HI Larry,

After my little hike-a-roo, I've been thinking about getting three hike-out
kits with belts/beltpack features to distribute to my homeboys at the
put-in. That way there's no issue who wins/loses at the Class V rodeo.

I've also thought about quitting Class V altogether. Not to sound like a
snob, but most Eastern "standard" Class V (Watauga, Upper Yough, etc.) isn't
really in the same league as some of the Western stuff-- the main difference
being not so much in the difficulty of the individual drops, but in the
consequences of a swim in truly continuous whitewater.

I'm 41, got two kids. I gots to stay alive!

I've also done a heckuva lot of research on big boy boats. The two I've
fingered are the Dagger Nomad and the Robson Charger. They're definitely
way better for me than a Big Gun. The ethical question is considering all
the other things I do, and my slowly advancing age and lack of commitment to
those 45-day-a-year years, should I be jumping on relatively hard runs at
all?

I'm also looking at the Pyranha s6f, and wondering if I should buy one, beat
myself senseless on the local play wave, and hang up those Class V spurs. I
earned my Macho Merit Badge a long time ago, and while I'm in great cardio
shape, I'm no natural athlete. I'm lucky if I can chew gum and walk at the
same time. And I can always paddle my Tornado on any run that I actually
belong on that's a little difficult.

But as far as that ducky thing, well... I dunno!

Best,

Chuck

in article , Larry Cable at
ospam wrote on 6/9/04 5:58 PM:

Good luck on the search of a new boat. You could join Bill and I over on the
dark side and start paddling a duckie:^).