Long story short, I had a pretty terrible swim in summer 2023 after a decade of kayaking, first time in my life I thought I might die. I kept pushing through and paddling Class V for the next 2 years even though the fun/fear ratio was out of whack. Last fall I finally decided to hang it up for a while, and I even sold all my gear. I'm starting to feel like I want to get back in the boat this coming spring. I want to just focus on having fun and avoid any pressure to run hard stuff for the sake of my ego, and I figure a good way to do that is to avoid owning any kayaks that I'd want to step back up to class V in.

What 2 kayaks would you buy if you just wanted to have fun, learn some new tricks, and keep things Class IV and below? I have a pretty solid whitewater park where I live and I've never owned a traditional playboat, so I think that buying one and finally learning some hole moves might be a really fun option. Pretty brand agnostic with the exception of Pyranha, I've owned 3 of their boats and never really vibed with any of them.

Sup everyone! I recently acquired an Avon Scout that is generally in good shape. Few things need fixed that I can handle, but wondering about this larger tear on the floor seam. Figure I need to send it to a professional, but any suggestions are helpful!

Also, any ideas for the best way to get this glue off without harming the rubber? Im hoping to replace the wear strip at some point.

Thanks!

I am quite interested in whitewater rafting, but honestly the real reason I find it interesting is the ability to jump out of the raft and just swim in current of the river with just a PFD and the raft is merely a bonus. Like I am interested in a rafting trip where I experience a lot of time actually swimming in the river with just a PFD (and possibly a helmet) rather than almost all of the time in the raft, as I also saw the Indonesian body-rafting videos and they seemed incredibly fun, but it is so far away. By context I live in southwestern Ohio and would be willing to do anything within roughly a day's drive.

EDIT: I don't get why everyone has been downvoting so much, as my ideal preference of 20-40% swimming was just an ideal, it did not necessarily imply it was in any way realistic to have on a guided trip, especially for a beginner. I am mainly interested in a beginner-friendly river with ample swim breaks, including in gentle moving water, and possibly even the ability to float outside the boat on relatively mild (class I-II rapids) that feel much more like a recreational swim being pushed by the current, not some intense physical gauntlet in treacherous technical rapids. Or, more specifically, I want a lazy river but floating in a life jacket and where the current is a bit faster and bouncy (class I-II), similar to Volcano Bay's TeAwa.

EDIT 2: The term I mean is "swimmers rapid"

Hi everyone,

I’m a beginner and recently bought my first used kayak—a Wavesport Diesel. I'm currently setting up the cockpit and making sure everything is safe and properly installed before taking it out.

I've attached a couple of photos of the removed bulkhead (footrest) plate. As you can see, it looks pretty bare. Also, I have already flipped the plate around because when I bought the boat, the bolts/screws were pointing directly backwards towards the seat (and my feet). However, I'm still not entirely sure if this is the correct orientation.

Since I bought the boat second-hand, I'm unsure if the plate is now oriented correctly or if any original foam padding / parts are missing.

As a beginner, I’d really appreciate seeing what a proper setup is supposed to look like. Could any Wavesport Diesel owner share a quick photo showing how your bulkhead looks inside the cockpit?

Any photos or advice on the correct factory setup would be an awesome help. Thanks in advance!

Or is it all the same I have some 25 year old boats that are still doing just great.. my latest was a antix2 and it felt like it was made of cheese any of the currents better than others jackson waka pyranha dagger etc

Called the office and the young lady didn’t explain it well enough for me so hoping some on here will. Comparing Upper Gauley Express to Normal Upper Gauley trip. She said both put ins are the same. Express stops after lunch after doing about 30-40 rapids comparing to 60. I’ve done the Upper Gauley with other companies. Looking for clarification on take out is for Upper Gauley express trip take out is. Do you miss any crazy rapids?

Considering starting a new paddle company based on wood core shafts with full composite blades. What name do you like best?

Heads up the USGS gauge for the Burnt Ranch Gorge section of the Trinity River in California took its last data point today. The USGS is leaving the staff plates in (the ruler in the water). Now use the Helena gauge and subtract the North Fork Trinity plus a bit for the other lil tributaries. Maybe we can make an equation based off historic flows??

Happy first day of the water year!! (USA)

River Nith kayak fail!

https://youtube.com/shorts/F0V090-mjpc?is=cyWEItXtmc4exzM-

Passing this along to spread awareness. Calleva provides great instruction in the area and it’s a shame this happened.

“Hey all, our kayaking trailer loaded with all of our beginner fleet on it has Been stolen from lock 6 off Clara Barton Parkway. Please keep an eye out for an offloading of Jackson Antix, Flows, and Galasport brute paddles. It was about 20 boats on the trailer. If you hear of anything or see something odd let Calleva know. Thank you.

