C-Forum

Folks, sorry to be the one to bring this to you... but:


"Frankie Hubbard passed away today, Sunday, May 4. For those who don't know him, Frankie was an incredible boat designer and boater. He will be missed. He was in Chattanooga, TN. That's all I know. Renee"

Apparently it wasn't river related from what I understand. Every OC1 I paddle is one of his designs. Incredible boater. Very sad. Any more details would be appreciated.

JD

http://www.missouriwhitewater.org/board ... 13519.html

I found some details at the url above. Too bad.

Geez, that really sucks! I've paddled a number of his boats; I still have the Probe 12 canoe. I met him a couple times and he was always gracious and made you feel comfortable, like you'd been around him for years, when you'd really only been around him for a few minutes.
All condolences to his family and friends;
Ric Taylor

He was the only man I ever saw complete a slalom race while smoking a cigarette. I remember him and Psycho at the NOC fall sale years ago with a Skeeter prototype (carbon and kevlar) describing a new move they had been pulling off in hades Hole - they were calling it a "loop". Every time I saw him, he was having fun. I think I'll go sit in my Viper and drink a toast to him.

Frankie, you will be missed.

Scott

I regret never meeting Frankie, but I can say he made a HUGE contribution to OC boating just by the number of successful designs he produced, and the number of folks who have nothing but kind things to say about him.

Frankie passed away last Saturday night in Chattanooga TN. He had been staying with his dear freind Mark Saxon on the Ocoee and was about to start a business venture there. He was 41 years old. His funeral will be held today (May8th) in Hattisburg, MS.

As well as being the driving force behind the most radical changes in canoe design, he was a wonderful presence in the paddling community. He always wore a smile, and although shy once you got to know him you couldn't help but like the man. I was able to spend 3 days with him last October after not seeing him for a few years and it was great. He had just came back to the States from Europe and was very proud to show off is new creature the CU-Fly... I proudly paddled it for him all weekend. Frankie was a true Southern gentleman.

He is survived by his mother, brother and the boating community he so loved. He will be sadly missed and surely not forgotten.

Craig

I fierst meet Frankie at Rodger Scotts on the Ocoee. He outfitted a Viper I bought right after they came out. He invited me to paddle with him and Art Fowler. When I told him I was a pretty green open boater and wasn't sure I could keep up he said don't worry we'll show you all the homey moves. By the time we got to Broken Nose he had me doing criss crosses with him at the elevator move. What a teacher. Even though he was at the top of his leauge he had time to work with a greenhorn. I owe all my open boat skills to Frankie and his designs. My list of his boats I own or have owned are: Viper, Ocoee, Skeeter, Prelude, and Spanish Fly. I wish I had kept them all. Godspeed Frankie

We were shocked in the Northeast to hear of Frankie's passing. So many good memories of hooking up and paddling with him over the years at Open Boat Nationals, Yankees taking Southern swings and Good Ol Boys taking Northern swings. I was always welcome to stop in and slow down and enjoy life when I got near the Ocoee. And I relished the late night discussions of Chine Angle, Flare and Tumblehome. Frankie was certainly a Southern Gentlemen as are most all of the OC1 and C1 boaters I have met from the South. I know y'all are hurtin. We just had our Fiddlehead Slalom up here in Vermont and we hoisted a few in your memory Frank. Look down on us from up above and keep it rainin.

Pat Cleary

I met Frankie at Bob's Hole Rodeo in 1994 and was in awe of these guys paddling the Slalom course in open boats with No air bags. I got trashed in the slolom course and really trashed in Bob's hole.
My first canoe that I bought was a Viper 12- abig step up from soloing a 17 ft coleman. I left the Rode with a beat up Viper 11 I got fromI thin Billy Davies. Was a great experience for someone from the Yukon and I sure enjoy paddling Frankie's boats. He will be missed by the paddling community.

I was cleaning up my office yesterday and found this issue of AW - isn't this Frankie? A little hard to tell, since you can't see the whole face, but there's that mustache...

http://www.bookwoman.net/scott/pix/AW_Cover_Frankie.jpg

<img SRC="http://www.bookwoman.net/scott/pix/AW_Cover_Frankie.jpg " alt=" " width="500">

I don't know., it looked like the nose was bigger than I remembered, but then I see that spurt of long hair coming out of the left side of the helmet, so I've got to go with a yes vote as well……

Ric

Yes , that is Frankie.