Big Piney Sat & Sun

[MStanley]

Great two days on the Piney; great water level, great weather, and lots of ACC and renters to provide fun and entertainment.

I have about 200 pictures I will post tomorrow. Check back then.

[robkanraft]

Mike, did I read you have a new IK? Review please!

[davidbob]

Mike

I have already lied to Elena's mommy about her unchaperoned raft ride from LR Beach to Surfin Rapid with her new friend Mia in Cap'n Downstream's raft on Sunday. Sorry, but those photos will have no blackmail value unless someone figures out my cover story. Actually, once the Cap'n successfully moderated the chip dispute (don't ask until you've had 2 strong willed 3 and 4 year olds with only 1 bag of Fritos in the front of your raft) everything was fine.

I wish you could have gotten a picture of Stewart hanging on to those two on the front thwart of the Super Puma as we did the left run at the Mother. 2 new raft dollies were born!

Elena seemed much more relaxed with Stewart "driving" her raft on Sunday than with me on Saturday, even though she had her mommy with her then. I wonder why? Has she heard of the Chittam Flip?

[MStanley]

I’ve uploaded my pics at the WWW button below.

Davidbob – hope none of the pics get you in trouble! Those little girls sure were cute together and I wish I had gotten a pic of Stewart as Mother hen.

Sorry for all the pictures of Liz and I but we both had new boats and wanted to see how they looked in the water.

As for the inflatable kayak; I love it.

Here is a review of the inflatable kayak.

It is an Aire Force XL white water inflatable kayak. I have no idea why I don’t see more of these on the water because they are great fun and have a lot to offer that a hardshell WW kayak or rec kayak do not.

Pros:

Price – Not much more than a new WW kayak.

Easy to transport – takes 5 minutes to inflate/deflate. Size of small suitcase when packed. Light – about 30 lbs.

Durable – It’s an Aire, say no more.

Comfortable – I ran the Piney 2 days in a row and in my hardshell, I would have been miserable due to leg and back pain. In IK, you can actually lay down and paddle the pools or stretch out on any short flat water.

Maneuverable – I caught eddies almost as easy as my hardshell. Caught eddy on river left above Little Mother with no problems. Requires a little different approach; more lean into turn and good strong Duffek but the technique comes quickly. Keep thigh straps tight and you can edge this like a hardshell. Tracks straight when required; as good as my RPM anyway.

Fast – Accelerates quickly and is as fast as my RPM

Stable – Really stable as long as you don’t hit rocks sideways. I thought I would try to “hug a rock” in a rapid and the IK went immediately up on its side with me hugging the rock and hanging from the thigh straps. Only choice was to drop out of the kayak and self rescue. See next pro!

Self rescue – This is a big floating life raft so hang on to it. It stays light because no water is in it like it would be in a hardshell. I was able to swim to eddy from the rapids while dragging the IK with less effort than my RPM. If you find flat water, it’s easy to crawl back on and keep going.

Surfing – As good as my RPM but don’t let the bow swing off because it will flush you out. It really side surfs great. The video I have shows this really being worked by a pro and he does it all, including rolling up while still in the wave.

Big Water – The real reason I got this is for the MFS. Maybe it will work and maybe it won’t but I’m giving it a try. The video shows it going through Class IV and they say it will go Class V but I’m sure the pro in the video could use a 4x8 sheet of plywood and do OK.

Cons:

Kayak Roll – I have a video tape that came with the IK showing it being done with an exaggerated sweep technique and laying full back on the back deck. Both Liz and I tried and couldn’t get it to roll (Liz has a great paddle and hand roll). I want Cowper to try next!


No storage – You can tie things onto the top deck of the bow and stern (plenty of D-rings) but I don’t like gear hanging from a boat I may be upside down in.

Longer paddle required – I’ve been using my 197cm WW Werner but it is a bit too short. I keep hitting the side tubes with the edge of the blade. I’ve ordered a 220 cm break down touring Werner with high angle big blades per Aire recommendation. Get it this week.

No Seal Launches – Treat this just like a raft which means don’t drag it across rocks and the shore.

