MAY 13, 2009

The BWA had several members representing it’s interests in the continuing effort to secure more reliable man-aged releases for the Russell Fork River. Myself, Jason Foley and Steve Ruth along with other former (maybe current?)BWA members, James Stapleton and Gerald Delong attended a meeting called by the Army Corp of Engineers’ JimSchray, to discuss the issue. Itself a signal that the Army Corp was aware of the issue of releases, we considered this agood sign after many frustrating years of attempting to coordinate managed releases.

Some of you will recall that last summer the Army Corp released around 200 cfs to assist, on two different occa-sions, a swift water rescue clinic, one organized by the BWA (Jason Foley, Larry Cable, et al). A few years back, HalRogers arranged to have nearly 800 cfs released through the gorge for a publicity opportunity. We had releases first pro-

BWBWAA Reps Meet with Reps Meet with Corp of Engineers aboutCorp of Engineers about

Managed Releases on Managed Releases on Russell Fork RiverRussell Fork River

Rich Ready

Brent Austin

Brent Austin on a fall run of The Russell Fork of the Big Sandy at El Herrendo.

Newsletter of The Bluegrass Wildwater Association May/June 2009

In this issue: BWA Reps Meet With COE on Russell Fork ReleasesNOC to Open Store in GatlinburgRiver Rescue: A Book ReviewWhy A C-Boat for Me?In Defense of the C-1Elkhorn Dam RemovalKayak Accessory RackOff the Cuff

Changes!

New Web URL:www.surfky-bwa.org

New Meeting Location:Mi Mexico

Continued on pg. 3

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Bowlines is the Newsletter of the Bluegrass Wildwater Association, POB 4231, Lexington Ky, 40504

Club Officers 2008-2009

Join in on the Fun! Join the BWA! BWAMembership $20/individual; $25/Family year entitles you to receive the newsletter,10% discounts at many local and out of state outfitter shops, use of club equipment, discount at pool rolling sessions, a listing in the BWAHandbook, a stream gauge guide, and web site with a listserve for member’s messages.

Meetings are held at 7:30, the second Tuesday of each month at location announced on our website: http://www.surfky-bwa.org

Submission of newsletter articles can be on CD (Mac or PC) ortyped. Pictures can be digital or ready to be scanned. Please includestamped envelope for return. Preferred method: Files can also be e-mailedto: DonSpang@aol.com

President Hanley Loller 859-806-9843Vice-President Allen Kirkwood 859-351-3823Treasurer Fred Coates 859-223-7200Secretary Chris Schardl 859-277-5944Safety Dale Perry 615-397-4675Program Lloyd FunkHouser 502-545-2201Newsletter Don Spangler 859-277-7314Cyber Communications Russell Hampton 859-218-5669Conservation David Ledgeman 859-879-0335Film Festival Coordinator Todd Garland 502-320-4077Russell Fork River Festival Coordinator Steve Ruth 606-754-4348Equipment Coordinator George Meade 859-948-6613At-Large Membesr: Brandon Jett 970-778-1002

Clay Warren 859-326-0602Membership Coordinator John Mello 859-552-0648Wildwater Cats Rep. Past President Brent Austin 859-278-2011

Coming Programs for BWAMeetings

June: "FOSSIL HUNTING"Dan Phelps is currently the president of the KentuckySection of the American Institute of ProfessionalGeologists and founder and president of the KentuckyPaleontological Society. He will give a presentationexplaining where to look for fossils while on the river.

Also: Officer Election in Jume Meeting, be there & Vote!

Help the new paddlers afterthe clinic!

Volunteer to lead and organize aSummer Novice Trip.

Contact Hanley Loller: hanley@hanleyanddenile.net

Allen Kirkwood: Kirkwoodea@yahoo.com

Looking Ahead

NOC's Great Outpost, an 18,000-square-foot experiential retail environment and activity center is slated fordowntown Gatlinburg, Tennessee at the entrace to the Great Sokies Park. Opening this September, NOC'splans for it to be a “gateway to adventure” for visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, offeringguided rafting trips on the Pigeon and Nantahala rivers, guided hikes in the Park, fly-fishing, SOLOWilderness Medicine courses, mountain biking and river and lake kayaking.

Editors Comment: The NOC seems to be doing what they may need to do to grow their business. However, I still havea hard time believeing that you can buy everything from sushi to expensive domestic and imported beers at the takeoutto the Nantahala. Paddling is certainly not the simple and humble “get in touch with nature & the river” sport it was fordecades. What could be next? Whitewater Parks...oopps they already have those!

NOC to open “Great Outpost” flagship store inGatlinburg, TN

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vided in the early 1980s thanks to BWA friends like DaleAdams, who secured fall releases of 1350 cfs. This contin-ued until early in the 90-91 range when the current releasesof 800 and the fourth weekend with 1100 were established.Some kinda study was relied upon for that and the fisher-men figured large in getting the releases cut back to 800from the higher levels.

