The Complete Whitewater Rafter

Introduction

The First Splash; About the Author; A Little Help from My Friends; What Are You Getting Yourself Into?; How to Use This Book

1. The Evolution of Rafting: From Powell to Paddle Cats

The Fremont Expeditions

John Wesley Powell

Nathaniel Galloway

The Post-World War II Era

The Self-Bailing Generation

The Russian Influence

Looking Toward Tomorrow

2. Get Wet: Your First Rafting Adventure

Outfitters

Other Ways to Get Wet

Clubs and Organizations; Raft Rentals

3. Equipment: From Oars to Floors, Helmets to Hi-Floats

Basic Raft Anatomy

Tubes; Panels and Seams; Valves; Thwarts; Floors; Accessories; Footcups

Materials

Base Fabrics; Coatings

Design Characteristics

Length and Width; Tube Size; Symmetry; Rise; Waterline; Floors

Catarafts

Types of Catarafts; Cataraft Design; Characteristics; Rotocats and Plastic Cats

Other Types of Rafts

North American Rafts; Plohts

Purchasing a Raft

Traditional Rafts; Catarafts; Used Rafts

Frames

Traditional Raft Frames; Selecting a Frame; Other Considerations; Cataraft Frames; Cooler Frames

Oars

Oar Construction; Selecting Oars; Oar Length; Setting Up Oars; Pins and Clips; Oarlocks; Fine Tuning

Paddles

Essential Riverwear

Clothing; Lifejackets; Helmets

Saddle Up: Assembling Your Gear and Crew

Inflating Your Raft

Pumps; Inflating the Raft

Rigging the Frame

Loading Accessories

Spare Oars; Spare Paddles; Bowlines; Handlines; Bail Buckets; Additional Gear

Passengers in Oar Rafts

Nonpaddlers; Paddle Assists/

Paddle Teams

A Solid Foundation; Seating Arrangements; Varying the Size of the Paddle Team

5. River Morphology: The Dynamics of Running Water

A Look Beneath the Surface

Water Mechanics; Laminar Flows; Turbulent Flows; Chaos; Helical Currents; Meanders

River Characteristics

Volume; Gradient

Surface Features

Tongues; Upstream Vs; Standing Waves; Diagonal Waves; Haystacks; Breaking Waves and Stoppers; Pillows; Undercuts; Rooster Tails; Boils; Holes; Lowhead Dams and Weirs; Waterfalls; Eddies

The Big Picture

The Rating Game

The AWA River-Rating Scale; Fine-Tuning the Scale

6. Propulsion Basics: Different Strokes for Different Boats

Oar Strokes

Backrowing; Portegee; Turning; Shipping; Rowing Sweep Boats and Plohts

Paddle Strokes

Get a Grip; Three Types of Paddle Strokes; Basic Power Strokes; Advanced Power Strokes; Turning Strokes; Bracing

7. Paddle Captaining: The Art of Whitewater Choreography

The Pretrip Lecture

Seating the Captain and Crew

The Captain's Chair; Seating the Crew

Guiding Strokes

The Strokes; Experience Is the Key

Paddle Commands

Basic Commands; Advanced Commands; Fine-Tuning; Handling Lag Time; Handling Overstroking; Your Voice; The Seasoned Team

8. Whitewater: Running the Rapids

Five Types of Maneuvers

River Directions

Staying Parallel with the Current

Ferrying

History; Oar Rafts; Paddle Rafts; Apparent Versus Real Course; Ferrying Around Bends

Turns and Pivots

Sideslips

Eddy Maneuvers

Putting on the Brakes; Entering Eddies; Staying in Eddies; Exiting Eddies; Capsizing Forces

Heading Downriver

Reading Rivers; The Two Cs

The SAFE System

Scout; Analyze; Formulate; Execute

The Added Edge

Bailing; Highsiding; Digging; Lowering Your Center of Gravity; Beaching

Honing Your S

This is the manual endorsed by professional guides, instructors, and recreational river runners everywhere. With comprehensive step-by-step coverage starting with the first run, it includes tips from top guides, outfitters, and instructors, plus the most complete guide to Class V rafting techniques ever assembled. This is the completely revised and updated successor to Bennett's best-selling manual, Rafting!.