Wet – You are going to get wet in rapids. Even while paddling pools there is a little water around my rear end. It is self bailing but the heavier you are, the lower in the water you will be. I’m 183 lb plus gear and this is rated up to a 250 lb paddler (300 lb max load)

Summary:

An IK is a good idea for someone who wants to run Class II/III rivers but doesn’t have nor will ever have a roll. It is very easy to learn to paddle and doesn’t have the tippy feeling WW kayaks have that intimidate new paddlers. It is capable of teaching the moves required of a WW kayak without the consequences. It will still flip but even then is easy to recover and keep going. Winter paddling would be cold without a dry suit and fleece. It is just great fun.

All I can think of for now.

[okieboater]

Hey Mike,

One of the guys in the Kansas Canoe Club is a long time Aire IK boater.

He went with us in Costa Rica and had zero problems on the classic runs down there.

One tip he gave me as we were chatting about IK boating was he likes to have a medium sized dry bag with what ever in it in the bow to weight it down a bit. Sez it helps him steer.

I'm thinking a two person Aire IK would be the ideal low water MFS self support craft. I put in for a mid august MFS permit thinking of doing just that in a hard shell. But as usual, I got the same ole samo rejection letter.

Glad to hear the Aire is working out ok for you.

[MStanley]

Dave

You just gave me an excellent idea.

The Aire IK is a great and well made boat. The front foot rest is really an adjustable air bag (fore and aft) so you can make it fit your leg length. The air bag is held in place by a cover that is part of the boat. I could take out the air bag and replace it with a dry bag and it would do several things:

Give me a foot rest
Provide dry storage
Put weight in the bow

Thanks a lot for the info. I feel a lot more prepared for the MFS now and I will be getting as much water time as possible before the trip.

Looking forward to seeing you this week-end.

[Karla]

What was the level Saturday? Enjoyed the pics, what kind of camera? Looks like lots of fun. Hope to paddle the Piney sometime. Whose little ones were the kids?

Karla

[Owl]

The level was 4' on the Long Pool gauge when our group got off the river about 5:00 PM on Saturday.

[MStanley]

Karla

The 1st picture is the gage so people can get an idea what it looks like at a specific water level.

The camera is an Opti 10W (Olympus I think) water proof capable of 6 Mega pixels.

[davidbob]

Whose little ones were the kids?

Karla

I belong to the one in the baseball cap (Elena). Kim Keller belongs to the little "China Doll" (Mia). Cap'n Downstream is their official raft "driver" (to quote Elena). Jim Mitchell is their official whitewater jester.

[Butch Crain]

Hey Mike Stanley - saw your comments on the Aire Force XL. Dave Reid recommended I consider an IK on another thread when I enquired about a raft and noted my nervousness in my Max.

I weigh a little less than you, just under 180 (maybe up to 185 if the beer's been kept real cold) but I'm guessing at 5'7" I'm at least 2,maybe 3 inches shorter. I found in the max I had to jam my seat way forward and tighten way up on the backband in order to get enough weight forward with my leg length.

Would you recommend the Force or it's XL brother?

[Crane]

Butch, before you commit you might want to try Pat's Strike... It's pretty much between the Force and a ducky... and, it only costs about $800... but, since it's a Chinese made Aire (Tributary) it only has a five year warranty, as opposed to ten with the Force. But, for our uses, it is pretty darned fine!!

[Butch Crain]

If you guys are going to be at Rendevous, I'd appreciate the try out.

Without a pool in the backyard, and 3 hours from Rockport, I just can't enough practice in (at my delicate age - impromptu quit working for me a few decades ago when it comes to outdoor activities) to feel proficient skirted in.

I don't mind getting wet in an open boat, just don't want to spend most of my time doing wet exits.

Thanks for the offer Larry.

[robkanraft]

Butch,
We have a couple of the Aire Tomcats, which you can buy a mint used one from Gravity Play for $399. To these we added thigh straps, which really help with the maneuvering. Because of their design, size, length and weight, etc. these Aire/Tributary (Chinese made) boats might be classified as beginner or “rec” boats. They are very comfortable to paddle, quite stable self bailing with adjustable decent back support on the seats. There is room behind the paddler for a small cooler or dry bag as well as some extra room in front. I weigh around 250# and even with some cargo can’t begin sink the boat. They also make a tandem. You will see them out west in rental fleets. They use the Aire bladder design and have three chambers, the two sides and the floor. No more than we get to use ours, they should last us the rest of our paddling days. We bought them with the idea of doing lower water day trips and light overnighters when we didn’t want to drag a raft down or tandem a canoe.

[Mike B]

Star will be donating a Yellow Jacket IK for the silent auction this year.

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