Creeking Video from Europe

Team DragoRossi paddler Andrej Bijulkic added this video over on Playak.tv




here is the link incase the embedded player does not work for you

And, in case you have not yet noticed, Jeroen has been turning Playak into a terrific whitewater resource, with videos on Playak.tv, the main message boards and boat comparison functions on Playak.com, and the new whitewater-specific social network (MySpace/Facebook type of stuff) on Playak.net

christmas time whitewater tshirts

since I've been working with screen printing lately, I thought I'd make some tshirts for myself and some friends.






quick and dirty. one screen per image and lots of tape for masking and making racing stripes. There are more vesions than these two, but you get the idea.



this one is slightly different here where it is available in on many different color tshirts



eventually I'll clean up the digital image and make them available for everyone else here
ARTandWATER
but for now I'm still experimenting....

Wave Cycle Show invitation (Rhode Island Surfing)

click on the image to see it larger

videos from the UK

http://www.dragorossi.co.uk/DRUKDownloads.htm

this is the download page from DragoRossi UK; some fun stuff on there....

CAD using Photoshop (kayak design)

I have wanted to redesign a race boat using one of my favorite modern "river runner"; the Pintail.
After shoulder surgery I chose the Pintail for it's combination of down river speed, stability, easy rolling, and playability to ease the transition from physical therapy to boating at the best of my abilities again. I quickly fell in love with the boat and paddled it whenever I was not creeking or doing park and play missions. Long after my full recovery I was still using the Pintail for nearly 50% of my paddling.

The image on the top and the bottom of the stack is the original Pintail. All the others have been modified with Photoshop (as I'll explain below) to see how the boat can be stretched into a new model. It's quick and simple, but gives enough information for the home builder to use (instead of going through tons of uncomprehensible engineering programs)



the Pintail is 7 feet 4 inches long. So, I cropped the image exactly at the ends of the boat, then scaled the whole image to the equivalent size in pixels. Since 7'4" is 7.33 feet I just changed the width of the image (which is the length of the boat) to 7.33 inches. That was the hardest part. The fun started right after that.

I made the canvas size really long so I could make lots of copies of the Pintail stacked on itself. Then I copied the boat and pasted a bunch of them on top and bottom.

The second boat from the top was made in four steps.
1. expand the canvas width to 9 inches (to keep with the 1" = 1' scale) so that I could see what a 9 foot boat looked like
2. select the bow of the boat from the tip of the cockpit to the very tip of the bow, copy it, paste it.
3. stretch the new pasted bow part out to the edge of the new canvas size
4. repeat step 2 and 3 to the stern
that stretches the bow and stern without changing the cockpit size. If you want to just stretch the entire boat, without worrying about the cockpit area until you are done then all you need to do is copy the entire boat, paste it, then strech each end out to the sides of the canvas.

I repeated this process for 10, 11, and 11something (can't remember right now what the conversion for the scaled 350cm slalom "legal" size was)

I really like the looks of the 9 and 10 foot boats. If I have time this winter I'll glue up some foam and project the template and rocker with a slide projector (easy to get digital images made into slides and that allows you to keep the scale fairly accurate.)

currency exchange rate and whitewater issues

the Euro keeps getting stronger against the dollar, so it's become more difficult to get the nice European kayaks at good prices. I still have some left over from the last container and therefore good prices. We are working on something for next year, but will wait for another month to see what happens with the U.S. dollar compared with the Euro. Until then, the prices from what are left in the container can be seen here
click on the specials section

there is a positive benefit for the uneven exchange rate. My tshirt designs are less expensive to the Europeans.
A quick conversion on the internet says that a $21.99 US tshirt would only cost 15 Euro. Not bad.
http://www.xe.com/ucc/
www.ARTandWATER.com

DR long boat

just got some preview pictures of the new/retro boat from DragoRossi. Available this spring when the container arrives. Stay tuned for pre-order details.

remembering the Hurricane (smalls falls, Maine)

In the summer of 1996, Ted DeVoe and I were local pro paddlers for Prijon. The hot boat at the time was the Hurricane. It was a fantastic boat; high performance surfer for the time and a fair creek boat too. It was very fast.