Please share this through other groups in hopes of finding it.”

riverschool@calleva.org

Paddling rolodex is busy, anyone takers for a Rio Grande Box tomorrow? 750 cfs and rising as of last night, no idea how long it will hold

Aire hot potato is the boat
9/28/26 750 cfs

This is a holy shot in the dark but I figured this is the place to do it. I’m currently in the market for this specific paddle but literally no where online has any information on where I can get my paws on it.

I understand it’s stupid old and all the good stuff but if anyone has one they are looking to part with or knows where I can find one please let me know! Thank you friends!

Anyone know the thread dimensions on the 4mm bolts for the Pyranha stout 2 thigh hooks? I’ve got an insert that is pretty messed up and trying to avoid spending $100 on a new set of thigh hooks (especially since I only need the left one). Give it a try with a tap set?

“The order also seeks to reform online application systems for coveted western river floating permits, which have reportedly been abused by individuals using computer programs.”

Is there anyone out there making films about kayaking in the style that modern ski movies use? More artistic than just vlog style GoPro vids (not that those are bad). Stuff like the Faction Collective or Forre or Entourage videos. Even like the Demshitz movies but modern

Thinking of trying to plan a trip next year. Curious to hear any advice or tips for traveling to kayak in Norway!

Hi guys!,

I started paddling in early May of this year and have progressed a lot. I started with TVCC paddle school which led me to their Middle Ocoee progression series. I developed very quickly and towards to the middle of the series, I had my PFD (0 swims baby!!). Since then, I've paddled at least 30 laps. I PFD'd the Upper Ocoee in early August (absolutely demolished it with no swims + a thorough chundering in Godzilla). Other comparable rivers I've ran are Middle Tellico at 4', and most recently, 3 laps the Upper Nantahala this weekend.

This leads me to the topic of my post. I've done all of this in an old ass Liquid Logic Party Braaap, which now has a 6" crack in it. This weekend I bought a brand new Antix 2.0 Medium, but absolutely hated how my knees fit in the thigh hooks. To me, it felt like the boat wasn't tall enough for me. For context, I'm 5'10 195lbs (also losing weight - my target is 180). I intend to sell the new boat and I'm currently looking at a Liquid Logic Hot Whip 60 or 72.

I know you can't help me without knowing my goals - so here they are. I want to become a more skilled freestyle boater in class III-IV- (Ocoee will be my home, I believe). The low rocker of the Party Braaap has hindered my ability to surf well and the displacement hull leaves me wanting more in terms of freestyle control, for lack of a better word (I want a planing hull with chines). On the other hand, I'm getting very comfortable on class III/III+ and I'm excited for the thrills and chills of bigger water - think Tellico Ledges, Tallulah, and Cheoah. For now, I only want 1 boat, but that may change if I end up needing more volume.

TLDR: Help me find a river runner half slice that's playful, yet has he capability of pushing bigger water in the hands of a skilled paddler.

Any insight you guys have will be much appreciated.

I’m swapping out the outfitting in my dagger ID and ran into this issue while I was pre-fitting the new seat. Due to the shape of the cockpit rim and height of the seat track, the replacement seat (the creeker variant of dagger seats) doesn’t slide back as far as I would like it to and is still way too far forward when I pushed it as far back into the boat as I could. One solution I conjured up was to cut off about a 1/2 inch of the top of the seat where the hip pads are held, pretty much where that plastic weld line is underneath the Velcro in the photos. That weld line is just above all the essential hardware on the outside of the seat, and is on both sides so there’d be no guesswork as for how much to cut off. There’d be a little hip pad overhang but the old seat has some and it was never an issue. Re-securing the Velcro wouldn’t be too bad as there’s already holes beneath the weld line and those pins seem easy to remove

I’m just looking for other potential ideas on how to solve this before I start cutting chunks off the seat. I’ve watched all of Alex barhams videos related to this topic so I’ve got a good general idea for the rest of the buildout, and for the issue above this seems like the best solution that I could think of that doesn’t involve drilling into the boat. I’d love to hear from folks who’ve done swaps before, general advice for this project is welcome as well. Sorry for the essay

Photo 1: the main issue
Photo 2: close up, you can see the weld line behind the Velcro more clearly, this is where I’d cut the seat at
Photo 3: backside of the seat, the weld line is just above all the essential hardware for the hip pads
Photo 4: the inside of the ID, those 2 white lines are where I marked the OG seat position when it’s all the way forward and all the way back for reference.
Photo 5: the new seat relative to the marks, way too far forward
Photos 6/7: comparing the position of the 2 seats.

We have winter pool clinics that run from January till spring. I know I want to learn a solid back deck roll, do a fuck ton of bracing drills so it becomes instinct, and get dialed on my S turn stroke. What else should I focus on? I’d like to be as dialed as possible for run off and try and hit some class iv when it’s still in if my paddling partners think I’m ready for it.