| November/December 1999 |
| Volume 1, Issue 6 |
| THE |
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RAP |
| Inside this Issue: | Happy Holidays! | ||||||
| Winter Pool Rolling Sessions | 2 |
People often ask us what we do in the winter here at Zoar. You might be surprised at how
many projects there are to keep us busy preparing for next season, including designing the
new brochure, updating the website, ordering gear for the shop, and, our biggest project,
a major renovation and expansion of the retail area. There?s a big scary hole in the
ground in front of and underneath the Outfitters Shop right now which will ultimately
become much-needed new retail space for next season. We also spend the winter looking at our staffing needs for next season and conducting interviews with prospective employees. We have openings next season for raft guides (we will train you), kayak instructors, retail and livery assistants, campground manager, |
and office and kitchen assistants. Give us a call or email if you are interested in working
for Zoar and we will send you an application package, or check our website for job
descriptions and an application you can print out for yourself. We do have several programs going on this winter that might interest you. We run pool rolling sessions in the Boston area in January and February. Look on page 2 for details. In January, we are hosting a Wilderness First Responder Course and a recertification course. See the back page for details. Please note our more limited hours for the winter, but keep in mind that we are happy to make arrangements to see you outside of those hours if they are not convenient for you. |
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| Holiday Gift Ideas | 3 | ||||||
| New Book and Video Reviews | 4 | ||||||
| Southeastern Rivers Trip Report | 4 | ||||||
| Creek Boat Reviews | 5 | ||||||
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Wilderness First Responder Course at Zoar Outdoor |
6 | ||||||
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The Outfitters Shop |
Karens Corner | ||
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April 1 - October 15 Tuesday - Friday Saturday - Sunday (closed Mondays) |
9am - 5pm 8am - 6pm |
Even though there is a big hole outside the shop, we are still open
for business. The temporary entrance is through the school, so if
you?re out this way paddling, stop in and check out our latest gear
and boats. Like last year, we have a number of new boats on sale. These are sure to delight the creeker, rodeo star, or down river runner in your life. Besides, they make great stocking stuffers! See page 3 for details. If it's soft goods you need, we have Deer Hill fleece and Fuzzy Rubber in stock to keep you snugly warm all winter. If you still can't decide, we can set you up with a holiday gift certificate. |
New play boats we?re looking forward to for 2000 include WaveSport?s
Foreplay, the Dagger Centrifuge, Pyranha ProZone, Necky Pyro, and
Perception Ultra Clean. For kids there is the Dynamo from Dagger,
while for bigger kids we have the Method, Method Air and Stikine
coming from Perception and the Forerunner from Dagger. We are excited to announce that Zoar is now a Riot dealer and we have ordered our demos of the Slice, Disco and Grind.
Karen Murphy |
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October 16 - October 31 Wednesday - Sunday |
10am - 4pm | ||
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November 1 - February 29 Tuesday - Friday |
10am - 4pm | ||
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March 1 - March 31 Wednesday - Sunday |
9am - 5pm |
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When last summer's two-foot wave has become six feet tall, and your
180 degree roll has become a 360 degree one, it's time for a reality
check. Dig out your boat, haul out your paddle, brush away those
cobwebs and sign up for a Zoar Outdoor pool clinic!
Pool Clinics During the first half of each session we'll focus on skills such as strokes, leans, and braces. We'll work on improving your execution of these basics so that when you put boat to river next spring you'll be ahead of the game. The second half will be devoted to rolling. For those who can't roll, we'll start from scratch, leading you through a logical progression from hip snaps to paddle motions to a full-blown eskimo roll. If you're an experienced roller, you can work on improving your technique, flipping without setting up, and learning an off-side roll, a hand roll, or any other variation of the basic roll.
The Facilities |
The Instructors Your instructors are all American Canoe Association (ACA) certified and have many years of experience teaching kayaking, canoeing, and rolling. Some of your instructors will be Bruce Lessels, a former World Whitewater Champion and author of the Whitewater Handbook, Janet Burnett Cowie, Director of Instruction Programs at Zoar Outdoor, Kevin McMillan, Director of Rafting Programs at Zoar Outdoor, and Karen Blom, Personnel Manager at Zoar Outdoor. Our low student-to-instructor ratio guarantees that you will receive the personalized attention our instruction program is known for, and our flexible instruction method uses both the C-to-C roll and the Modified Sweep roll to accommodate people with different body types and to make learning fast and enjoyable.
Equipment
Questions? |
Dates and Costs for winter 2000
The first series is scheduled for the evenings of January 22nd and 23rd and February 5th and 6th from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The second series is scheduled for January 29th and 30th and February 12th and 13th. We suggest you plan to arrive about 20 minutes early to get changed so you'll be ready to begin on time. The cost for the 4-session series is $260.00 per person.
