My new Shaman
 

Thanks for all the input from my previous post "Looking for that
upgrade to the oc-1 WW." As I explained in that post, I've been
running a north GA river with a few miles of good class III and a few
miles of flat water in a 16ft Old Town Appalachian. It became too
easy and too hard at the same time in that big boat. I could put the
boat where I wanted when I wanted, but it took alot of hard work to
get it there. Well, I received my Shaman and finally got to take it
to the river. Going from a very stable 16fter to a 12ft WW playboat,
I was sure I would swim often, but I was actually very surprised how
stable this boat is...not to mention how easily I maneuvered it. I
did swim once, but that was more of a bad decision than boat handling.
This run was a week ago, and it's still all I can think of. There
are various drops and slides from that run etched in my memory with
the slender shaped (and much closer to my nose) bow of the Shaman in
the foreground. I really love this boat. I guess I wouldn't mind if
it had a little more of an edge, and I'm sure it is something that I
will be able to get a better feel for. I was able to use the front
chines for boat correction on the fla****er, which was a very good
ride, but I think I expected to be able to carve a little more
sharply. But the bottom line is, I'm very satisfied with this boat
and can't wait to paddle it again. I'm planning a trip down section
III of the Chattooga in mid November. Can't wait.