Steve Ruth and I approached this meeting withseveral discussions with AW staff, Mark Singleton andKevin Colburn as well as Gene Counts of Friends of theRussell Fork. Gene, like Steve Ruth, has done a tremen-dous amount of effort on releases with his organization.(He was very pleased, btw, with the $500 donation to hisorganization by the Vikings which went a long way for theirefforts). Steve and Gene both had spent considerable timeand effort in the past years and decade on the releaseissue with some effort being made to assess summertimereleases. These releases, due to warm water fish speciesconcerns, must be kept low, but also would provide a bene-fit to the exotic species such as trout that must be stockedeach year after dying off in warm water in the late summerand early fall. Even the trout fishermen seem supportive ofthose type of releases.

AW’s Kevin Colburn and Mark Singleton suggestedthat we approach the meeting with the Army Corp, makingclear that we were communicating on behalf of AW as wellour respective groups/organizations, and suggesting a moreglobal approach to managing the resources of the river thanjust the summer releases. Since Fall draw down wasalready occurring in the late Fall, and generally water wasreleased for the following month anyway, one season toconsider would be to extend the fall release schedule intoNovember and then manage the remaining draw downsconsistently in the 800 cfs range (or 400 cfs - whatever)until winter pool was reached. The second season to envi-sion in the management of the resource is the Winter andSpring when there is generally plenty of water and the ArmyCorp is frequently dumping quantities of water at night andcontinuously without regard to paddling interests.Sometimes the management might require cutting backreleased flows to achieve targets because of so muchwater, only to release more at night. Then there is a thirdseason to consider which is the summer and the low flowsneeded (200 cfs), discussed above.

However, the Army Corp explained that they couldnot manage water for paddling interests like that becausethey had multiple interests that they were required to con-sider. Water quality is one, recreational interests (above thelake only) is another, and fish and wildlife is another. Theygave us the 200 cfs last year out of their "public interest"purpose. Beyond the fall releases, they will not managewater for paddling interests downstream of the dam without

a study. The proposed study will cost approximately$250,000. Additionally, they need some authority con-gressionally or in law that permits/requires them to providemanaged releases for whitewater activities.

The meeting left me feeling unsatisfied with theanswers to questions I had about why they could not sim-ply manage the resources we have currently to simplyaccommodate recreation below the dam. I simply do notunderstand why they cannot give us 800 cfs in the daytime, tell us about it a day or two in advance or what haveyou, rather than just dump water the night before or after. Imean, who cares? The fish are getting hammered at nightjust as much as the day time when we could paddle. Thewater quality is affected the same whether the release is atnight or at noon the next day. The recreation above thelake is affected just as much or little by releases that arescheduled as they are by unscheduled releases when noone is aware. But, these questions seemed to annoy theArmy Corp crowd and produced mere "this is just the way itis and what we have to have" type responses. Then theyall smiled, laughed and slapped backs and told us that if wecould get $250,000 and some congressional support, weshould be golden. No duh!

I was disappointed, but Steve and Gene both com-forted me by telling me that they quit beating their headsover the failure to address science and/or logic years agoand indicated some optimism that support could beobtained from both Kentucky and Virginia for the funding ofthe study. They are "on it". But, they need everyone tocontact our legislators for help. On the Kentucky side,essentially, we need to write a letter that indicates what theissue is and how simple resource management could leadto ecotourism that has proven itself in areas such asBryson City, NC and Fayetteville, WV. We need ourCongessmen and Senators to essentially tell the ArmyCorp to consider "recreation downstream of the dam" aswell as the recreation above the dam on the lake in themanagement of this resource. Hope to see all of you on the river,

Brent Austin

Here is where to write:

Hon. Hal Rogers2406 Rayburn HOBWashington, DC 20515

202-225-4601 -- phone202-225-0940 – fax

Hon. Ben Chandler1504 Longworth HOB Washington,D.C. 20515

Phone: (202)-225-4706Fax: (202)-225-2122

Hon Mitch McConnell361-A Russell Senate OfficeBuildingWashington, DC 20510

Phone: (202) 224-2541Fax: (202) 224-2499

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One answer to how to take care of yourself(and others) while paddling whitewater.

Summer is knocking at the door with warmer weather.Newbies have taken the BWA spring clinic and alreadyhave ventured forth on some streams to try out theirnew skills. The threat of hypothermia and strainers onspring rain swollen creeks is fading and most in thepaddling community are focused on having fun on theriver. It is the “sweet time” when you can enjoy the

freedom of water splashing on you in the warm sun without the confines of cold weather gearto inhibit your paddling. Paddling is more comfortable, so you are willing to become moreadventurous. Many of the newer paddlers want to try new runs and start forming paddling coi-teries of their own.