Ted is also a very fast paddler. He was too fast on the day this photo was taken. His aggressive paddling style made him cut the corner a little too late and he broached with his bow on the center rock and his stern on the river-right bank. Looking 25ft down to the bottom of the drop he yelled "what do I do now?!?"



Mark Gibson performed a rope-assisted wade out to the center rock where he and Ted decided the best option was to just throw the bow off and hope for the best. It worked out fine and Ted ended up on a perfect line as you can see in this first picture.

Below is a photo of me running the drop that immediately follows the big one. The photo was taken by a newspaper reporter who happened to be just downstream that day. Ted is in the foreground waiting, and Dave Caruso is climbing up the rocks on the side.



Note: sorry about the poor quality. I just found these photos while cleaning out some stuff in the closet. Since I don't have a scanner I could only take a picture of the pictures.

from the factory floor (adjusting the rocker on the Huracan)

Rocker shape is an important balancing act.....

Too little and the nose of the boat plows into the water like a squirt boat. Great for tricks, but difficult for running rivers. Too much rocker and the bow stays nicely on top of the surface, but cartwheels tend to be very difficult and low-angle.



Also, too much rocker in the wrong place can make the boat push water instead of letting it slide around the hull nicely, thus making a very slow boat that is a bit unpredictable.
The trick is to make the rocker "progressive" so that the water slides under the boat smoothly without creating much pressure on the bow. A river runner should have a smooth transition and not be a butt bouncer like some freestyle boats. The idea is to have available speed and lots of predictability.



above you can see how the rocker has been adjusted in steps on the second Huracan prototype to allow a smooth transition as well as quick resurfacing.

DragoRossi Factory update (Huracan prototype #1)

Here are the first pictures from the first plastic prototype of the new boat called "Huracan". These were made in a fiberglass mold and spun in the same rotomolding oven that produces the DragoRossi kayaks.



While others are making boats for specific races, DragoRossi is making boats for those who might be frustrated with the slow spuds or the lack of performance from most "river runners".

Since Corran is the inventor of the Glide ("the boat that changed the rules") and the Hammer (the first planing hull boat that had good commercial success) he decided it was time to reinvent the 8' boat again. All the positive performance characteristics of those early models can now be achieved without the awkwardness of the boats from 1998.




a slight modification to the Performance outfitting option. The boats will come with more accessories included. Banckband. "industry standard" thigh hooks. Drainplug. And perhaps some other things, but all that is being worked our as you read this.



for those who are more curious about the process of making a boat, check out the links to Corran's blog here. It provides enough pictures and explainations that you could (if you wanted to) design your own boat in your garage.


shaping the Huracan pt 1

shaping the Huracan pt 2

shaping the Huracan pt 3

last steps and boat comparisons

LL Jefe vs. DR Critical Mass

"it looks too long" is often the comment out of people's mouth when they first see the Critical Mass. Corran's boats tend to look a bit longer than they are, often because of the deck lines.
The Critical Mass IS longer than most creek boats, but not by much. (as you can see in the photos)



it's mostly a matter of keeping the rocker profile going another 2 inches on either end to get more over all rocker, better resurfacing ability, and more reach to get over those pesky holes.



The boat has plenty of stern volume to keep from back endering and let you go power downstream. All that rocker makes it turn easily too. Many paddlers say that it "paddles small" because it's so nimble and manuverable.



thought it would make sense to show the boat up against it's counterparts within the DragoRossi line up too.







Critical Mass (left) Gangser/Idra (center) Mafia (right)

synesthetic expressive gesture

explaination and more photos

the people you meet.....

at the Gauley Festival



I had a good conversation with Wes about the DragoRossi Thruster during the Saturday festival night. He showed up the next morning and wanted to demo the boat. Here are two photos that his friend took.



The Thruster is one of the demos managed by Adam Bixby of South Carolina and Eli Smith of North Carolina; two of the fine folks at the DragoRossi Demo Centers around the country
http://www.100waves.com/demo.html



Wes was allowed to take the boat with him to a small spot in South Carolina too. It's a small spot, but sure does look like big fun!



