Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!faqserv From: rsk@gynko.circ.upenn.edu (Rich Kulawiec) Newsgroups: rec.boats.paddle,news.answers Subject: rec.boats.paddle frequently asked questions and answers Supersedes: Followup-To: poster Date: 10 May 1994 11:28:04 GMT Organization: Cardiothoracic Imaging Research Center Lines: 669 Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu Expires: 23 Jun 1994 11:27:45 GMT Message-ID: Reply-To: rsk@gynko.circ.upenn.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: bloom-picayune.mit.edu Summary: Some terms, explanations and pointers to more information Keywords: canoe, kayak, raft, paddle, whitewater X-Last-Updated: 1993/01/04 Originator: faqserv@bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu rec.boats.paddle:5477 news.answers:19359 Archive-name: paddling-faq Version: $Header: /home/gynko/rsk/misc/period/RCS/ww.faq,v 1.7 93/01/03 13:43:52 rsk Exp $ This is the first posting of the rec.boats.paddle FAQ in some considerable time. Many of the sections included here are new or much-revised; as a consequence, there are probably a fair number of errors included. Also, since this FAQ is also used for the whitewater mailing list, it is unabashedly slanted toward canoeing, kayaking, and rafting. Portions of the text below were written by Darren Bush, who deserves much of the credit for this article. Please send any comments, updates, corrections, or thoughts to me at: rsk@ecn.purdue.edu. And a big thanks to all of you who have already contributed your knowledge and experience! ---Rsk DISCLAIMER This paragraph/disclaimer was originally in rec.backcountry FAQL, but it was so good, I though I'd leave it. What's true on the trail is doubly true on the river. "Books are not a substitute for skill, nor can they make safe those who do not practice the principles of safety. Books are not substitutes for training. We do not wish to discourage people who have age old urges. But they can answer simple problems and questions. It is urged that the inexperienced avail themselves of instruction, training, and mentorship. We would counsel you remember the virtues of progressive training." In other words, don't go to the library, get "How to Kayak Class V and Live to Tell", buy a kayak from the REI catalogue, and go for it. Not that anyone would be foolish enough to do that... WHY DO WE DO THIS?: "It is difficult to find in life any event which so effectually condenses intense nervous sensation into the shortest possible space of time as does the work of shooting, or running an immense rapid. There is no toil, no heart breaking labour about it, but as much coolness, dexterity, and skill as man can throw into the work of hand, eye, and head; knowldge of when to strike and how to do it; knowledge of water and rock, and of the one hundred combinations which rock and water can assume -- for these two things, rock and water, taken in the abstract, fail as completely to convey any idea of their fierce embracings in the throes of a rapid as the fire burning quietly in a drawing-room fireplace fails to convey the idea of a house wrapped and sheeted in flames." Sir William Francis Butler (1872) (as quoted in the Wild Rivers Survey series of pamphlets, Parks Canada; forwarded to Rsk by Don Wegeng, who got it from Brian Smith.) TERMS ----- Most of the terms used in describing canoes, kayaks and rafts are the same as those used in describing other types of watercraft. However, there are some unique terms paddlers need to know. Boof -- To bounce off rocks in the process of paddling from point A to point B. Not healthy for fiberglasss boats. :-) C-1 -- Decked canoe, a cross between the C-boat and a kayak. Like the kayak, it's decked (and in fact, it looks a lot like one), but like the C-boat the paddler kneels on a saddle and uses a single-bladed paddle. C-2 -- A two-person C-1, often seen at whitewater slalom races. Requires a great deal of coordination between the paddlers to keep upright and moving somewhere useful. C-boat -- Whitewater open canoe, a version of the canoe that's made to handle rough water. Usually includes lots of floatation to keep it from swamping; paddler usually kneels on a saddle in the middle of the boat. Also known as OC-1, or OC-2 in the two-person edition. CFS -- Cubic feet per second, a measure of river flow. Eddy - the quiet area behind a rock, pillar, bend in the river, etc. A good place to rest. The line where the whitewater meets the quiet eddy water is called the eddyline. Eddylines sometimes cause sudden flips, especially if there is a significant velocity differential