C-Forum

This all seems very promising. I'm gonna have to get on some flat water to practice all this. Another question though... Do you all paddle exclusively one one side of the other in all situations? I tend to try choose a side to paddle on as I enter a rapid based on if it looks more likely to need a ...

Regarding shorter strokes, it is hard to comment definitively without seeing you paddle, either in person of in a video. However, it may indeed be sound advice. Any stroke shortening that might be needed should be taken off the end of your stroke, NOT by limiting the amount of forward reach/torso ro...

JimW: If you have good stroke technique and are young and fit enough to maintain both power and a reasonably high stroke rate, a slalom boat will settle back and start to plane on its stern (often seen only in relatively flat sections of water). This effect is particularly noticeable with newer 3.5 ...

Having looked at a bunch more videos and read even more descriptions today, I suspect I am not rotating my trunk enough but moving my whole body back and forth. In addition to what others have said, I'll chime in with reinforcement of your observation above. Ideally you want to mainly use torso rot...

Mary: Glad to hear about your extensive experience with a variety of boats and that you and your husband are also a "bow heavy" team. Although our weight difference isn't as extreme as that of you and your husband, I too paddled bow when my wife and I paddled together. Similarly, the first C-2 that ...

Mary: As someone who was a member of the design team for the Torrent and Torrent XL slalom C-2s (from a slightly earlier period than the Grok Shark), I want to note that C-2 design can be even more tricky than designing a new C-1. This isn't said to discourage River Elf from the task; it would be aw...

I have four children whom I've introduced to whitewater paddling: two sons about four years apart and twin daughters in between (at one point we had "four under four"). I think the advice given by others about getting kids comfortable in the water in whatever craft works for them is sound. How your ...

If you have the time and are willing to gamble on the results, you might consider travelling to the ASCI whitewater center in McHenry, MD in mid-September. This is the site for the 2014 ICF Slalom World Championships from Sept. 17-21. I'd be willing to bet that some of the C-1 racers from around the...

I've purchased several Snapdragon skirts previously and I like the product, but I did find that the shock chord rand was tighter and more difficult to put on the coaming than I was used to. As the first few such skirts that I purchased were for my kids when they were younger, their lack of arm stren...

Might be helpful to post an asking price, so people have a general idea of your expectations.

John

A classic pool slalom configuration is to erect five gates in an "hourglass" pattern: two gates on the same wire about a boat length from one end of the pool, a single gate in the middle of the pool, and two gates on the same wire about a boat length from the opposite end of the pool. Within the con...

If you're going to be the only paddler, then you could go ahead and carve knee cups from a 3" thick piece of minicell to be glued in with contact cement. However, if you need the outfitting to be more adaptable because it might be shared by multiple paddlers of different sizes, then there are other ...

Machines are nothing more than rigid fixed straps - somewhat of a cross between a bulkhead and straps. I had a set of aluminum machines (covered with foam) in an old ultramax. The benefit is that if you get the fit right, you lose the flex that a fabric strap has, so the boat can be more responsive...

she also mentioned that if it is possible to have toes touch behind saddle that it would be the very best possible scenario in terms of longevity of the knee itself, and having them splayed out to sides will greatly increase wear/tear over extended use. I'll second her observation! Having your toes...

What seat height can this design tolerate and still be reasonably stable?