C-Forum

Are C-boats/boaters really that obscure? I just retirned from a great family trip out to th West Coast. While in Portland OR, I noticed an outdoor recreation store with several WW playboats out front- of course I had to go in and check out the scene. They had a great inventory of equipment and gear ( helmets, booties, dry suits, etc..) and many, many WW playboats. One of the helpful salesmen approached, and I asked about C-1's- of course I did not expect them to have any, but sort of secretly hoped they had one or two used hidden away. The reply I got surprised me- when I asked about C-1's. the response was, "whats that?" I figured that my southern accent perhaps confused him, so I gave a short description of a C-1- the response was the same, but I was referred to the main guy in the padling section- he did have a vague knowledge of C-1, and said he even saw a guy one tome on the river in one! Of course I directed him to CBOATS.NET and we looked at a few boats.
The kayak industry has truly controlled the market. I for one am glad that we are somewhat obscure.

I think we are a little more common in the east. I had a similar experience in Colorado. "A what? You paddle whitewater in a canoe?"

I was asked to organize an after work paddling trip for my coworkers recently and set it up through a local organization called "Canoeing for Kids" (www.canoeingforkids.net). What they spend most of their time doing is taking kids down rivers as an outreach program, though they also will handle private trips. Over the years, though, they've started using sit on top kayaks a lot more than canoes mainly because of the learning curve. Consequently, almost all of my coworkers ended up in one or two person sit on top kayaks while I had myself and two of my kids in my 17' canoe. Even though I was getting NO help from my little rascals, I could easily outpace even the young bucks who thought they could pull a water skiier.

I overheard a couple of them at lunch today saying "You know, canoes are much faster than kayaks..." And "He paddles whitewater in a kayak, but with a canoe paddle - it must be faster" So, obscure, yes. Slower, no.

Which store did you go to in Portland? I've ordered C-1s from almost every boating shop in Portland at one time or another over the last 13 years, including my Finkenmeister just last year, and I've never encountered such a response.

However, I guess it shouldn't be too surprising, as there really aren't many c-boaters out here - I almost never encounter other c-boaters on the river. I know of a couple of others in Portland, but we all seem to be into running different types of stuff, so I tend to boat mostly with kayakers. I think there are more c-boaters in Washington - there's even a decent slalom racing scene up there.

Matt