between the current going downstream (main flow) and the current going upstream (eddy flow). An "eddy turn" ("breakout" in the UK) consists of leaving the main flow and getting into the eddy. Ender/Pop-up -- A hot-dog move favored by hardboaters (and some rafters!). The idea is to paddle the boat into a spot where the river pushes the bow down, thus lifting the stern into the air. Doing this just right in the right spot can cause the entire boat to be launched into the air backwards, which is known as a pop-up. (Going in stern first results in a backender.) Optional paddle spins, salutes, and pirouettes complement this move. :-) Eskimo Roll -- basic self-rescue technique for kayakers and C-boaters. The paddle and body are used to turn the boat rightside-up after a capsize. Some even do it without a paddle ("hands roll"). Flatwater -- sections of relatively slow-moving water in between rapids. Allows paddlers time to share their impressions of the last Huge Gnarly Boatmunching Rapids before the next one. Some people actually paddle flatwater rivers for fun, but then again, every sport has its lunatic fringe. Hairy/Hairboating: Usually means boating over your head, or boating extremely dangerous stuff. Some people consider the term "hairboater" to be an honorific. Running 300 FPM creeks or 50,000 CFS floodstage rivers are exercises in hairboating. Haystack -- Haystacks are big standing waves which are breaking on their upstream face. Many rapids will have a series of haystacks downstream of the main hole; riding these is much like bouncing along on a rollercoaster, and can be a lot of fun. Haystacks are a pretty benign form of whitewater, and allow paddlers to show off by "catching air". Highside -- This is what you do in a raft when one side goes way up in the air and the raft threatens to flip. Leaping to that side and pushing it down can prevent flips and/or wraps. Hole - the whitest whitewater. This is the area downstream from a drop or rock where there is a boiling action of the water, with a lot of water being reccirculated. This is also known as a "stopper", which is what they do to boats. Some people have named certain nasty holes: Maytag is one memorable one, and that's what it feels like to be in one, upside down. Stay rightside up, however, and they're fun to play in/on. Learning to read the water in and around holes in order to figure out what it will do to you if you land in it is an excellent skill to develop; learning how to get out of grabby holes is another good idea. Hull -- The bottom of canoes and kayaks can range from flat-bottomed to perfectly rounded. While rounded hulls have the speed advantage, flat-bottomed craft are more suited for whitewater due to their stability. The best bottom for most craft is some compromise of the two, usually a shallow-V type. Hydraulic -- Also known as reversals. This is a hole formed by current dropping over a vertical or near-vertical obstruction (or a drop in the riverbed). If the obstruction is perpendicular to the current flow, uniform, symmetrical, or some combination of all three, the hydraulic can become extremely powerful. The forces generated as the falling flow pulls surface water upstream can be powerful enough to flip a boat and hold it indefinitely. Swimmers caught in such places are said to be "maytagged", for obvious reasons, and it's not pleasant. Most hydraulics will let go of boats, boaters, and other gear after one trip around or so, but other "keeper" hydraulics will recirculate their contents indefinitely. There are some hydraulics, notably those formed by low-head dams, which are known as "terminal hydraulics", again, for obvious reasons, and are to be avoided at all costs. K-1 -- One person kayak; the paddler is seated and uses a two-bladed paddle. Variants include the squirt boat, bat boat, creek boat, slalom boat, downriver boat and sea kayak. Peelout -- Crossing the eddyline back into the current, usually facing upstream about 45 degrees. "Breakin" is the term in the UK, I think. Pillow -- When water strikes the upstream side of a rock, it sometimes tends to "pile up" in a standing wave. These "pillows" tend to bounce a boat away from the rock and can be used as an aid to maneuvering... provided you don't wash into or over the rock. The absence of a pillow on the upstream side of a rock can mean that the rock is undercut. Pool and Drop -- Many rivers are characterized by fairly short rapids interspersed with flat stretches which make rescue a bit simpler and allow paddlers to compose themselves before the bottom drops out again. Such streams are