Slippery Rock paddling and Wheel Boy review (long)….
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 8:30 pm
After family duties the family and I made it up to the Slip campground Saturday night (missing the pig roast which is a part of the Three River Paddling Club Slippery Rock Clinic). We set up camp and hung by the camp fire with Big Al and others. Martin, Steven and Bill showed up late Saturday night (really early Sunday morning) after spending the day on the Leigh – a five hour drive across PA for one North Carolinian and two Canadians (with 2 dogs). I’m sure these road warriors will have a post of their experiences as well!
For those who have not had the pleasure to paddle Slippery Rock Creek it is a small relatively short narrow class II-II+ (at the level we paddled it -.3”) creek with ample gradient and deep pools between each rapid. Rapids are fairly straight forward and safe and include boils, eddies, and every other feature you can think of… even at the low level we paddled it. It can also be a lot of fun.
We only did the Rose Point to Eckert Bridge sections. Missing out on the Kennedy Mill to Rose Point and the Eckert Bridge to Harris Bridge sections! A complete write up of the creek can be found at http://www.threerivers.org/Slippery_Rock_Creek.html .
Since Big Al was to be part of the OC clinic (safety dude) I waited around for Bill and C-boys to wake up and get the sleep out of their eyes and food in their stomachs. This doesn’t mean we were on “Kalin” time it just means we were not in a rush to go paddle. While we were getting our act together Bill helped set up shuttle for the OCs, I shipped my lad off as part of the kayaker clinic (remember he is only 10 and therefore allowed a training paddle), broke down camp with the wife and daughter and hung out as Martin and Steven check out the local paddling wares for sale. We then had breakfast and headed off to paddle.
To me it was a real pleasure to provide a guided tour of one of my favorite runs. It nice to see other paddlers enjoying the run with big smiles - and there were some big smiles! I have a tendency to forget the specifics of each run and just go and hit the nooks and crannies on auto pilot. Paddling with this group made me think thru each drop, describe it and really appreciate how lucky I am to have a nice little run so close to the house.
The Canadians (Martin and Steven) ripped it up in the C2 making all the harder moves (at this level). It was just darn pleasurable to watch them in the C2.
Although the water wasn’t really pushy there were a lot of tight slot moves and micro eddies to be had. Making it much more difficult for a Two-fer to get down without incident! The impressive thing is that it was only their second day paddling C2 together – and they nailed all their attempted moves and rolls. The poor kayakers in the clinics were floundering at surfing, playing and rolling and here is this C2 surfing, rolling and banging all the micro-eddies and making the harder moves. Not to mention that this was day two of their “southern” trip of paddling and had spent 7 hours on the Leigh on Saturday – so they had to be tired! I apologize guys for not pointing out some of the more fun attainment spots! 
Bill had an eventful day. He started out strong loosening up and paddling well. Then he flipped in the upper left eddy at Z and was “slotted” up-side-down for a bit in a nasty little eddie that has a tendency to hold on to boats.
I cringe now even thinking of it and was getting ready to hop out of my boat to assist (the kayakers were just watching in shock) but he hung in there and pulled off nice roll with a spin to set up for running the next drop – Airport! Which he did without issue! The kayakers scouting the drop had huge eyes as he held in there, running the crux upside down through some funky water, prior to rolling to run the next drop. He pulled off bow stalls, stern squirts, rock swipes and hole cartwheels (even a couple clean ones, linked at that!) as we paddle down the river. 
I remember his comment as “….the trip was worth it just for that!” referencing the cartwheels. Some major smile-age going on! He also got flipped (a couple times), got “pinned” (bottom river left in a very bony spot), and ultimately swam on the last rapid (freaking out a herd of kayakers – I’m starting to think he likes doing that!). But we’ll caulk that up as a function of him being sooooo darn tired from playing all day. 
He also sold 2 boats which I’m sure made him happy too! Martin bought the red WB Bill had (darn that tall Canadian – I hope he made it over the board with that contraband) and I ordered a red one too. That’s right I spent money on a NEW boat – I have to stop hanging around Big Al he’s a bad influence!
Now as to the Wheel Boy… I’m 5’8” and about 180 with gear on, a solid class III-IV paddler (or at least I hope so!). This boat was a lot of fun, at least on the Slip at a lower level. Super stable and relatively fast for a short boat (the two other play boats I paddle are a XXX and a Zwo – both are squashed to make them looser and slower). It bow stalls on demand but squirts like a long boat (like my Viper which was really weird at first). This is mostly due to the volume in the back but that’s not a negative and it only took a while to figure it out. I actually see that as a plus and I’m look forward to seeing how a WB handles in bigger and pusher water like the LY or Cheat! It is short so it will get pushed about but I think that will be well within acceptable limits and might even be better than the Zwo for this.