All in all, that is good, the more you paddle, the better paddler you become and the more funyou will have. Yet, there is something that you may not be thought of: the more you paddleand try new things the more likely that you will find yourself in a situation that a rescue will beneeded. In most cases the skills needed to perform that rescue may be simple or basic, butnewer paddlers should be developing an understanding of rescue techniques, skills and equip-

River Rescue River Rescue Don SpanglerDon Spangler

AA Book ReviewBook Review

ment as they develop thier paddling abilities.Yes, there is generally an experienced groupleader on a paddling trip, but that leader willoften have to rely on others to be part of therescue effort. Those persons may include anypaddler on the trip, including a newbie. So,how prepared are you to be a rescuer? Toomany paddlers lack the knowledge to be ofmuch help in a serious rescue. A rescue classat the NOC or Madawaska would be a goodidea, but that may end up taking a week andseveral hundred dollars, both things that maybe in short supply. A video is useful, butvideos are limited in scope. Perhaps the bestsolution for many is a good book on river res-cue. One of the best one out there it SlimRay’s and Les Bechdel’s “River Rescue, AManual for Whitewater Safety”. Kent Ford,honorary BWA member, describes it as “animportant shortcut to learning what you need toknow”, (he still advocates watching a video,taking a class, etc., but most of all “beingproactive”).

Slim Ray and Les Bechdel both worked at theNOC in it’s early days and created many of therescue techniques and programs which are stillused nowadays. By the mid-eighties Slim hadbecome internationally know for his expertisein river rescue. It during that period that theypublished the first edition of this book (the cur-rent edition which was just published is thefourth edition). In 1991 Slim Ray found himselfon the other side of a rescue after a pinningaccident at Sunshine on the Green in NorthCarolina which permanently injured his back.Slim has continued his relationship with pad-dling and is recognized as a leading expert inriver rescue and works with paddling groups aswell as expert rescue organizations as well asa consultant in river safety. Les Bechdel hasrepresented the US in five world champi-onships, was national slalom champion 4times, and now Les and his wife Susan ownand run Canyon, Inc.Outfitters in McCall Idaho.

River Rescue is well written, organized andhas plenty of photos. This edition explains newand old simple techniques that are within theability of most paddlers to use. No matter whatlevel a whitewater paddler you are, you willfind information that is useful and easy for you

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to understand and use.The early chapters inparticular are must reads for paddlers newer tothe sport. “River Sense, Equipment, Self-Rescue, Rescue on the Run and Basic RopeRescue” are full of essential information foranyone that is early in their paddling career. Asyou study these chapters you will discoveranother important reason why this books is souseful and understandable: the illustrations.

What makes this manual stand out is the num-ber and the quality of the illustrations. Goodillustrations can show and explain manythings to us that words, good as they are, maystruggle to communicate. It is no accident thatthis books has the best illustrations, they aredone by the BWA’s own Jan Atlee. Jan, still alocal artist, is best know for all the artwork shehas done for the BWA. This artwork for theBWA was from the wave logo we still use, toart for the National Paddling Film Festival andother seminars and events, to cartoons and artfor the Bowlines. But Jan was more than anartist who was asked to do illustrations for thisbook, she was an active C-1, OC-1 and kayakpaddler. She saw and experienced first handmany of the things she illustrated. It is no won-der that she was the best illustrator out therefor a River Rescue book. This gave her valu-able insight on how and what to show in herillustrations.

Jan AtLee’s illustrations in River Rescue clari-fies details and gives the reader an overviewof rivers hazards, equipment use and rescuetechniques that is indispensible. This is partic-ularly true in the chapters that cover the morecomplex rescues: Wading, Swimming, andContact Rescues, Tether Boat Rescues andTelfer Lowers, Entrapments and Extractions,Boat Recovery, Vertical Rescue, Organizationfor Rescue and Patient Care and EvacuationTechniques.This along with more and newphotos and first hand accounts of rescues andupdates and expansion especially on big-waterrescue make this a book for any paddler toown read and review on a regular basis.

The authors encourage further education,especially a hands on course, to complementtheir book. But there is much in this book thatcan be gleaned and be useful to even a

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novice with minimal practice. Two chapters inparticular, Self Rescue and Basic RopeRescue, would be immediately useful to some-one new to the sport. Reading these chaptersand doing some practice rope throwing wouldgive encouragement for these paddlers toalways carry a throw rope and a couple ofcaribiners in their boats. Apaddler never knows whenthe rescue attempt isdependent on them and mostrescues tend to be simpleenough that having a ropeand knowing how to use itwill make the difference.

Slim and Les make this pointabout paddlers and safety intheir introduction to this edi-tion of River Runner:

Some of this can be attrib-uted to improvement inboats, gear, and overall pad-dler education, but a greatdeal for this improvementhad come about because ofthose involved in this book.“River Rescue” should be apart of every paddlers library.Let’s keep improving oursafety skill and knowledgeand to start you might con-sider buying this book andlearning from it!

Don Spangler

Over one hundredillustrations by JanAtlee along withsome 140 photos in“River Rescue”make it easy for thereader to grasp thewealth of informationin the book.

To order River Rescue as well as other river safety books from Slim Ray go to:http://www.cfspress.com/index.html

Paddle sports havealways had their dangers,but the good new is thatin spite of the increasednumber of people on theriver, fatalities haveremained fairly steady---the number lost in in1995 and 2005 was thesame.

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Over Nachos at the last club meeting, Don asked meif I would contribute a few paragraphs to Bowlinesabout why I’d decided to try paddling C1. Perhapscarried away a bit by the moment, I said yes, andthen sort of put the idea on the back burner.