known as pool and drop rivers. Pourover -- Pourovers are rocks with flat tops that are just under the surface of the water. Running them can be tricky: if there's not enough water flowing over the rock, the boat (especially a raft) may become lodged on the rock. Occasionally, pourovers also come complete with sharp surfaces capable of putting new holes in boats. Generally to be avoided unless you're sure of what you're doing. Rocker -- another measure of the shape of the hull, this time below the water line. Rocker refers to how curved the bow is along the keel line. As expected, no rocker produces a fast canoe that loves to go straight, a nice feature when touring on large lakes. A heavily rockered boat will turn on a dime, but will not track well. Most recreational canoes will have a slight amount of rocker and a straight keel line. Sluice -- Water going through a very narrow passage between two rocks at high speed. Usually terminates in a strainer or something equally nasty, and should be avoided. Standing Wave - this is where fast water meets slow water, causing a wave to build up. They're fun, but can swamp open canoes. Strainer -- This is what happens when trees, trash, and other assorted items become lodged in rocks in the path of the current. Boats and boaters who float into strainers tend to stay there, so avoid these, period. If you do by some remote chance find yourself swimming into one, try to climb up onto whatever's in there -- you might be able to get over it and float off the other side, or possibly climb out of the water. Many undercut rocks have strainers under them, creating an extreme hazard. Surf -- Surfing the standing waves in a river is much like surfing the moving waves in an ocean. Surfing is done by getting onto the upstream face of a wave, and then letting gravity (pulling the boat down and upstream) balance the force of the wave (pulling the boat up and downstream). All the boater needs to do is to keep the boat pointed parallel to the current, and the river does the rest. Surfing with the bow downstream is known as backsurfing. It's also possible to sidesurf hydraulics; one leans downstream on a low brace and balances the recirculating force of the hole against the friction of the current on the boat's hull. This takes quite a bit of balance, and one's first few attempts usually terminate in a *very* fast upstream flip ("window-shading"). Tumblehome -- refers to the shape of the sides of a craft, especially open canoes. If the sides flare, the boat will be better at keeping water out, but harder to paddle, as the paddler has to reach out farther to place the paddle in the water. Again, a compromise is best: combinations of tumblehome and flare will change as the use of the canoe changes. Racing canoes which rarely see a wave will have extreme tumblehome, but larger touring canoes will have more flare to keep the waves out. Undercut -- Over time, rivers can erode out the bases of rocks which are in the path of the main current, forming undercut rocks. Undercuts represent an extreme hazard to boaters, since rescue is nearly impossible once someone becomes trapped under such a rock by the force of the current. Some, but NOT all, undercut rocks are characterized by the absence of a pillow on their upstream face: the current goes under the rock rather than bouncing off. Some, but NOT all, undercut rocks may also be recognized by the presence of a current coming out from the under the rock on the downstream side. Avoid undercuts, period. Vee -- These come in two flavors, upstream and downstream. A downstream vee (i.e. the point is downstream) indicates the main flow of the current is passing between two obstructions. Generally speaking, the middle of the vee will have smooth, flat water moving a high speed; this is sometimes called the "tongue". Upstream vees indicate the presence of an obstruction at the point of the vee; they usually also indicate the presence of an eddy just downstream from the obstruction. Wrap/Pin -- What a boat does when it gets plastered onto some obstruction by the current. Rafts tend to fold around rocks, dumping the occupants into the river. If you're in a raft that's in the process of doing this, try not to (1) get caught between the raft and the rock or (2) get your foot stuck between the tubes and the floor as the raft pins. Luckily, most of the time, raft occupants will fall out to either side of the pinning obstruction and wash away. Hardboaters are in considerably more trouble: the decks of their boats may collapse, pinning their lower bodies inside. Wrapping and pinning situations are extremely dangerous, and call for quick, knowledgeable rescue. Wet exit -- What hardboaters do if they miss their roll. Embarassing in benign situations, and dangerous in big water. RIVER RATINGS ------------- Rating rivers is part objective assessment, and part subjective impression. The scale below was compiled from works by Nealy, Jenkinson, Jackson, Evans, and Bechdel & Ray; it corresponds closely to the AWA scale. I Moving water with a few riffles and small waves. Few or no obstructions. II Small scale rapids; 2' waves; few large rocks; wide, clear obvious channels. III Rapids with high, irregular waves; narrow passages often requiring complex maneuvering. 