How many REALLY GOOD cboaters do you know...

Craig Smerda · Post by **Craig Smerda** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:41 am

that could care less about the internet or online paddling forums... other than to find out what the 'gauge levels' are?

I know a few... well... after thinking about it... I know more than a few.

At times it'd be interesting to hear some of their opinions interjected into the conversations that take place here or on other paddling message boards on a daily basis.

I really do enjoy our little group here at Cboats and I've seen a lot of people come and go for the last 10 years. It is funny sometimes though that in the bigger picture even those of us that are here are but a very small percentage of an overall larger whitewater cboating community.

I'm not trying to address anything in particular by this thread... I'm just saying that what we talk about here on the internet at times doesn't get much further than the few folks that read the posts, look at the pictures or watch the videos.

The net and sites like Cboats will continue to make this sport more accessible and easier for many to learn, to lurk and to eventually become involved... for others... it won't matter.

Good Night...

tennOC · Post by **tennOC** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 10:22 am

Psyco

mahyongg · Post by **mahyongg** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:42 pm

Know at least one - he's using the web just to announce his courses. Does not like forums due to all the b/s going on in there, he's rather changing attitudes one at a time, on the river. Works for me, glad to know him ;D

TNbound · Post by **TNbound** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 1:23 pm

Last I knew, Bailey didn't even care to know how to turn the computer on, and he will paddle circles around me any day.

craig · Post by **craig** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:21 pm

5-6, but who knows, they may lurk from time to time

FullGnarlzOC · Post by **FullGnarlzOC** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:28 pm

Hey Craig - if we get 10 openboaters to run the Green Race this year... boaters will be talking about that around campfires, on rivers, magezines, internet...you name it.

And just to clarify... I knew club boaters before I sent Dooley a Facebook message a little over a year ago and saying "Dooley, i saw ur whitewater video on youtube....You are my HERO. I want to one day be like you... How can i do this..."

Dooley said....you should really check out Cboats, they have a great community of all sorts of people.

I also knew Tony and Joe a little bit from seeing them on the river... but I was able to harrass enough people through Cboats, and get their attention enough to take me to CheatFest...The rest is history.

i was talking with Jim Machaud at the UY one day, and he said that he ww canoed for 6 years before he finally learned that there were "upriver moves' such as ferrying. He found this out when he ran into a Cboater on the river....point being....online forums, and fb ect....can get you in touch with the people YOU WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH. And take you to the levels that you want to go.

Perhaps I missed the point of ur post... but I just wanted to throw it out there that the presence of a strong online canoeing community is vital to the growth of our sport. It's as important as it is for each and everyone of us to be on the rivers helping people reach their goals.

http://picasaweb.google.com/boofstroke/ ... 9091565618

Larry Horne · Post by **Larry Horne** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 5:50 am

really good C-boaters....besides myself?

I know four and only one of them has posted here more than once or twice.

philcanoe · Post by **philcanoe** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 2:07 pm

Some, a few, several.... but none of them post here.

Sir Adam · Post by **Sir Adam** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 10:14 pm

We have several thousand members here now....

And lots of lurkers (nothing wrong with that... that's normal on a forum)

And I would be shocked if that was even 10% of the CBoaters out there.

Lots of folks spend far less time on the internet (or none).

To post here you either:
1) feel the need to share something
2) have a question to ask
3) want to be involved in our online community and "talk" to other CBoaters

There are lots of folks that don't fit in to the above... and therefore never post, or perhaps even find us. For other hobbies / sports I fit in to the non-posting / avoiding forums myself.

The BEST part is you'll still find these folk on the water, and for the most part happy to paddle with you.

VAnate · Post by **VAnate** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:04 pm

When I started trying to paddle whitewater in a canoe I didn't know a single person who was a cboater all I had was a copy of "Thrill of the Paddle" and I found cboats looking for more information. I have met maybe a dozen cboaters, all better than me but I don't know what really good means, since then and as far as I know only one posts here.

Dooleyoc-1 · Post by **Dooleyoc-1** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:50 pm

I know some darn good ones that don't post here: matt, roy, psycho, andy walker... I wish they were on here. Cboats.net is great for the overall community of canoeists. My dad and I taught ourselves how to paddle and boated for 3 years before we finally met other open boaters. I wish cboats was around back in 1996 when I was starving for info... the internet is a huge tool for our niche community. Ps- I got the point of your post that its important to remember there are some great open boaters out there that don't post on here and they might steer the conversation of some threads in a different direction at times...

Post by **PAC** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 12:06 am

Every boater I see with a smile on their face..... usually they are pushing their personal boundaries...

Some folks just have just bigger boundaries!

yarnellboat · Post by **yarnellboat** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 12:15 am

Everybody I know who's better than me, I consider to be a really good boater - and that's a whole huge pile of people!!!

And yeah, very few of the locals who I aspire to paddle like ever post anything - so by all means all voices aren't heard here.

But the beauty of cboats is that extends my understanding of ww canoeing beyond what's available from the people who I already know!

Pat.

Smurfwarrior · Post by **Smurfwarrior** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 1:05 am

I've met very few open boaters on the river, but in actuality I'm the only open boater that I know out here. I've got no others to paddle with... thats why ALF is going to KICK A55!!!!!!!!!!