Signing Up
Cancellation Policy |
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We have some very nice t-shirt designs for paddlers and at prices from $14.95 - $16.95, they make very affordable gifts. Call us for descriptions and/or suggestions. |
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Books
The Playboaters Handbook
Whitewater Paddling: Strokes and Concepts
Classic Northeastern Whitewater Guide
by Bruce Lessels
Over the Edge
Twitch
Grace Under Pressure
Whitewater Self-Defense
Above videos are all $29.95
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Not sure what your loved ones want for the holidays? Why not give them a Zoar Outdoor gift certificate and let them decide? Give us a call at 800-532-7483 to purchase a gift certificate for any of our activities or for a dollar value which can be used in the Outfitters Shop or for an instructional clinic or raft trip. |
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| Book and Video Reviews |
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Steep Creeks of New England by Greg and Sue Hanlon This book would be an excellent gift for any class V boater on your holiday list. Greg and Sue Hanlon have compiled essential information about 29 of their favorite class V creeks in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine. Each river listing includes a topographic map of the area showing put-ins and take-outs, a brief river description, where to get water level information (often one of the most challenging aspects of creeking), shuttle information and history about first descents (many of which Greg can take credit for himself).
The Playboaters Handbook
Whitewater Paddling: Strokes and Concepts
Play Daze: The Video of Freestyle Kayaking Technique |
I have made the 12-hour fall pilgrimage to Summersville, West Virginia
to paddle the Gauley River for the last three years. This year I
spent the first two weekends of October at the Gauley. There is good
reason that the Gauley draws whitewater enthusiasts by the thousands
from all over the country every year during its 6-week release season.
There are big technical drops, innumerable play waves and holes,
beautiful scenery, and, usually, a bunch of really hot playboaters to
watch and learn from. In the last couple of years I?ve enjoyed
watching and talking to team paddlers such as Clay Wright, Mark Lyle,
BJ Johnson, Shannon Carroll, Chan Zwanzig, and Katie Nietert.
I highly recommend finding a veteran guide for your first few trips down the Gauley, as the dangers, which include numerous undercut rocks and deadly sieves, are not at all obvious from scouting. In my third season running the Gauley, I was relaxed enough to take advantage of all the fantastic playspots, and even felt comfortable showing some newbies the lines. The Upper Youghigheny (or Yough [pronounced yok] as most people refer to it) is conveniently located on the way to the Gauley in Friendsville, Maryland. It is a technical creek-like run that is considered class V mostly because of the number of rapids, their continuous nature and the difficulty of scouting. Like the Gauley, having an experienced guide to show you down is a must on the Yough as there are quite a few places you do not want to be and your day would be extremely long if you scouted all the rapids. After my fourth run of the Upper Yough, I am starting to recognize rapids and remember some of the lines. |
After the weekend on the Gauley, I made my way to the New River, which
is about 20 minutes away from the Gauley in Fayetteville, West
Virginia. Fall levels on the New are generally not optimal, but it had
some decent playspots and the dramatic scenery, especially the view of
the famous New River Gorge bridge, made it worth the trip. Next I headed down to Easley, South Carolina, to visit the Perception factory where Woody Callaway gave me a tour of the plant. It was fascinating to see all the components that go into making a kayak - the ovens that they cook the boats in are huge! I also got to see the R&D facility and talk to the Product Design Manager, Greg Batt (a UMass alum who learned to paddle on the Deerfield!). Greg was eager to show me a new machine they have that cuts the foam plugs from which the boat molds are made, something they used to have to do by hand. Now they can just feed the new machine computer-generated designs. This machine should speed up the boat design process significantly. Before returning to the Gauley for Columbus Day weekend, I paddled the Ocoee River in Tennessee on Thursday with Woody and Greg. The Ocoee is a fun play river similar in difficulty to the Deerfield River Dryway with several excellent playholes, Hell Hole being the most famous. Next year I plan to spend more time at Hell Hole to brush up on my rodeo moves! I finished up my trip with another fun weekend on the Gauley with my regular paddling buddies from New England. I drove home Monday, tired, but already excited about returning south next year. |
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Are you ready for the Upper Gauley?