3' waves, some small hydraulics, some rocks and eddies. Scouting a good idea. IV Long, difficult rapids with constricted passages often requiring precise maneuvering in very turbulent water. Powerful 4' to 6' waves, boiling eddies, dangerous rocks, hydraulics. Scouting necessary; conditions make rescue difficult. V Extremely long, difficult, very violent rapids with highly congested routes. Many riverbed obstructions, steep drops, 6' to 8' waves, strong currents and hydraulics. Scouting absolutely necessary; significant hazard to life in the event of a mishap. VI Difficulties of class V carried to an extreme. Nearly impossible and very dangerous; for teams of experts only, at favorable water levels and with all precautions. Now, a few words about all this rating stuff. The rating system is an attempt to reduce the complex and infinitely varied features of all the rapids on the planet to one of six categories, and as such, it has its limitations. Knowing that a rapid is class III, for instance, does not tell you all you need to know to run it. The only real way to assess the difficulty/danger of a rapid is to learn how to read the water, and then go look at it yourself. The advice of guidebooks and of other experienced paddlers can be invaluable; but in the end, the decision to paddle or portage is a highly personal one that everyone who runs whitewater should learn to make. There is endless discussion among paddlers about the alleged over-/under- rating of rivers in various regions of the world; your editor views most of this as pointless, as the difference between IV+ and V- on a remote wilderness river is probably irrelevant to someone who has blown their second offside roll attempt and is going swimming. One observation about the scale: the ratings from I to IV tend to have a lot to do with the size of rapids; the ratings from IV to VI have a lot to do with risk factors. For example, the Chattooga's Woodall Shoals deserves its VI rating, even though it's technically a III -- unless you wind up in its terminal hydraulic. A common question about upper end of the scale is "Does a successful run of a previously 'unrunnable' rapid make it a class VI, rather than 'unrunnable'?". The answer is no. Various expert paddlers with a certain cavalier attitude have managed drops such as Ohiopyle Falls on the Yough, but it is probably better for our collective health to continue to consider those places out-of-reach. Even though techniques and equipment continue to improve, bringing more rapids into the "runnable" category, we need to be very careful about devaluing ratings -- especially in rapids where there is significant danger. CANOES ------ Canoes are incredibly diverse watercraft. They can be 10 feet long they can be 50 feet long, as in the case of the dugout canoes built by some of the northwestern native americans. While there is no real generic canoe, most of them are in the 14-17 foot range, with 16 feet being a very common length. Most canoes you see are for recreational use with two paddlers. Solo canoes are shorter and lighter than those designed for tandem paddling. They are usually about 13-14 feet long, but longer lengths are common in canoes where speed is important (i.e., cruising or racing). Canoes are made from a variety of materials. Aluminium canoes are quite popular because of their low cost and ability to take heavy wear, but like your grandfathers' old '67 Olds, are not very efficient. Fiberglas is also popular, as are royalex (a foam/plastic composite) and some kevlar (light, but very expensive) boats. Although aluminium canoes are less expensive, they are not often a bargain. You cannot produce desired hull shapes with aluminium, and they are heavy. Mowhawk Canoe makes a decent fiberglas canoe for about the same price as an aluminium boat. In defense of aluminium, it is almost indestructable, and is a little lighter than ABS plastic. Alumnium has