riverman wrote:

As a result, the very foundations of the east vs. west rating system is
different. The boats, the culture surrounding the boats, the 'genetic
resonance' of the boaters, and the entire outlook on the style of water is
different.

Is that what you meant?

Bingo! :-)

From what I've paddled in Europe, and (mostly the eastern part of) the
U.S., I got the impression that western U.S. rivers are more like what
we have over here. Sure, there are pool and drop as well as more
continuous rivers here, and there definately is a big difference in
volume between the multitude of rivers and creeks here.

In general, I found the rating of the rivers I ran in the east to be
quite different from those I ran in Europe. From the experiences of
those Eastern U.S. paddlers that I've taken on trips in Europe, I got
the impression that they weren't so used to the more continuous nature
of the creeks and rivers I took them on. They tended to rate those
European creeks/rivers higher than I would, I assume that had to do with
the more continuous nature of those streams.

--
Wilko van den Bergh
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.
http://wilko.webzone.ru/