BeavR-2
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 10:34 pm
I recently purchased the BeavR-2 from Zelgear. It is a Russian style cataraft with inflated pedestals and thigh straps on the cataraft tubes. Having done a review on the boat on GDI a while back after running the Lower Yough the decision was made to tackle a more challenging creek. Last weekend the Top Yough, Upper Yough, and the Lower Big Sandy were all running but at low levels. We made the decision to do the Upper Yough at 1.85 at the put in bridge. Consensus of the run as follows. The boat appears to be faster than the same length shredder. I believe it has a little less rocker and you have increased leverage with the longer paddles from sitting on the pedestals. Also, you have a more efficient stroke facing forward rather than side saddle. Maneuverability is about the same as a shredder again due to the leverage available from sitting on the pedestals offsetting the fact that it has less rocker. The boat has about the same stability as a shredder with the increased width compensating for the higher center of gravity. That said I would probably not want to do the UY much lower than 1.80 because we had a tight squeeze maneuvering in a few locations during the run. Running the rapids were almost like cheating. Our upper bodies remained dry through most of the rapids. Going down triple drop water only splashed maybe six inches above my waist line. The floor drains instantaneously and sits higher off the water than a shredder which gives a center clearance advantage. When we finished the run my cohort in crime not only mentioned that he had a great time, but also declared that the BeavR was extremely forgiving. Additionally, he mentioned it would make a great safety boat on big water runs. I would have to agree with his assessment.