a few other bad points as well: it's cold in the early morning, which matters to wilderness trippers who rise at dawn and glide out onto a misty lake before summer's heat notices them; and it's noisy in even tiny little wavelets, which makes all that gliding over a misty lake so much less romantic. Also a dull gray powdery guck rubs off on you. One advantage: nothing you can do to it will make it uglier. :-) Besides, it makes you look like you're in a rented canoe. So, keep the cold and the powdery guck in mind if someone tries to sell you a fibreglass/plastic canoe with aluminum gunwales. Stripper (fibreglass cloth over thin strips of cedar) canoes are beautiful, weigh less than aluminum or fibreglass, and are strong too. But you pretty much have to make one yourself. Decked canoes are a different animal altogether from open canoes previously discussed. A decked boat characterized by two features: the paddler is in a kneeling position, and uses a single-bladed paddle. Single-seaters are known as C-1's, doubles as C-2's. Decked canoes and kayaks are capable of negotiating just about any runnable water when paddled skillfully. There seems to be a general consensus that the learning curve for C-boats is flatter than that of kayaks. The problem is that because the paddler uses a single bladed paddle, there is the lack of a good strong brace on one side, and that takes a while to develop. Advantages are a very strong stroke, bringing in more big back and trunk muscles than kayaks can, because of the position of the paddler. They roll easily, are are extremely agile, and good paddlers beat kayaks sometimes. Jon Lugbill routinely beats kayakers in identical situations. Because of their shape, they are often mistaken by the ignorant bystanders as "kayaks" ["Hey! How come you're using that canoe paddle in that kayak?"...] I like the way it makes my toes cramp up after a long day.... :-) KAYAKS ------ From the Inuit word "qayaq", which means "kayak". :-) Kayaks are decked boats characterized by two features: the paddler is in a seated position, and uses a two-bladed paddle. Single-seated kayaks are known as K-1's; doubles as K-2's. Whitewater boats are usually made of either fiberglass and/or kevlar, or more commonly, rotomolded plastics. The later are not as fast or manueverable as the lighter, more agile cloth/resin boats, but they are practically indestructible and a lot of fun. An ultra-low-volume kayak is sometimes called a squirt boat; a very short kayak with blunt ends is sometimes called a bat boat (it looks like a suppository with a cockpit). K-1s are the rule in whitewater, and you rarely see K-2 slalom boats. Speaking of slalom boats, they're halfway between ordinary river-running craft and squirt boats. They're 4 meters long (because that's the minimum allowed length), and have very flat decks (to sneak the ends under the poles). They are built to optimize speed and agility at all costs...including stability. A relatively recent innovation in kayak construction is the "funyak" or "ducky"; these are essentially one-person self-bailing rafts in the shape of a kayak. What they lack in maneuverability they make up for in stability; they're an ideal craft for a beginner interesting in solo paddling, as they allow folks to get a taste of whitewater without developing skills such as the eskimo roll, eddy turn, etc. They're also used by experienced river runners as well, and can be paddled anywhere a decked kayak can. However, since they can't be eskimo-rolled, they may not be appropriate for some big-water situations. Some generalizations: Fiberglass kayaks tend to be lighter, faster, and more costlier (~$1500). Rotomolded kayaks are heavier, slower, yet cheaper and virtually indestrucible (~$750). Portable kayaks are heavier, wider, and very expensive (~$2000) but great for travel on planes or if you live in an apartment. Not as low maintenance as fiberglass though. PVC inflatable kayaks are light, cheap (~$500), and easy to transport. Not much storage space and prone to punctures, but easy to fix. Although designed for warm water, they have been successfully paddled on long trips in Alaska. Wooden kayaks are usually kits, and are fairly light and durable but require more maintenance (~$600 for a kit). Before you pick a kayak, decide what you'll be doing with it. Camping, fishing, photography, day trips, aerobic workouts, expeditions, racing, surfing, etc. Also consider your size in relation to the boat's size. You should comfortably fit in the boat, not too snug and too loose. RAFTS ----- These are neoprene rubber boats capable of