A gentle reminder from Don, and here I now sit,struggling to verbalize something I’m not entirely sureI understand myself.

A very basic explanation is that I thought it would befun. (And, so far, it has been). This is accurate butleaves a great deal unsaid. And, as those who haveheard me talk will attest, leaving unsaid is not some-thing I’m known for. Also, it really doesn’t do justice tothe appeal of the C-boat.

I don’t know exactly why anyone else paddles white-water, I probably don’t understand all of my own rea-sons. I assume we all take pleasure from it, else whywould we be out there.

The camaraderie of good times shared with goodpeople, the beauty of being in nature, the kinestheticthrill of the ride, the challenge of developing the skillsto more fully enjoy the river. I suspect that all ofthese things, to a greater or lesser degree are a partof what brings each of us to the water. But these

things are common to all whitewater boats, none ofthem are exclusive to the C1. This brings us back tothe original question, why the C1?

Those of you who have paddled with me know it’s notthat kayaking lacks challenges for me. In terms ofskills, I have plenty (and I do mean plenty) of roomfor development. I don’t need the additional thrill ofthe non-existent off-side brace to enhance my adren-aline experience. I’m not trying to make things harder

At its root, I think my desire to try C-boating comesdown to a certain personal aesthetic. And/or theshape of my mid-life crisis involves a skirt and a T-grip.

The C1 rewards good technique in a very direct way.Good technique is important and rewarding in akayak as well, I’m not trying to say that it isn’t. Everytime I manage to do something half-way close to rightin either boat puts a big smile on my face. But thereis just something about the way the canoe respondsthat I find satisfying.

From a purely analytical perspective I could theorizethat the kneeling position affords more torso rotationand provides more height above the water than akayak. That the T handle position encourages a more

Why a C-Boat For Me?Why a C-Boat For Me?Robert Milgate

Continued on pg. 8

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vertical paddle shaft position and easier blade anglecontrol than the double blade. That these combine tomake committing to a stroke like a hanging bow drawmore exciting than in a kayak. But this isn’t aboutanalysis; this is about something almost sub-con-scious (and, on the evidence so far sub-verbal).

by Charlie Walbridge

Charlie Walbridge is six feet, eight inches ofopinionated paddling sinew. You name it in theEast, and he's paddled it. He is also livingproof that it's the boater not the boat, and thata C-1 can go anywhere a K 1 can. Charlielives in eastern Pennsylvania from where heruns his boating accessory business, WildWater Designs and acts as ACA's NationalSafety Chairman. Recently during a boat build-ing session, Charlie declared that C-1 superi-ority needed a published defense. This editor

In Defense of the C-1In Defense of the C-1saw his point the instant he releasedmy lapels. So to all who have evercriticized the noble decked canoe, Isuggest you listen and take heed. Letme introduce myself. I'm a C-1 pad-dler.

That's right, turkey, I kneel in one ofthose pregnant kayaks and paddle itlike a canoe. I won't be caught pray-ing to the Good Lord on my youknow-what. Is it comfortable? Funnyyou should ask. Is any decked boatcomfortable? Listen, I've tried kayaks.They give me a pain in the low back.The very low back, if you get mymeaning. You're not a kayakist, areyou? Most of the people I know whopaddle kayaks are mental defectives -they don't know which end of thepaddle to use! Why, if you go down toCentral Pennsylvania, there are someplaces where they haven't even heardof kayaks except as a boat for kids tofool around in until they grow out ofit. Oh yeah, kayaks exist. Around thebig cities, mostly, and on the Youghin August when sensible paddlers are

catching up on their reading and waiting forthe fall rains.

What? You don't understand why people use asingle-bladed paddle and switch? Buddy, youmissed the point! Nobody understandscanoeists. I’ve never had a girlfriend whounderstood canoeists, that’s why I’m not mar-ried.

Yeah, I know that all the instruction booksignore C-1’s. Probably because the author

For me, I suppose it comes down to this. In mychoice of things to do for pleasure I enjoy a certainsimplicity. I like sailboats without motors. I like bicy-cles without freewheels. I like motorcycles withoutelectric starters. And, apparently, I like paddles withone blade.

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wasn't tough enough to try one. No seriously,most of us learn by getting out on the waterand working out an understanding with ourboats over several years. But open boat pad-dling helps. I tried a kayak once - just didn'tfeet right sitting on the water, If God hadmeant men to sit on the water, he would havedesigned a comfortable Kayak seal mold. Atleast after paddling a canoe. your knees hurtso much you don't have, to worry about yourback, Ah, but a canoe fits me right. I weighover 180 pounds. I need a shoehorn and ahacksaw to get into a medium volume kayak,but I can fit into the smallest hotshot C-l's eas-ily. And those little C- boats are great forwomen and kids. They're not much bigger thankayaks, and they do turn fast, Don't give meany of that male chauvinistic piggery aboutwomen not being able to paddle C-1. Thatstory comes only from people when they'vehad a hard day and they've just quit. I knowone girl who weighs only 110 pounds and mag-nificently paddles a full size C-1. She's cute,too, but that's another story.

