Rating: 
Summary: the best illustrated primer on river rescue that you can buy
Review: William "Not Bill" Nealy should be known to virtually every paddler through his Whitewater Home Companion series, Whitewater Tales of Terror, Kayaks to Hell, assorted river maps, and other cartoons. He has been seriously paddling kayaks for at least 12 years. On the positive side, he has an apparently serious addiction to steep creeks and flood-stage whitewater, is one hell of a cartoonist, and I seem to recall reading that he has made the move up to C-boats. Nealy produced this revolutionary book on river safety for intermediate and advanced paddlers. KAYAK The Animated Manual of Intermediate and Advanced Whitewater Technique takes up where the average text leaves off and uses a unique "time-lapse" drawing style to put everything into a unique perspective.KAYAK The Animated Manual of Intermediate and Advanced Whitewater Technique begins a bit slowly for my taste. Except for a nice discussion of Fear and Introduction to Rapid Anatomy, you could jump directly to page 19, Hydrotopography, where the meat of the book begins. I've been boating for a while and am beginning to figure out what's happening to water above and below the surface in a rapid (in paticular what it's going to do to my boat). Nealy's illustrations of kick, holes, reefs, ledges, Big Drops, and hydraulics was tremendous. He first explaines what forces are involved, then he goes on to discuss tactics for running these mothers. We've all been taught the AWA universal river signals and they're repeated in most paddling texts and guide books. Nealy goes one step farther and presents some more specialized hand signals that the probe may use to modify what y'all learned during scouting. Are these really useful? Do some creeks with people like Will and you'll find out. Swimming Self Rescue (or "swimming lessons for those who NEVER go swimming."), pages 63 through 73, presented some good illustrated advise: on using your partially swamped boat to pull through the backwash in mega-holes, to cross strong eddylines or eddy fences; on swimming complex rapids and big drops; and, on orientation in big holes. His final piece of wisedom, "Above all, don't give up!" Pages 83 through 109 deal with River Rescue and were intended as a practical supplement to Bechdel & Ray's authoratitative River Rescue. This section is great! It is more than a practical supplement, it illustrates things in a way standard text books cannot. I have never encountered a more profound description of Chase Boating than that presented in Kayak. Chase Boating is an excitying sub-sport of creeking which involves running dangerous rapids while in pursuit of or actually towing fear-crazed victims. Born in the southeast Chase Boating began as a way to atone for leaving your rescue rope in the car. Since those early days Chase Boating has evolved into a complex and beautiful ballet of catastrophe. Nealy explains the choreography of this artform and provides seldom discussed insider information such as the taxonomy of good and bad victims. Finally, The Joy of Flood (or "big water technique if you subtract the trees and debris.") is the last section on river safety. I've never read about flood stage tactics in any previous whitewater book. Should those of you reading the Eddy Line paddle flooded rivers? Nealy recommends recalling, the tired but true, "if you can't do the time, don't do the crime." He then discusses the time (trees, strainers, mega-holes, whirlpools, funny water, exploding waves, etc. etc.). So, go out and buy the book. William (not Bill) can use the money. If you don't have time to read the book you'll enjoy just looking at the cartoons. You're paddling buddies can read it on the way to the put in. It fits nicely into a drybag so you can take it for amusement during multiday trips. More than likely it'll get lost because someone borrowed it.
Rating:
Summary: help me fix my kayak
Review: YES I HAVE THE NEW COLANIA FROM PERCEPTOIN EVRY TIME I PUT IN THE WATER THE BOTTOM OF THE BOAT GETS SCRACH UP PRETTY GOOD CAN U TELL ME WHAT KIND OF MATRILE SHOULD I PUT ON IT THANK U FOR EADING THIS LETTER
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