carrying 2 to 8 people, generally. (Some western outfitters run mega-rafts with engines [barf] on rivers like the Colorado; one can only hope they'll go broke.) Some rafts are equipped with oar frames and a pair of 10-12 foot oars; while the oars and the frame add to the weight, they also greatly increase the agility of the raft. Properly-paddled rafts can handle extreme water, especially if they're self-bailing. Most commercial outfitters send their customers out in some type of raft. Over the last several years, neoprene/hypalon material has been getting a lot of competition from PVC plastic. Also, in the last year or so, a new generation of material (eg. "Lexatron" from Whitewater Manufacturing) has entered the market. Another inovation is the "cataraft", which is raft formed by putting a frame across two "outboard" tubes. Rafts are evolving rapidly (sorry). Most human-powered rafts range from 10 to 18 feet in length, with most boats being 12 to 16. 10 foot boats are used by people who want to get very wet, or by pairs of paddlers, often on water too technical for larger boats. 18+ foot boats are used as gear boats on Grand Canyon style trips. Oars for common sized rafts are generally 9-10 feet. Rafts are classified by the number of paddlers, usually: e.g. "R-4", "R-8". SAFETY ------ * About safety equipment: - learn to use a throwbag, knife, carabiners, and other rescue equipment. The life you save may be a life worth saving. * Always wear a lifejacket. * Always wear a helmet when kayaking or when rafting anything > class II * Read the river guidebook -- but remember that it's no substitute for scouting * Don't hesitate to portage any section; ignore peer pressure to run * Have proper safety gear, including throw bag, river knife, carabiners. * Hypothermia can kill you, even in July. * Don't drink or use controlled substances on the river; if being out there isn't enough of a high, get another hobby * Consider taking a class to learn basics well. * Consider taking a safety class. * Always wear a lifejacket. * Always wear a lifejacket. BOOKS ----- The Kayaking Book, Jay Evans - Dated, but still a good place to start. River Rescue, Bechdel & Ray; published by AMC Press. - I consider this a standard textbook for kayakers. Full of good information, which should be practiced as far as possible by groups planning on boating together. Everything you wanted to know about Z-drags, but were afraid to ask. 8-) Endorsed by Charley Walbridge. Boatbuilder's Manual, by C. Walbridge; published by Menasha Ridge Press. - THE manual about "rolling your own" (pun intended). Path of the Paddle by Bill Mason Song of the Paddle by Mason Also the film Water Walker by Mason as well. - In short, anything by Mason. Good "spiritual" quality; the essense of paddling is captured nicely. Kayak, William Nealy - This is a book for intermediate and advanced kayakers; but it also contains many hints helpful to the novice, as well as some highly enlightening prose on hydrotopography. I refer to this book more than any other. Performance Kayaking, Stephen B. U'Ren; published by Stackpole Books. - Excellent beginner-intermediate book with tips on racing and a nice section on play paddling by the legendary Bob McDougall. The Guide's Guide, William McGinnis - It has extensive coverage of a guide's duties and responsibilities, but is light on actual river-running and safety details. Could be very useful for anyone planning a long trip. Wildwater, The Sierra Club Guide to Kayaking and Whitewater Boating, by Lito Tejada-Flores. - It's better than Evans' but somewhat preachy and not as well illustrated as Nealy. Still, it might be good for some folks. Wild Rivers of North America, Michael Jenkinson. - Not really a guidebook, but it does cover these rivers in detail: the Salmon, the Rogue, Rio Urique, Colorado, Suwannee, Yukon, Buffalo, and Rio Grande. Trip reports from those rivers are very helpful. Also has about 50 pages covering about a hundred wild rivers; also has extensive appendices with pointers to sources. Medicine for Mountainering, ed. by James A. Wilkerson, published by The Mountaineers. - The definitive work on backcountry and emergency medicine. Good reading during the winter months; excellent book to take along on in a drybag. The Whitewater Sourcebook, by Richard Penny; published by Menasha Ridge. - This is a *great* reference. It's full of pointers to outfitters, suppliers, guides, guidebooks, and darn near everything else that you can think of. If I were going to plan a trip on an unfamiliar river, this is the first book I'd reach for. Highly