Hey, I'll tell you, a kayak is the wettest, coldestboat in the world. You go right through waves.Water in the face, the whole bit. A C-1 is big-ger and it rides up and over waves. You getsplashed in the face by a wave in a C-1,buddy, you're in some heavy stuff. Andbecause you sit higher in a C-1, you see bet-ter, too. You ought to see the kayaks drop backat the top of a steep drop so's the C-boats canlead the way!

And you won't believe this, but a C-1 turnsfaster than a kayak. Something about a highercenter of gravity and improved leverage onsweep strokes. It's true, you don't have abrace on one side, but a low C-1 brace isstronger than two kayak braces. It you keepyour paddle side downstream, you'll do fine.After a while, you'll learn to crossbrace on across draw. It really works! (Mean Dean fromDuquesne even will drop into Double Hydraulicon his off- side..... of course that dude works inthe steel mills and has shoulders like youwouldn't believe! You wouldn't catch me tryingthat! Yeah, I know, there's nothing slower thana C-1 against the wind. So what if it's a hardboat to learn to paddle. People don't paddlerivers because they're easy, you know, they do

it for the challenge. Rolling isn't any harderthan a kayak. There are more strokes to learn,but they're not impossible.

The hardest thing is learning to work up speed- getting the boat to track, if you will. That'swhat makes people think its strength and notskill. Don't get me wrong; strength helps. Butits surprising what a little coaching will do.

I was lucky enough to live in CentralPennsylvania for a while, the home of PennState, John Sweet, and Norse Paddles, so Igot a lot of coaching. But most people aren'tso lucky. They have to shell out some breadfor a clinic or beat out an understanding withtheir boat over a few miles (make that a fewyears) of paddling. Most of them see thekayakists learning faster and give up and buyone of those funny boats. I have one myself. Iguess I'll use it when I retire: you know, get tooold to paddle C-1. Except I'll never get used tohaving my feet under the deck. Makes menervous. Now with a C-1, if you fit it out prop-erly, you'll have to work like the dickens to gettrapped. Fact is, the biggest problem is stayingin the boat long enough to roll. So do like themonkeys do and hang it there. You'll be O.K

Hey look, gotta go. They're dumping waterinto the Gauley and it's ten hours of freewaysand mountains to get there. But take myadvice. Sell your kayak and get Yourself a C-1.Visit John Burry in Riparius, N Y. or tryPerception in Liberty, N.C. They have a goodselection, or find a good used pig that you canbeat up, Then maybe the next lime I run a riverwith Fearless Fred, the King of Hair, arid Attilathe Hahn you'll be able to come along too. Justdon't get discouraged. Remember, kayaks atea dime a dozen, but a C-1 is forever.

SEE YOU ON A RIVER''.'.

Reprinted from Bowlines March/April 1998which reprented it from a AWAJournal of manyyears ago.http://www.surfkybwa.org/bowlines/BLMarch_Apr98.pdf

More C-1 Infohttp://www.cboats.net/

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Dear Mr. Morehead,

My name is Barry Grimes and I am writing onbehalf of the Bluegrass Wildwater Association(BWA), a central Kentucky river conservation /whitewater organization based in Lexington. Ourorganization has become alarmed over anothernear drowning in the dam on the Elkhorn Creek.We are contacting you out of a concern for publicsafety and to re-initiate the dialogue our groupbegan in January 2007 with Plant Safety ManagerJim Trusley about the removal of the dam JimBeam owns on the Elkhorn.

I'm a frequent paddler of Elkhorn Creek, a pastpresident of the BWA and have served as a boardmember of the national river organization,American Whitewater (AW). I also volunteer as theAW StreamTeam member responsible for main-taining the paddling information about the Elkhorn.This information is publicly available online inAW's National River Database. Last Monday,4/20/09, two reports were posted to the ElkhornCreek web page on AW's website about the neardrowning that occurred a few days earlier at thedam on the Elkhorn and one included a harrowingeyewitness account of the incident. You can readthe report here (please click on the "comment's"tab to view):

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_661_

This mishap was only the most recent to occur inthe dangerous, "drowning machine" hydraulic cre-ated by the Elkhorn dam. Over the years the damhas been the cause of numerous deaths andremains a constant safety hazard to the thousandsof paddlers who boat Elkhorn Creek, one of themost popular recreational streams in Kentucky and

the eastern US. The members of the BWA paddlethe Elkhorn year round and remain committed tothe idea that the removal of the dam will not onlysave lives but also restore the ecology of theElkhorn.