Then I get this phone call.......... Wes is a little timid at first, but quickly sells me on the sun and fun of a tour he is going on. It's a tour for work. He is helping build some carbon hulls for jet ski competitions, headed to Florida and Texas? Hmmmm. A bit out of the ordinary for whitewater kayaks, but sure does sound like fun. "Fine," I say, "take the boat, but be sure to take some pictures too"



Here are the first two pictures of being towed. Looks like he is figuring out how to hold that edge. With the photos, Wes also asked for some fins. Seems the boat is holding a carve well, but with fins, one can only imagine.......



This is the stuff I like about kayaking. People are into all sorts of things. Want to find a fun hog? Head to any river festival and there will surely be many.

Stay tuned for more photos of this Thruster. Let's see if it learns how to rip into a turn really hard and send some spray like a water ski. Might also be good for some kiting too.

DragoRossi Thruster video

the video should be embedded, but just in case your browser needs updating, here is the address
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hKfR8AAAfA



since ARTandWATER is all out of Thrusters until winter
(don't worry, you can still order directly from the factory and have the boat shipped to your door)
I thought I'd at least put up this fun freestyle footage found on YouTube

if you want to be the boat from the factory, send an email to info@dragorossi.com
or visit the website http://www.dragorossi.net

LozerCup final results

http://www.lozercup.com

I'm too tired to be as verbose as normal. The summer was great. The race series was fantastically fun. Lots of people discovered the joy of friendly competition in this grass-roots weekend race series. The results are on the front page right now.

Things to keep in mine.....

this series was cancelled due to lack of sponsorship but brought back because of popular demand

notice how many people participated in this casual event and image what it could be like with sponsors and some real excitement.

end of season sale

just thought I'd make the announcement here, for those who have been paying attention all year, before the general public finds out.

http://www.100waves.com/specials.html

Fall is creeking season on the east coast

people are getting psyched for the steeps and we are assembling more creek boats than anything else right now. It's the end of the main selling season. Check out http://www.100Waves.com to see three cool creek boats. Remaining inventory is on sale to make room for next year's containers of boats.

Two Gangsters in the background are all wrapped up for shipping. The red Critical Mass is freshly outfitted and ready for wrapping. The green Mafia demo sits on the ground, waiting for the crew to get out of work and drive up to the put-in.

Sheepscot turns into a lefty spot

as the water drops and the wave on river-left turns into a strange pourover, the right side opens up into a funny hole. The spot likes to go lefty,which is good for me.



it was a little flushy at this level, but still good to go if you are on top of things.
Here is Ed Watson giving it a try. He is an on-again/off-again summer boater from Ohio who does pretty well (when you consider how infrequently he boats). Ed just scored a job in Burlington, VT so I suspect all of that might change. I'm waiting for the day he calls me to get a boat of his own.



Ted likes to go righty, and found that strange seam on the right a few times, but dialed the hole in nicely in just a few rides. All of that wave surfing makes him very light on his boat, so he does well in flushy spots.



another shot of me going left, burying that small Squashtail stern very deep. Good thing for all that volume behind the cockpit (which actually makes the boat more retentive than one would initially think).



the bow of the Squashtail goes down quite easily.



I must mention that Mark Gibson took all of these photos. It's fun to be in front of the camera sometimes. All too often I am the one behind the lenses. I was happy to just go to a spot and play play play.

Mark is the webmaster and main photographer for Camp Kawanhee in Weld, Maine.
http://www.kawanhee.com
He also maintains his brother's pet bird store website in New York City.
http://www.birdcamp.com

Sheepscot is a smooth wave

there was a 10' tide differential which is fun for some smooth soul surfing. Not the best for play because there is too much volume coming out (I prefer around 9 for that), but a fast wave is always fun with boats that plane out well.

Sheepscot with the DeVoe family

Sheepscot Reversing Falls starts as a nice eddy line, and slowly turns into a wave.



On this day, most of the DeVoe clan was out in boats. Here is a photo of Morgan who is learning her roll.



... and Dexter, who used to kayak alot (and actually taught me my roll) but now has kids, a job, all that sort of responsible stuff. He complains that he doesn't know how to boat any more, but seems to have no trouble surfing.



Then there is Ted. He has never stopped boating. Of course he is doing more creeking these days, and even enjoying going fast in his old-school Pirouette, but that doesn't stop him from jumping in on a surf session.