Only you can answer that question, but here?s my paddling background: | ||
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by Edward Wilkinson I started thinking about steep creeking during our mid-summer drought. When I thought of fall releases on the Beaver and the Moose, I remembered previous years with the sight of kayakers disappearing over horizon lines, and watching the faces of the spectators to discover the outcomes of their runs. I remember going over the same big drop, seeing the frothy, misty hole at the bottom, and wishing to be two feet to the left to avoid the bone-jarring impact and violence that occurs at the bottom of a hole created by a tall waterfall. That's why I brought a big stable creek boat like the Dagger Gradient to the Moose this year. My first experience with the Gradient was on the West Branch of the Deerfield. We put in below Readsboro Falls where you get into your boat on a fifteen foot overhang, teeter over the edge and drop into a big deep calm pool with little forward momentum. It was not difficult, but from my perspective it seemed like an automatic flip, but, behold, I tipped over the edge, the bow hit the water and instantly rose to the surface; the stern hit a second later with a mild squish and that was it. It was obvious this boat loved to do big drops, and I gave it quite a workout this season. The Gradient is a big boat that requires strength to drive, but the rewards are there. The hull is highly rockered but not at much as the Phat. The hull is rounded and extra thick, so when you drop out of the sky it disperses spine-compressing shock well. The bow is bulbous and has a peaked deck to shed water. The stern is wide and buoyant. These design features make this boat re-surface quickly without endering. The wide stern and tall rounded sides create a boat with incredible primary and secondary stability. So basically you have an agile, highly buoyant and stable boat that bashes through the big stuff, and keeps you dry when you run the falls at the bottom. You might even think about the occasional rail grab! |
by Dianna Townsend I love this boat. It has all of the of the important features a creek boat should have, such as stability, predictability, big volume, length, speed, and rounded ends that don't want to piton. Making the transition from a play boat to a creek boat requires some adjustment time, and that's where the Micro 240 really stands out from other creek boats I've paddled. Because of the planing hull and the not-too-wide width and not-too-long length, this boat feels more like a kayak than a bathtub (unlike some of the other creek boats I've tried). It's responsive enough to turn when you want it to, but doesn't have so much rocker that it does a 360 when you look over your shoulder. Because there is not too much rocker and because of the planing hull design, the Micro is fast. 240 centimeters may seem a little on the short side for a creek boat, but it is quick and it makes the transition from a play boat much easier. Coming from a Pyranha Inazone 220, which is comparable in length to most of the latest play boats, I only have to account for 20 more centimeters when I switch boats. On the Bottom Moose this fall, I felt I had the speed and maneuverability I needed with an ease of control. That control, along with the volume and predictability of the boat, definitely increased my comfort level on the river.
The Blunt has similar stats to the Y, but none of us has had the opportunity to paddle it yet. A fellow paddler on the Beaver was very enthusiastic about it and I saw one or two on the Bottom Moose. It has the flat hull and boxy look of the Jive with some extra volume in the stern. |
by Evie Locke My first experience with the Phat was on the Moose River last year and it has now seen me through a full season of creek boating. It has served me well on rivers such as the Beaver River in New York, the Upper Yough in Maryland, the West Branch of the Deerfield in Vermont and the Cold River in Charlemont. After paddling flat-hulled boats like the 3D and the Mr. Clean, it took me a little while to get used to the amount of rocker that the Phat has, but now that I have figured out how to paddle it, it provides me with a great deal of confidence on the runs for which my playboat is not appropriate. Because of its high volume bow and significant rocker, the Phat excels at punching holes and resurfaces quickly after big drops. It has good hull speed for its size, particularly if you get it up on edge and it turns easily, an important feature when running tight, busy creeks like the West Branch.
by Dianna Townsend The Y is very fun, and more like a play boat than any other creek boat I've paddled. The planing hull and sharp edges result in good speed, clean carving turns, and excellent responsiveness. If you're looking for a creek boat with the performance features of a play boat, this is it. You may find it slightly less stable or predictable than other creek boats because of its edges, but if you're usually in an edgy boat, then it won't be a concern. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Zoar Outdoor is sponsoring a 72-hour, hands-on Wilderness First
Responder course from January 17th to 25th, 2000. This intensive
backcountry medical training course will show students how to deal
with medical emergencies when they are miles from help and dialing
911 is not an option. There will also be a 16-hour refresher course
on January 16th & 17th for students who have previously taken the
72-hour course and need to update their certification. Wilderness medicine differs from traditional first aid in three respects. First, transport times are measured in hours and days instead of minutes. Second, severe environments dramatically increase the complexity of any emergency and heighten the risks to patients and rescuers. |
Third, limited equipment makes improvisation and resourcefulness
essential. Courses are taught by professional instructors from Wilderness Medical Associates, leaders in the field of wilderness medicine. Classes are fast-paced, with mornings devoted to lectures and afternoons spent outside working on rescue simulations. A number of realistic simulations, complete with fake wounds and stage blood will be conducted. This course is recommended for all outdoor professionals and enthusiasts who spend time in remote areas away from traditional rescue and medical options. |
Outdated course info removed. Please note that the 72-hour course includes CPR certification, but the 16-hour course does not. |
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The Zoar Rap is edited by Evie Locke and Karen Murphy. Contact us at Zoar Outdoor with suggestions, feedback, ideas, etc. Copyright 1999 Zoar Outdoor Adventure Resort Inc. |
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