The bloodly thing cartwheels and flat spins like a dream in smaller almost non-existence features – as good if not better than some of the newer kayaks I’ve been in (…to test for converting of course) – really impressive! Martin was also getting it to do a retarded “mush” in one of the features so that’s an interesting plus too! This means the boat can be dropped if need be but more importantly will quickly release. One of the other instructors from the clinic saw some of the action and made some very flattering comments as to what we were up to (I had to remind myself “it’s the boat not the boater!” At least not this boater ).
It gets to speed quickly and carves in and out of eddies quite nicely. It front surfs well and typewriters back and forth on small waves with easy and almost no effort. I really didn’t have access to a back surfing friendly wave (for this boat) so the jury is still out there but I could feel it settle on the smaller sets so I don’t think that will be an issue. Side surfing was easy (old school baby) and the boat release quickly when pushed so I feel its retentiveness will be more of an “on demand” thing and dependent on the paddler to set and work the edges. The spray skirt I used was a bit too large for the cockpit but the deep rim actually held it on quite nicely and the cockpit was quite roomy to get in and out of.
My wife saw me in it and just told me NOT to buy the green one (Marko – constructive criticism, lose that color and get an orange, blue or anything but puke green). She is not keen on my collection of boats so this speaks volumes on its own. She also said (from shore) I needed to “sit back a bit” which took me a bit to figure out since that’s not the kind of comment I get from her. Since this is a short boat I had to change my posture (shoulders move just a hair back) to trim the boat out correctly.
The boat is heavy but not too much so. I think the weight, due to the heavy lay-up, is worth it in a play boat you are going to rock grind a lot. The grab loops are well placed for getting in and out of the boat in squirrelly water (nice touch). However, beginner kayakers don’t like the placement if you are giving them a bow rescue (we got a chuckle out of that)!
The factor outfitting is actually okay. Some of the modifications I’ll make are straps further back on my thighs (not a suicide belt - but close), move my knees out wider and block them out, add ankle blocks and maybe move the seat position back a 1/8 to ¼ inch. I think moving the seat back a notch will help in terms of speed and in keeping the nose up. I’ll leave the seats butt / back block as is since it was wide, natural and very comfortable. Hip pads may be added but not really needed in the demo.
Finally, I liked the very small un-assuming name plate and its placement – it lets the boat speak for its self which it does quite nicely - and isn’t a paddling advertisement!
Thanks Bill for bring one up and over for me to demo!
Finally, my boy (Jacob) had a great time paddling the Eckert Bridge to Harris Bridge section making moves, surfing and doing mini enders (or so I was told)! He had a major paddling jazz going on when we picked him up at the camp ground! Both the kids were so wiped out they crashed most of the way home!
Now I have to dig up a boat for my daughter for the next clinic at the end of July!
For those who have not had the pleasure to paddle Slippery Rock Creek it is a small relatively short narrow class II-II+ (at the level we paddled it -.3”) creek with ample gradient and deep pools between each rapid. Rapids are fairly straight forward and safe and include boils, eddies, and every other feature you can think of… even at the low level we paddled it. It can also be a lot of fun.
We only did the Rose Point to Eckert Bridge sections. Missing out on the Kennedy Mill to Rose Point and the Eckert Bridge to Harris Bridge sections! A complete write up of the creek can be found at http://www.threerivers.org/Slippery_Rock_Creek.html .
Since Big Al was to be part of the OC clinic (safety dude) I waited around for Bill and C-boys to wake up and get the sleep out of their eyes and food in their stomachs. This doesn’t mean we were on “Kalin” time it just means we were not in a rush to go paddle. While we were getting our act together Bill helped set up shuttle for the OCs, I shipped my lad off as part of the kayaker clinic (remember he is only 10 and therefore allowed a training paddle), broke down camp with the wife and daughter and hung out as Martin and Steven check out the local paddling wares for sale. We then had breakfast and headed off to paddle.
To me it was a real pleasure to provide a guided tour of one of my favorite runs. It nice to see other paddlers enjoying the run with big smiles - and there were some big smiles! I have a tendency to forget the specifics of each run and just go and hit the nooks and crannies on auto pilot. Paddling with this group made me think thru each drop, describe it and really appreciate how lucky I am to have a nice little run so close to the house.
The Canadians (Martin and Steven) ripped it up in the C2 making all the harder moves (at this level). It was just darn pleasurable to watch them in the C2.
Although the water wasn’t really pushy there were a lot of tight slot moves and micro eddies to be had. Making it much more difficult for a Two-fer to get down without incident! The impressive thing is that it was only their second day paddling C2 together – and they nailed all their attempted moves and rolls. The poor kayakers in the clinics were floundering at surfing, playing and rolling and here is this C2 surfing, rolling and banging all the micro-eddies and making the harder moves. Not to mention that this was day two of their “southern” trip of paddling and had spent 7 hours on the Leigh on Saturday – so they had to be tired! I apologize guys for not pointing out some of the more fun attainment spots! Bill had an eventful day. He started out strong loosening up and paddling well. Then he flipped in the upper left eddy at Z and was “slotted” up-side-down for a bit in a nasty little eddie that has a tendency to hold on to boats.
