C-Forum

Last month I stated I had just purchased a brand new Liquid Logic Gus creek boat and loved it. That was based on paddling on rockless flat water. When sitting still, I noticed it felt tipsy but once I got the boat moving forward, leaning on edge engaging the release chine gave the boat good stability.
This is my first experience with a boat with a rounded displacement hull. When sitting on my 6" saddle in still water it feels a bit like sitting on a beach ball.
Well, this past weekend I took it to the Ocoee (middle section). While this is not a steep creek, I felt it would be a good test. From Entrance Rapid to Broken Nose (water I normally don't have problems with) I had flipped five times and swam once. At this point, I said to my buds farewell and pulled it up the side of the bank and hickhiked back to the truck.
I'm not sure what to make of that experience as I hear that many C-Boaters love this boat. Right now I feel like never getting in it again but that could change. But until then, does anybody want to buy a Gus?
LarryD

I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with the gus. I have felt that way in rounded bottomed boats before, and have not felt that way in my H2. I'm not sure wether more time in the gus will help you, or if the hull is just not suitable to your style of boating. Let us know if there are any updates in your battle with the gus....
Tim

Give it time, new boats are always tough. You'll learn how to balance it. Take it out on some easier stuff and then go back to the Ocoee and you'll be surprised how much better you feel.

I had the exact same problem with my Micro 240. It's not the perfect creeker, and now i realize that next time i want a bigger, wider boat, but I still really really love the Micro. And I creek it down stuff I never would have imagined when i was flipping it in class III.

good luck
Alden

I have a Huck and noticed that pedestal placement makes a difference with stability. I would make sure that you have yer weight centered really well. I saw a guy on the Russell Fork a few weekends ago in a Gus and he had a big smile on his face, so I assumed he was doing well. I'm sure the Huck and Gus are completely different, however I would fiddle around with it before you throw in the towel so to speak. It may be a good idea to ask on the LL forum on their website about trim and whatnot, you might find something out that makes all the difference in the world. Good luck.
Will

Thanks for the suggestions. I will probably take Gus out on a few easier rivers before I throw in the towel. I have a Dagger GTX which handles this river very well except for occasional stern squirts on large waves. The GTX is the best eddie carving boat I ever had. I was hoping the Gus would be all the GTX had to offer and more. Another strange feeling I got from Gus was it felt stickey in holes more than my other boats (does that make any sense?)
Are there flatter bottom creek boats out there? I hear the Big Gun has a flatter bottom and again many on this forum highly reccommend them. I haven't had a chance to look at one up close.
I don't need a true creeker since I don't intend on doing big drops, just technical and big water so possibly I need to stay with the river runner-mild creekers.
I did take my WS Super EZ (another new boat) down the Ocoee on Saturday and it did real well. Very stable and fun (it loves to spin ) but it's the slowest boat I've ever had.
If anyone else has any other suggestions, I'm all ears.
Thanks,
Larry

Well, creekboats are sticky if you get sideways in a big hole. They punch holes well, but usually when yer stuck...yer stuck. You can't squirt the stern and/or bow under to blast out, you just get forced to sidesurf. I saw a friend of mine in a playboat playing El Hydralic on the Russell Fork and thought it looked like a nice playhole. I droped in sideways in my Huck and continued to get thrashed for about a minute or so before I could finally sidesurf my way out of it. My recommendation on this problem is hit holes straight on. As far as the boat goes, if you are only planning on running big water, a creeker probably isn't the best choice. The gus is a little longer and may fair well, but I would probalby recommend a boat like the GTX or even an H2Zone. Something with a little less volume will probably help a lot. If you have the dough, one of the new LL boats (Lil' Joe/Hoss) would be a good bet. Good luck,
Will

I read that you have a GTX C-1. The first time I did the Ocoee it felt really strange and unstable. I had it on the Nantahala the weekend before for my first time in the boat and then again this past weekend. I think two things are going on. The big water probably has the boat riding lower in the water. I also experianced the stern squirts. However, in currents like the Nantahala the boat was much more responsive, i.e faster, more manuverable. I am curious about the differances you noticed.
cn

I'm very comfortable in my GTX for big and technical water. It's high volume keeps me on top of the water and the boat eddies on a dime. I felt it's main weakness was being stern squirted when hitting big waves. I have countered that somewhat by leaning over the bow and taking a strong power stroke reaching over the wave if possible. When I bought the Gus, I was hoping to have all of the features I like in the GTX plus eliminate the stern squirting. Gus and I haven't bonded yet but I'm going to take it out on some easier rivers and see if I can adjust. For now, the GTX remains my favorite for big and technical water.
LarryD

Sounds a little like my escapades in the Perception Stikine, another round- bottomed boat and one that forced my knees in too-narrow a spread. It wasn't quite as traumatic for me, but I tried to adjust to the boat over 2 years time, modifying the outfitting until I had it optimized and it still was a problem. I had the Stikine on some difficult 4-5 runs and it was definitely a liability. I had some good days and some bad, but more bad than good.
I'm going for the Robson Finkenmeister for my creek boat (if I can get my hands on one) and the Stikine is being dimantled and sold as a K1 shell - what it was originally designed to be.
SYOTR,
Bruce Farrenkopf