Finally nailed some combat rolls in my Taureau

[Mikey B]

I know this is somewhat trivial, but it was a huge deal for me...I was at the East Race WW course in South Bend on Saturday with the Taureau and finally got past my rushing my roll attempts and psyching myself out. I nailed a whole bunch of rolls and was feeling pretty confident by the end of the day.
I even found out I can climb back into the boat and roll it up after getting sucked out of it in the Big Wave/hole.
They had a bunch of rain and had all three gates open...made for some excellent play.
It was nice meeting some other paddlers from C-boats there too.

I still wish I could've made the Open Boat Nat's in Wausau, but this was a great second to that!

Since the public releases end Aug.12th, I'm going down on the 11th for sure if anyone is interested.

Mikey B

[tottenjj]

I know this is somewhat trivial, but it was a huge deal for me...I was at the East Race WW course in South Bend on Saturday with the Taureau and finally got past my rushing my roll attempts and psyching myself out. I nailed a whole bunch of rolls and was feeling pretty confident by the end of the day.
I even found out I can climb back into the boat and roll it up after getting sucked out of it in the Big Wave/hole.
They had a bunch of rain and had all three gates open...made for some excellent play.
It was nice meeting some other paddlers from C-boats there too.

I still wish I could've made the Open Boat Nat's in Wausau, but this was a great second to that!

Since the public releases end Aug.12th, I'm going down on the 11th for sure if anyone is interested.

Mikey B

Was nice meeting you too Mike.
I trust you saw that she got 6 or 7 decent shots of you on itsphotos.com. All in your boat

Maybe c ya on the 11th.

Jeff

[wjblatner]

Not trivial in my mind! Especially getting back in and rolling. I'm rethinking my whole approach to outfitting these days and having a bulkhead vs. leg straps is looking better and better. The Esquif rep, Olivier, that I met on the Deerfield River in MA a month ago talked about the that re-entry move with the bulkhead - I would never have thought of it.

If I had the dough, I'd get a Taureau for my next boat. I had so much fun borrowing Andrew Westwood's on the Deerfield. It's still pretty maneuverable after a roll because the bulhead and side foam displace so much water. And the break-away hull is amazing.

Bill

[Mikey B]

Jeff,
Was the guy in the Vertige X with you all? I caught a glimpse of him headed down at the top and never saw the boat again.
Thanks about the pics...I forgot to check on those. Thankfully I looked okay in the shots

Bill, I was amazed at how easy it is to climb back into the Taureau. A useful attribute at that course as there aren't many places to get out to get back in your boat after a swim.
I too am liking bulkhead outfitting more and more!

I have a pretty bomber roll in my Shaman and my Delirious you can roll just about anyway you try, but I almost had myself believing I just couldn't roll the Taureau in rapids.
It was so frustrating how I could roll the boat a zillion times on the lake, even in big waves, but would have myself psyched out on the river by going in with the attitude of hoping I would roll up (instead of the confidence I would) and then rushing things and missing the first attempt and getting flustered and getting worse in my attempts.
This time I just tucked up against the deck and counted to three for the first couple of rolls, then tried to complete them calmly. After nailing the first two, I finally had the confidence I could roll up, which in turn made me confident to try surfing everything.
It was nice having a couple of kayakers who saw me miss a couple rolls the first time I went to the East Race think it was really cool I could roll up the boat this time. I also had a yaker video tape a couple rolls at the end of the course as he wanted to convert one of his Kayaks to C-1 and was curious about the mechanics of the roll.

Hopefully the monkey is off my back and that bugger stays off!!!
I gotta say though, I was so stoked on Saturday I had a hard time sleeping.

[tottenjj]

Jeff,
Was the guy in the Vertige X with you all? I caught a glimpse of him headed down at the top and never saw the boat again.
Thanks about the pics...I forgot to check on those. Thankfully I looked okay in the shots

Yep. That was Colin (cmnypny is this forum) and he gets the award for furthest traveled. 797 km one way from home, N of Toronto.
He didn't make as many runs as most of us but I'm sure that boat was a real bear to carry back up. I found the Zephyr even started to get heavy about half way back up.
Actually I'm kinda surprised he hasn't posted his TR here.

[bald1]

And the break-away hull is amazing.

Bill

Are you refering to the chine here? As in the hull releases well in the hole/wave? Or is this some feature that I am unaware of?

I have an unhealthy (for my wallet) attraction to this boat, although I have yet to try one out.

-Bryan

[Mikey B]

Bryan,
I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that it was one of the early production boats where they did the seams differently. They ended up being bolted together by the owners as the seams could split.
The newer versions don't need this done. I'm curious now that Esquif will be able to rotomold boats if they won't change how they are making the taureau and Salsa?
You really should try a Taureau. It's a very friendly very fun boat to paddle
Mike

[oc1paddlr]

got in a bud's today and just could not make the snap work cause my elbow was jambing on the deck as I tried a low brace. I know it's me , but how to overcome that high deck? torro's and torra's thanks!

[wjblatner]

Regarding that breakaway hull. This was how it was described to me by Andrew Westwood, one of the designers. Let's say you're pulling out of an eddy into current and you don't want to get snapped around, or you want to change from on on-side to an offside circle. If you lean back the bow lifts clear and you can slide across in a gentle arc or lift clear of the bow wave that keeps the boat arcing onside. As you pull into an eddy you lean forward, the bow chines engage and you can spin on a dime. This basic idea of hull dynamics applies pretty much with any rockered whitewater boat, but apparently the Taureau was designed to make it especially responsive to the front and back weight shift.

I'm not that experienced but found this aspect of the Taureau really cool for playing on waves and holes as well as river running. I also found it really easy to roll. It felt like once I got it spinning it practically pulled me out of the water. Some of this may have to do with my size - I'm only 155 lbs.

I didn't want to give the boat back to Andrew, but didn't have to cash to wrest it from him. I'm saving up.

Bill

[c1swim]

I've seen that re-entry move done in an OC1 with thigh straps, too.
Congradulations (sp?) on your bull roles. I love the water.