I cringe now even thinking of it and was getting ready to hop out of my boat to assist (the kayakers were just watching in shock) but he hung in there and pulled off nice roll with a spin to set up for running the next drop – Airport! Which he did without issue! The kayakers scouting the drop had huge eyes as he held in there, running the crux upside down through some funky water, prior to rolling to run the next drop. He pulled off bow stalls, stern squirts, rock swipes and hole cartwheels (even a couple clean ones, linked at that!) as we paddle down the river. I remember his comment as “….the trip was worth it just for that!” referencing the cartwheels. Some major smile-age going on! He also got flipped (a couple times), got “pinned” (bottom river left in a very bony spot), and ultimately swam on the last rapid (freaking out a herd of kayakers – I’m starting to think he likes doing that!). But we’ll caulk that up as a function of him being sooooo darn tired from playing all day. He also sold 2 boats which I’m sure made him happy too! Martin bought the red WB Bill had (darn that tall Canadian – I hope he made it over the board with that contraband) and I ordered a red one too. That’s right I spent money on a NEW boat – I have to stop hanging around Big Al he’s a bad influence!
Now as to the Wheel Boy… I’m 5’8” and about 180 with gear on, a solid class III-IV paddler (or at least I hope so!). This boat was a lot of fun, at least on the Slip at a lower level. Super stable and relatively fast for a short boat (the two other play boats I paddle are a XXX and a Zwo – both are squashed to make them looser and slower). It bow stalls on demand but squirts like a long boat (like my Viper which was really weird at first). This is mostly due to the volume in the back but that’s not a negative and it only took a while to figure it out. I actually see that as a plus and I’m look forward to seeing how a WB handles in bigger and pusher water like the LY or Cheat! It is short so it will get pushed about but I think that will be well within acceptable limits and might even be better than the Zwo for this.
The bloodly thing cartwheels and flat spins like a dream in smaller almost non-existence features – as good if not better than some of the newer kayaks I’ve been in (…to test for converting of course) – really impressive! Martin was also getting it to do a retarded “mush” in one of the features so that’s an interesting plus too! This means the boat can be dropped if need be but more importantly will quickly release. One of the other instructors from the clinic saw some of the action and made some very flattering comments as to what we were up to (I had to remind myself “it’s the boat not the boater!” At least not this boater
). It gets to speed quickly and carves in and out of eddies quite nicely. It front surfs well and typewriters back and forth on small waves with easy and almost no effort. I really didn’t have access to a back surfing friendly wave (for this boat) so the jury is still out there but I could feel it settle on the smaller sets so I don’t think that will be an issue. Side surfing was easy (old school baby) and the boat release quickly when pushed so I feel its retentiveness will be more of an “on demand” thing and dependent on the paddler to set and work the edges. The spray skirt I used was a bit too large for the cockpit but the deep rim actually held it on quite nicely and the cockpit was quite roomy to get in and out of.
My wife saw me in it and just told me NOT to buy the green one (Marko – constructive criticism, lose that color and get an orange, blue or anything but puke green). She is not keen on my collection of boats so this speaks volumes on its own. She also said (from shore) I needed to “sit back a bit” which took me a bit to figure out since that’s not the kind of comment I get from her. Since this is a short boat I had to change my posture (shoulders move just a hair back) to trim the boat out correctly.
The boat is heavy but not too much so. I think the weight, due to the heavy lay-up, is worth it in a play boat you are going to rock grind a lot. The grab loops are well placed for getting in and out of the boat in squirrelly water (nice touch). However, beginner kayakers don’t like the placement if you are giving them a bow rescue (we got a chuckle out of that)!
The factor outfitting is actually okay. Some of the modifications I’ll make are straps further back on my thighs (not a suicide belt - but close), move my knees out wider and block them out, add ankle blocks and maybe move the seat position back a 1/8 to ¼ inch. I think moving the seat back a notch will help in terms of speed and in keeping the nose up. I’ll leave the seats butt / back block as is since it was wide, natural and very comfortable. Hip pads may be added but not really needed in the demo.
Finally, I liked the very small un-assuming name plate and its placement – it lets the boat speak for its self which it does quite nicely - and isn’t a paddling advertisement!
Thanks Bill for bring one up and over for me to demo!
Finally, my boy (Jacob) had a great time paddling the Eckert Bridge to Harris Bridge section making moves, surfing and doing mini enders (or so I was told)! He had a major paddling jazz going on when we picked him up at the camp ground! Both the kids were so wiped out they crashed most of the way home!
Now I have to dig up a boat for my daughter for the next clinic at the end of July!
, but here it is nevertheless