a small hatch in the bow. Anything bulkier than a 5 litre drybag will have to go in the larger stern hatch. The bulkheads are welded plastic and proved to be solid and dry.

Boat performance

Climbing into the Cortez, we note the large comfortable seat. Our bigger paddlers loved the roomy fit but some of the smaller paddlers would build up the hip area and add foam to the thighbraces. The adjustable backband is attached to the boat independently from the seat but doesn’t tighten forward enough to provide maximum lumbar support in an upright seating position. The cockpit is very long allowing for easy entry and exit but also contributes to an awkward forward placement of the thighbraces that take a little getting used too. The rudder cables run close to the leg area, noticeably coming in contact with the legs when working the rudder.

When putting the boat on the water it feels tippy or unstable initially. Paddlers used to wider kayaks may find getting into the Cortez is a little tricky requiring careful balance at first. Fear not, the wobbly initial stability quickly blends with rock solid secondary stability. With a moderate tilt of thirty degrees or so the boat stabilizes comfortably. But don’t stop there…the deep multi-chine hull allows you to confidently tilt the Cortez almost completely on its side making it feel extremely playful. The multi-chined hull reacts incredibly quickly to its tilts. When tilted it spins quickly—responding effortlessly to sweeps. This is by far one of the fastest turning boats of its class. Under power the Cortez carves through turns on both inside and outside tilts making for outstanding performance. Remarkably, the turning performance does not compromise the speed of the boat making it easily the fastest in Dagger’s plastic fleet.

The quick, playful performance comes at a cost to tracking ability. The Cortez weather-cocks almost instantly in the slightest quartering breeze. The weather cocking or turning into the wind is caused by a lack of lateral resistance at the trialing end of the hull—the same lack of resistance that lets the boat turn so quickly. Dagger went out on a limb with this design creating a boat that would always be equipped with a rudder. This way designers could concentrate on an alternate hull formation that performs as a non-tracking sporty day tripper with the rudder up and as a load bearing cargo hauler with the rudder down. The rudder deploys easily with a firm tug and instantly prevents weather-cocking. The rudder stows easily, retracting into a molded groove on the deck. The pedals operate smoothly and run freely on the standard adjustable sliders.

Dagger stepped out of the mold with the hull design of the Cortez. They’ve produced a sporty plastic boat that holds its own as a day tripper, wave surfer, and multi-day touring boat. Dagger markets the Cortez to intermediate and advanced paddlers but it should not be overlooked by the ambitious novice who sometimes prefers to play with tilts and strokes rather than rudders.

Specs

Length: 16 ft 6 in
Width: 21.625 in
Weight rotomold: 54 lbs
Cockpit: 19 x 34 in
Rear hatch: 17 x 12 in
Forward hatch: 10 in round
MSRP: $1,995

This article first appeared in the Summer 2001 issue of Adventure Kayak magazine. For more boat reviews, subscribe to Adventure Kayak’s print and digital editions here.

BEGINNER’S LUCK

REASONS FOR USING A GUIDE

TYPES OF PACKAGES

Outfitting the Fly

More than a hull boat

The bottom line

Specs

Esquif Detonator Specs

Length: 10’

Beam: 28”

Gunwale: 24”

Bow/stern depth: 23”

Centre depth: 17”

Bow rocker: 5”

Stern rocker: 6.5”

Weight: 46 lbs

Material: Royalex

Hull design: asymmetric

MSRP CAD: $1200 for shell

The bottom line

The hull story

The final word

Specs

ON THE RIVER

OFF THE RIVER

WHY RAFT?

LIFESTYLE: THE PERKS OF BEING A GUIDE

THE DOWNSIDE

NOW HIRING

THE FINAL WORD

Boat performance

Specs