We're also convinced that there's a way to do thisat little or no cost to Jim Beam. The restoration ofthe natural stream environment would qualify thedam removal project to receive federal compen-satory mitigation funding which is raised via devel-opment impacts to the natural environment asmandated under Section 404 of the Clean WaterAct and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act:

http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/pdf/inlieufee.pdf

In my previous conversations with Mr. Trusley, hemade clear that Jim Beam understands the dan-ger the dam represents. However, he related thatthe company was reluctant to remove the damand lose the water in the pool which he said iscurrently used for fire suppression at the facility.Yet taking down the dam does not mean a loss offire suppression. Our group has talked to repre-sentatives with the KY Dept. of Fish and Wildlifewho believe it's possible that not only would stateand federal mitigation funding be available to paythe expenses involved in taking down the dam -but also pay to set up an alternative water sourcefor fire suppression to compensate Jim Beam forthe loss of the pool behind the dam.

With the donation of land to establish the JimBeam Nature Preserve, Jim Beam Brands gainedrespect for having a strong commitment to theriver environment Here's an opportunity for JimBean to not only do more to help conserve riversbut make a stronger and even more importantcommitment to public safety. I hope you and yourcompany will agree with us that everyone benefitsif the dam is taken down and will pledge to workwith the BWA and all the stakeholders involved tohelp make Elkhorn Creek safer and greener.

Thanks for your time. We're looking forward toyour reply.

Barry Grimesphone: 859-229-2192

Elkhorn Dam Removal: Safety and Environmental Concerns

Read over a decade of past issues of the Award Winning Bowlines at: http://www.surfky-bwa.org/html/bowlines_arcN.html

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If you are like me, you have kayak accessories laying around all over the place. My paddles tend to end uppropped up in a corner. My PFD, helmet, and spray skirt end up laying over whatever is in my garage that is handy;sometimes on a cooler, or a 5 gallon bucket, but eventually they seem to always end up on the floor. I could havepurchased a paddle rack or some other commercially available products, but I decided to take advantage of one ofmy other expensive hobbies, woodworking, to create my own storage rack.

Before getting too far, I realize there may be wildly different skill levels among the readers, with varying amounts oftools at their disposal (owned or borrowed). I have a pretty complete wood shop and have written up the instruc-tions as if you do too, but have suggested alternative designs and methods to create a functional rack if you do not.

Just as in whitewater canoeing or kayaking, safety comes first when woodworking. Although I'd consider this proj-ect the equivalent of a Class I+ rapid, you still need to understand and use power tools according to manufacturerdirections including always wearing safety glasses, not wearing loose fitting clothing or gloves, and removing alljewelry before using power tools. Use hearing protection when using the louder equipment.

There are only two main parts to this project, a plaque that you mount to a wall, and two support arms that attach tothe plaque onto which to lay your paddles. I used sliding dovetails to attach the support arms to the plaque mainlyto hide the screws that attach the plaque to the wall. I also placed the dovetail slots 32" apart so that I could screwthe plaque into the wall studs on a 16" on center stud wall. Masonry walls or non-standard stud walls will requireadditional mounting hardware.

Several other small parts are attached to the plaque onto which hang other kayaking accessories. I used wooddowels for mine, but you could use commercially available coat/hat or clothes hooks as well. I've even seen drawerhandles with frogs or starfish on them that could be used. They, however, get a little pricey.For this project, I used white oak left over from a previous project and a red oak dowel. Mainly because my garagehas stained red oak wood trim. You could use any type of wood like poplar or pine instead, especially if you want topaint the final project. .

KayakAccessory Rack

Don Perkins

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Make the plaque1. Rough cut the plaque from the 1"x8" material, 38" long. Refer to Illustration 1 for the following steps.

2. Set up and cut the 51/2" long stoppeddovetail slots, cen-tered 3" in from eachside. I used a router,a Leigh dovetail jig,and the Leigh #120-8dovetail bit includedwith the jig and fol-lowed the instruc-tions to set up for andcut these slots. Youcould use a tablemounted router toaccomplish this aswell. The dovetails Icreated are about 5/16" deep. I would not use a hand-held router by itself to cut these dovetails for both safety andaccuracy reasons. If you don't have the equipment to cut the sliding dovetails, see the Alternatives section for anotherway to attach the supports to the plaque.

3. With a router and a chamfering bit, cut a 1/4" chamfer on the front facing edges of the plaque. You could alternatelycut a chamfer with a wood plane, cut a round-over or just sand a round-over instead.

4. Drill the 4 mounting holes inside the dovetail slots. Use a drill bit that is approximately the same size as your mountingscrews. Countersink for the screw head so it does not interfere with the installation of the bracket dovetails. Be care-ful not to damage the dovetail slot when countersinking

.Make supports

1. Rough cut two support arms from the 1"x8" material, each about 8 1/2" long (longer if dovetail is deeper than 5/16").Refer to Illustration 2 for the following steps.

2. Cut the matching sliding dovetails on one edge of the support arms across the grain. Use scrap wood first to check fit.

3. Clamp the two arms together side by side alongthe 8 1/2" edge and cut the 2 - 1 1/4" holes forthe paddle shafts in each piece at the same time.I recommend using a Forstner bit, but a hole sawwould work. Measure your paddle shafts. Youmay need a slightly larger 1 1/2" hole to accom-modate them.

4. Temporarily attach the two support arms together,face-to-face, with thin double-sided tape (I used1" wide, thin carpet tape). Make sure the dovetailand paddle shaft hole edges are aligned togetherperfectly.