recommended. Wilderness Waterways, by Ronald Ziegler, published by Canoe America Assoc. - Like Penny's book (see above) this is full of pointers to outfitters and suppliers, maps and guidebooks, and so on. (Now if we could just get Penny and Ziegler to combine their books and drop them on CDROM...) Best of the River Safety Task Force Newsletter, Charlie Walbridge, ed. - A tad gross, but worth reading. River Safety Report, 1986-1988 by Charles C. Walbridge - This is a follow-on to the "Best of the River Safety Task Force Newsletter". It consists mostly of incident descriptions and analysis. While it's somewhat scary in places, the overwhelming message that I got from it is "Don't get stupid. You'll die." Only a tiny minority of the victims were actually "doing everything right"; most were in over their heads, or using inadequate gear, or ignoring instructions, etc. Charley is the chairman of the ACA River Safety Taskforce, and has done more for whitewater safety than anyone alive. He's not afraid to be honestly blunt, to point out where the victim was stupid, etc. The truth hurts, but it also saves lives. White Water Kayaking by Ray Rowe - This is a British text of paddling technique. While some of the language is a bit different (a paddling jacket is a "cag", a peel-out is a "break-in") the instructional material is quite good. There are extensive sections on gear, strokes, water-reading, and manuevering. I'd rate this as a beginner's book somewhat above the level of the Tejada-Flores book but below that of Nealy's. The Complete Wilderness Paddler by Davidson & Rugge - Told as a story of a three week trip in Northern Quebec (and the planning that went on beforehand), it's full of tips and techniques. Good section on reading contour maps. Rivers at Risk - The Concerned Citizen's Guide to Hydropower by John D. Echeverria, Pope Barrow & Richard Roos-Colins. - Published by Island Press (220 pg., about $30 hardcover, $18 paper, order from Pope Barrow -- see below under AWA) This book explains the issues involved in hydropower politics and is useful for anyone trying to fight dams and other waterway intrusions. ADDRESSES OF INTEREST --------------------- American Rivers 801 Pennsylvania Avenue S.E. Suite 303 Washington, DC 20003 (202) 547-6900 American Rivers is a conservation organization which is trying to save as many rivers as possible. They publish a periodic newsletter as well. NORS ($15/1 yr, $28/2 yr, $39/3 yr) PO Box 6847 314 North 20th St., Suite 200 Colorado Springs, CO 80904 (719) 473-2466 The National Organization for River Sports is involved in conservation, safety, and other aspects of river running. American Canoe Association 8580 Cinderbed Road, Suite 1900 PO Box 1190 Newington, Virginia 22122-1190 (703) 550-7523 American Whitewater Affiliation ($15/yr) PO Box 85 Phoenicia, NY 12464 (914) 688-5569 AWA publishes "American Whitewater" bimonthly and is involved in safety and conservation efforts. They also produce the AWA National Whitewater River Inventory; for information on ordering it, contact: Pope Barrow 136 13th St. SE Washington, DC 20003 Friends of the River c/o Kevin Wolf 902 12th Street, Suite 207 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 442-3155 River Runner Magazine ($15/1, $25/2, $30/3) (now Paddler) PO Box 697 Fallbrook, CA 92028 1-800-752-7951 This is the one that I read; it focuses on all sorts of river running, has great photography, and a lot of good articles. Canoe Magazine (6 issues/$15, 12 issues/$28) PO Box 3146 Kirkland, WA 98083 1-800-MY-CANOE I don't read this one, but I've heard that it tends to focus somewhat on flatwater cruising at the expense of river running. Colorado Whitewater Association 7500 E. Arapahoe Englewood, CO 80221 (303) 770-0515 Or contact Bill Baker at (303) 972-8437 or (303) 790-3415 High Country River Rafters ($15/yr) PO Box 709 Golden, CO 80402 contact: Larry Stuhl 526-2426 These last two are probably only of interest to you if you live in Colorado or boat there a lot. Both organizations are involved in training, safety seminars, and group trips. Georgia Canoe Association c/o GCA Membership Chairperson PO Box 7023 Atlanta, GA 30357 Yearly dues at $18; the club sponsors a number of trips on rivers such as the Hiwasee, Nantahala, Ocoee, Chatooga, French Broad, etc. They also run instructional, safety, and rescue clinics, as well as publishing a newsletter. You might contact Sam Smith, sam@eedsp.eedsp.gatech.edu for more info. See also the article entitled "Whitewater outfitter/dealer address list", which contains a number of addresses for outfitters, guides, schools, etc.