Kayak Huasteca

You have to choose your waterfalls very carefully when paddling a SUP.  You want the falls to be near vertical and not too tall.  The drop in these pictures is about 14 feet tall.

With these sliding drops it is very important to not use the skegs.  Either turn the board around backwards or choose a board with removable skegs.

Foot placement should be in the Kung Fu stance so you have maximum stability.  I have also tried surfer stance and it worked fairly well.

Your weight has to stay moving with the board.  If you are too far back the board will kick up and leave you in the landing.  Too far forward and it will sub out and become very unstable.

If you can get in a big stroke for the landing it will help to keep you connected to the board.  A change in velocity is what causes falls, whether it be the board or rider.

The downtime was pretty heavy on this drop.  I actually fell after the board resurfaced.  A board with a little more rocker will keep me from going so deep the next time.

At Kayak Huasteca we use Imagine Rapidfire boards and Werner paddles.  All can be Purchased at CKS.

See you on the river…

Aaron

The Big Earl is a great inflatable board!   It has everything you need in an inflatable.

- Very stable design

- Removable skegs

- Extremely Rigid

- Bombproof pump and carrying bag

- Great price…$995

We took our SUPs to the Little TN river.  It was a medium flow with plenty of technical class 2 rapids.  Lake levels were down so we were able to paddle the narrows which added 3 more class 2+ rapids.

I removed the skegs knowing that the river was shallow.  The Big Earl handles just fine without the fins.  It turns well, grabs eddies and you don’t have the fear of getting superman’ed off the board in the shallows.

I was able to strap my Watershed drybag to the front tiedowns and there were no problems.  This board was designed to haul your gear.  It is wide and stable allowing you to take gear and not lose stability.

I love the weight of inflatable SUP’s!  At 29 lbs you can take this board anywhere.

I filled the board to 15psi and it was perfect for warm water and a 60 degree day.  That was 2 weeks ago and the board is still inflated.  It hasn’t lost any pressure.

If you are looking for an economical and rugged inflatable SUP, look no further.  This board from NRS will do the trick.

I haven’t tried it on anything above class 3, but I’m looking forward to paddling it down some great rivers in Mexico this year.

You can find the NRS Big Earl at:

http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=1854&pdeptid=2363

and

http://www.coloradokayak.com/NRS-Big-Earl-Package.html?sc=26&category=37836

All photos courtesy of  www.adriftimages.com

Have a great winter everyone!

See you on the water!

Aaron

This year will be very interesting.  Not having to carry a 50 pound SUP to the river.  The New Badfish inflatable looks like just the answer to our downriver SUP problems.

Here is a nice review on the MCIT from CKS.

http://cksblog.com/2011/11/the-boardworks-surf-badfish-mcit-inflatable-sup-review-with-mike-harvey-and-zack-hughes/

And also a video.  Enjoy!
Click Here
aaron

The Middle Ocoee river is a summer time staple for the southeast.  Consistent flows and great class 3-4 whitewater make it a great proving ground for whitewater SUP.

There are many lines through all the big rapids.  Since we started SUP here 2 years ago we have graduated to many of the meatier raft lines.  Jon Shannon (above) is running the guts of Double Trouble!

Lines can be technical or stout, you choose!  Left line at Broken Nose (above)

Tablesaw is one of those rapids that flips kayakers, sends rafts crashing against the rocks and is very intimidating on a SUP.  This year we have been running main line.  250 feet of continuous waves 3 feet high or more.  (above)

If you are confident in class 2-3 on your SUP board, come out and see us on the Ocoee in Southeast TN.  Water temps are in the high seventies and we have releases from thursday to monday.  We have quiver of EmotionTraverse and some C4 inflatables.

See you all on the river

Aaron

Mariela and I went to Colorado for a few weeks in May and June.  If you’ve never been to the rivers out west, you are missing out.  We stayed in Buena Vista, CO and surfed/paddled:  Numbers, fractions and the BV and Salida Playparks.

Carving it up

We were able to surf Some of the Badfish Boards, both down river and surf.  Mike and Zach are at the forefront of river surf design.  It was awesome to surf some completely original designs.

River surf is a new very new medium.  Kayaks have been surfing river waves for years but SUP boards are relatively new.

Ollie

Badfish stand up Boards are available in a variety of sizes.  5′ 11″ to the 9′ river runner. They are all hand crafted in Salida,CO.

Matt getting low!