Materials• 5 foot long piece of 1"x8" wood (this is the rough lumber size, finished lumber will be more like 3/4"x7 1/2")• 5/8" dowel (or whatever type of hangers you want to use)Supplies• Double-sided carpet tape• Router bits: Dovetail bit, 45 degree chamfering bit, 1/4" round-over bit• Drill bits: 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" Forstner bit or hole saw, 5/8" Forstner or brad point bit, spiral bit sized to match the drywall

screws, small countersinking bit• Primer and paint, or stain and polyurethane to finish• Drywall screws to mount

Illustration 2: Supportarm layout

Illustration 2: Support arm layout

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5. Use Illustration 3 to create a paper template. Use a French curve to smooth out the curve on the bottom of the arm.Transfer the complex curve to one face of the wood, aligning the top and left edge of the template to the top and leftedge of the support arms. Using a band saw, cut slightly outside the line of the curve on the template to cut bothpieces at once. You could also use a scroll sawor jig saw.

6. With the arms still stuck together, use a drumsander (oscillating drum sander, or drill press ordrill mounted drum sander) to smooth the cutdown to the line. Sand the paddle holes, ifneeded.

7. Pry parts apart and remove the double-sticktape.8. Remove the bottom 1/2" of the dovetail on eacharm with a band saw, scroll saw, or jig saw.

9. Slide arms onto plaque to check fit. You shouldnot have to force the arms onto the plaque.

Make and add hangers1. Cut 4 or 5 (or however many hangers you want) pieces of dowel 2 1/2" long. Round over one edge on a stationary

disc sander or belt sander.

2. Lay out where you want to attach the hangers to the plaque.

3. Tilt the drill press table 30 degrees, or make a jig that can hold the plaque at a 30 degree angle.

4. Drill a 5/8" hole at each layout point. Drill almost, but not quite, through the plaque.

5. Insert the rounded over dowels into the holes. Glue should not be necessary to hold them in place.

Finish1. Sand all sides of the pieces that will show, starting with 100 grit sandpaper to remove all tool marks. Remove dust.

Continue with 150 grit. Stop if painting. Continue with 220 grit if staining. Remove all dust with a tack cloth or wipedown with mineral spirits (do not use water or you'll raise the grain and have to sand again).

2. If you want a painted finish, prime all sides of all the wood pieces, including the back of the plaque. Let dry. Lightlysand with 220 grit sandpaper. Remove dust again. Apply one or two finish coats of paint per manufacturer's direc-tions.

3. If you want a stained finish, stain all sides of the project that show. Let dry. Apply a coat of polyurethane (or sparurethane if rack will be in a totally unheated space like a detached garage). Let dry. Scratch surface with 220 gritpaper and remove dust. Apply second coat of finish.

Installation1. Take the plaque to the location to be installed. Mark the location of the wall studs. Attach one screw through the

plaque into the stud at the desired height above the floor.Level the plaque using a laser or bubble level. Attach theother 3 drywall screws through the plaque into the studs.

2. Slide the support arms onto the plaque. Glue should notbe necessary if the sliding dovetails were fitted properly.

AlternativesIf you do not want to use sliding dovetails, skip the stepsthat create the slots in the plaque and resize the supportarms to eliminate the dovetails. Attach the arms to theplaque before installation with glue, then screw two screwsfrom the rear of the plaque into each arm. See Drawing 4.

Illustartion 3: Support arm layout template. Each square is 1/2”. UseFrench curve to smooth out curve.

Illustration 4: Alternatedesign with no dovetails,Attach with glue andscrew from back

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New DVD: The Call Of the RiverKent Ford emailed me the other day and asked if Iwanted to preview the 93 min version of PerformanceVideo's, years in the making, soon to be released his-tory of whitewater documentary, "The Call Of theRiver". Is there more than one answer to this?

Thanks Kent, but the fact that you sent me a freeDVD and that you, John Davis and Don Spangler arefellow BWA members and friends doesn't mean I'mgoing to give it a good review. No way. You may thinkyou had me at "Dear Barry" but... honestly, straightup - I have to say that for 28 years I've watched andmade a lot of paddling porn but what you guys haveput together transcends the genre and is a real honorto watch. If there ar e such things as blockbusters inboating videos then this is it. Even non-paddlers willfind it very informative and appealing.

"The Call Of the River" is mesmerizing if your alreadyaddicted to whitewater.This film will almost certainlyserve as the sport's gold standard historical film doc-umentary of whitewater history. It's absolutely stuffedwith an amazing collection of archival whitewaterfootage and photographs spanning over one hundredyears. On a personal level it was especially cool forme to recognize lots of snips of old National PaddlingFilm Festival entries throughout the DVD. John Davis'

early video including his 1983 NPFF Best of Showwinner "Whitewater Rodeo" was in there along withbits from the video John and I did together on theRussell Fork, where I introduced him to his futurePerformance Video partner Kent :-)

Intertwined throughout all of this amazing archivalfootage were some solid, in-depth interviews with theicons of paddle sports like Lars Holbeck, Bill Endicott,Roger Paris, Bunny Johns, Joe Pulliam, Bill Masters,Chuck Stanley, Frank Bell, and many, many more. It'sclear that a lot of time has been taken to get the storyright by the filmmakers by obtaining these interviewsand gathering all this footage together from acrossthe country. This is a very well done, top level, docu-mentary that highlights how whitewater paddling mayhave evolved through advances in technology, but stillthrives and survives because of the strong spirit foradventure and exploration that the pioneers of thesport share with whitewater boaters everywhere.

