C-Forum

Pure speculation, but I'd go Hahn- looks like its got a longish water line, and higher colume than the fanatic. For what its worth, ww boats survive pretty well IF stuffed with floatation. On the other hand they are the only boats I've repeatedly seen TOTALLY destroyed on the river- 3 in person, 1 o...

Jay- I'm envious. Here are 2 leads. (1) GBR paddler, will probably be racing c-2 at Ivrea. He may also have better leads: http://wildwater.suddenlaunch.com/index.cgi?board=ads&action=display&num=1205674684 (2) www.eauxvives.org. The French "BoatertalK" scroll down to "petit anonces" then to "materia...

Adam- A couple of non-standard ideas. In my ww boat, I am using a single, 5-6 foot length of 1.5" webbing with 1 side lock buckle as both lap belt and knee straps, with standard crotch and hip anchors. The webbing goes in at the left hip anchor, under both crotch anchors, and up through the right hi...

Isaac- Congrats! Since I'm in the midst of some snow shovelling related elbow issues, and since my local resevoir finally melted enough to let me do my first real workout since last fall today, I can totally relate in a lesser way. Best O'luck on a speedy recovery....edg

Here you go:

http://www.eauxvives.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18154

It's good to know there's a N. American distributor available. If I have any paddle disasters, I'd be interested in the Tsunami...edg

I think the French have been making these for a while. I used to have photos of one set up like this, which was basically a self contained, individually molded saddle, hip blocks, and knee tunnels extending from knee to ankel to foot. Unfortunately, I can't find the photos. As I recall, if you weren...

Col- My guess is that shortening the shaft and moving my bottom hand down to the throat of the blade automatically forces me to use my trunk muscles more, and/or makes it easier to keep the bottom arm straighter. If you look the No-Name pictures on the site, you'll see a bit of my stroke from 2005 -...

Touche! In my metrically challenged state, 140/142/11 CM is what I meant. Yes, its just over 4 inches, and yes, it does suck, but I think of it as a reason to go faster. 11cm is fairy moderate, by wildwater standards. Check out the galasports usa site for the ww -C-1 blade shape. Mitchell also offer...

Col- I wish I knew the answer to this. Based on what I'd seen of the French, I went from 142 to 140. BUT, I'm 173 cm, and use an 11mm saddle, so I'm short and low in the boat. I like the way it feels, but don't know if its any faster. I won't time trial until things thaw in the spring. I also tried ...

Jay- Because coaching is so scarce (and take what I say with a grain of salt, I've never really had any) , figuring these boats out is pretty challenging. You start out paddling, and you develop whitewater techniques - a powerful cross-stroke, compound strokes, elegant feathering... Then you get in ...

Col- I've never paddled one, and there's only 1 in the US that I know of. Your best bet maybe Eauxvives.org. But, here's what others have told me (and I have no idea if they are right or not.) Eauxvives.org- Squatter 3 : Rapid and high volume, but has only 3 positions flat, leaned left or right. It ...

Jay- Not skirt related, but turning related. Since it took years for anyone to tell me this, I'll spill what beans I know. You may have figured this out- but here goes. As you've discovered, ww c-1's are a beast to turn towards the on-side. There are two basic techniques (leaving aside switching). F...

I know that Jessica Subido loves her Makao Jr. I doubt she's 60 kg, even on a heavy gravity day. One other option- which I have not tried, or seen, but would still be very curius about if I were in the market is the Orca: http://itomco.wordpress.com/the-orca-c-1/ Canadian made, so less of a shipping...

Jay- You've got a Tiptop. Any stretchy standard slalom skirt should work. The key is a bungee-type rand. I've used the standard Rapidstyle c-1 slalom, and an old prototype Seals c-1 slalom and they fit fine. (I'd send one along, but except for my race skirt, mine are more hole, patch and glue than s...

Yeah, it's sort of amazing to realize how challenging these courses are, and how hard these guys are ripping. I remember how gripped I was above Humongous on the Ocoee in 2001, and to see what Martikan does there, knowing how I felt, puts it into a pretty humbling perspective...edg