If you are in the state of Colorado and you like to SURF?  get over and check out the boys at Badfish.

See ya on the river

Aaron

One of the newest boards from Imagine Eco is the Surfer.  This is a beginners SUP with extreme stability and great surfing ability.

Surfing Ocoee River Style

We tried the board on a glassy wave about 2 feet tall.  The Surfer was retentive and very good at making slow wide turns.

Nice smooth carves!

This board has a very unique hull design.  I say this after paddling DragoRossi kayaks.  Corran has taken the stingers and bottom chines and put them to good use on this board.

Bottom of the Surfer!

I found that the board handled well with or without skegs.  We tried from 4 to 9 inch skegs.  Without skeg it is very similar to surfing a loose whitewater kayak, fun but not out of control.

Lots of space to move around!

I said before that this is a beginner board.  Two people surfed yesterday who had NO experience surfing..AT ALL!  The Surfer top has a lotof space to move around on.  When you are learing to SUP you need a stable platform to get comfortable moving your feet.  The Surfer is perfect for learning these basic techniques.

Dead man surfing!

TECHNICAL DATA for the Surfer: 

9’9” X 34” X 6”   Max Weight:300lbs   Board Weight: 44lbs

First time Surfing!

  The Surfer is not a replacement for the Rapidfire.  It is an able river runner and is made of bombproof plastic, but the lack of volume in the stern and the large flat top make it more prone to submersion than the Rapidfire.

I recommend this board for anyone who loves to surf and then river runs on the side.  The Surfer handled class 3 rapids nicely, caught eddies and made ferries easy too.

This board retails for $399.  It is worth every penny.  Get in touch with Chris at

Surf Blue Ridge 

for demos and sales.

See you on the river.

Aaron

I’ve been paddling the Emotion Traverse for over a year now.   Let me just say “ I LOVE THIS BOARD!”  

Some class 3 below 300 foot Tamul Falls!

 I have had the pleasure of paddling up to Class 4 whitewater, flat water, ocean surf, fishing, and even some waterfalls with the Traverse.  It has surpassed all my expectations.

Emotion Traverse boards ready for action

The Traverse is made form High density plastic so it is tough.  This board can take a lot of abuse.  I have seen mine fly from the roof rack more than once, with no visible damage.  TOUGH!

Another day at the office!

Take a milk crate and some rod holders, strap them to the back, and you have a perfect fishing platform.  4 Traverse and 1 kayak on the river together and we caught over 20 fish.  Large mouth bass, sunfish and even a trout.

Nice bass on the Lower Ocoee.

If you are looking to run whitewater on an SUP?  This is the perfect place to start.  The Emotion Traverse will enable you to run class 2, ferry and surf your first day on the river!

Running the ledge on the Hiwassee. 5000cfs

With a bit of experience the Traverse can even run some of the harder whitewater.

Nice drop on a SUP.

SUP is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.  If your looking to get involved the Traverse is agreat way to go.  Retail prices of $399 is hard to beat.  Get a helmet, PFD and paddle and you are ready to go.  

Be sure to check out www.emotionkayaks.com  and don’t forget about Mexico in the winter with  www.kayakhuasteca.com

See you on the river.

Aaron

This year has been great for SUP in the U.S.  We have more boards than ever to choose from and the mother nature  has been giving us consistent rain.  We had the pleasure of spending a few days in Pennsylvania and while there we visited the good folks at  Emotion Kayaks and Riversport School of Paddling.

Riversport has a great location in Confluence PA.  They are on the banks of the Middle Yough and 3 minutes from the Casselman.  Erica and Andy Smith are the owners and also have the Lucky Dog Cafe.

Andy took us to the Casselman with a flow of 5 to 6 feet.  It was running high and fast when we got to the put in.

The Casselman has good flow all year.  We happened to catch it with a great amount of water.  We put the skegs on the Traverse and hit the water.

Andy on the Traverse.

IR and Riversport hooked us up with dry gear.  The weather was a balmy 50 degrees, water 50 and the wind was gusting 50 as well.

We found some amazing wave trains and huge holes.  The wind was blowing so hard we almost couldn’t leave the eddies.

It took us about 1.5 hours to do the run.  Lots of tributaries with waterfalls could be seen as we descended the canyon.

It was a great day and perfect levels for the SUP First descent of the Upper Casselman.  I can’t wait to get back up there and run it with different flows this summer.

See you on the river!

Aaron