Congratulations and paddles up in tribute toPerformance Video and all the folks who made "TheCall Of the River" possible. This is a wonderful film. Ithank you and I'm sure the sport will thank you forputting it together.

Barry Grimes

"The Call Of the River" is scheduled to be releasedMay 15, 2009 and you can check out a trailer here:[www.thecalloftheriver.com]

To install the plaque, you will have to screw therack into studs from the face of the plaque. Pre-drill all screw holes to prevent splitting.

If you do not have a router, or even a jig saw,you can still create a functional rack using juststraight cuts. See Illustration 5. The supportarm should be a little longer so the wood doesnot get too thin around the outer paddle shaftholes. Illustration 4: Alternate

design all straight cuts

Off the CuffOff the Cuff Comments from the ForumComments from the Forum

To order this great video “ Call of the River” about the history of redreational paddlingas well as many other river Videos from Kent Ford & John Davis go to:

http://www.performancevideo.com/

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Hey, what is new with you? I got to run Peshastincreek last weekend. It was wonderful. I keep get-ting what Amy Shipman said reinforced : “ If theysay it is class III boating, it is probably class IV.At a rapid that they called a class IV, I had toskirt around a cedar log blocking most of theriver and dodge two root balls to just get into therapid! Then I had to surf through the entrancehole which was sticky, so I managed to get backendered , flip and roll. Then I hit the bottom rockwith the appropriate left angle, but not enoughspeed, got pulled back into what I thought wasthe last hole, which I had to fight my way out of.Then went down a few yards and t-boned anoth-er guy in our group who was getting side surfedin a hole. Well at that point I got sucked back intothe hole and worked thoroughly over. I ended upbailing because I was totally spent and out of airand had nothing left. Naturally there was no flatwater at the end of the rapid and I had to do aquick swim to the left bank. Thankfully several ofthe guys in our group managed to corral my boatto shore and the guy I knocked out of the holemanaged to get my paddle to shore! Ah...... I likeboating in the PNW! I think!

The Clackamas river festival was wonderful. Itwas nice to go to a white water festival wherethey feeds us for free. Yes, the local outfitter fedus hot dogs and hamburgers and all of the fix-ings for free. The only cost was a willingness tostand in the long line....... but you know boatersand free food.

It is neat how things are similar but different herein the Pacific North West. The water is generallysnow melt and skull caps are the rule, not anoption. It is amazing how different things are outhere, it is much more of a raft centered universe.There was a raft ramp at the put in. Amy wasable to back her cataraft hauler down to the rampand we pushed the raft off of the ramp and head-ed on down to the river. Really nice to not haveto pack it down to the river! Also at the take outthey havea tractor with a trailer that pulled therafts from river up to where we could load it ontoAmy's trailer. There was races on a section of the

river where they had timed a series of timedevents. Kind of neat to watch them race, usuallyteams of 2, in rafts, catarafts and river boats.Actually similar to Dories but no cargo compart-ments on them.

I am having a wonderful time out here boat-ing in the Pacific North West. Its neat going into

a totally new area and meeting new boaters.Boaters seem to have a lot of similar traits. Iwould encourage more of the BWA to make atrip, its amazing when the snow melts off! MORETO FOLLOW ! :) tim

More, Off the CuffMore, Off the CuffFrom Tim Miller............

BWA meeting is at Mi Mexico, 818 New Circle Rd., Lexington, Ky. Meetings held Second Tuesday of every month at 7:30pm

To eat during the meeting come a little early so you can place your order before the meeting starts. For up-to-date info on meetings always check http://www.surfky-bwa.org

Bluegrass Wildwater Association PO Box 4231 Lexington, Ky. 40504

Learn to roll your Canoe or KayakLearn to roll your Canoe or KayakLearn how to roll your canoe, kayak, or C-1, the Bluegrass Wildwater Association can help you. BWA mem-bers volunteer their skills to help paddlers lean how to roll their boat when they flip. This is a must learn skillif you paddle whitewater.

Everyone is welcome...even if you have never paddled before. Roll sessions are informal with shared BWAmember's boats and equipment available on a first come first served basis. For assured equipment bringyour own gear. Experienced BWA paddlers will be volunteering their time to help you get started.Tell your friends...come on out and learn to be a safer boater and how to enjoy our rivers and streams.

Location: Shillito Park pool,(Behind Fayette Mall off Reynolds Rd.)

Wednesdays from 8-11 pm

June: 10,17 & 24July: 1, 22 & 29

Check http://www.surfky-bwa.org/html/eventsN.html for updates.

10.00 per session