KAYAKING

COURSES

Das Boof!

Figure 1

WARNING: Hucking yourself off of waterfalls is dangerous (you knew that, didn’t you?). It is your responsibility to research each drop you run and assess the consequences. Make sure that you’re comfortable with the skills needed to run a drop before you run it. Make sure you practice these skills on small ledges with mild recirculation. There’s no shame in walking.

No one technique can step up your creeking skills as much as the boof. It can mean the difference between a great line or spending some quality time in that hydraulic that haunts your dreams (see Figure 1). Essentially, a boof is a power stroke that lifts your bow higher out of the water or prevents gravity from dropping your bow below your stern.

Figure 2

First it’s really important to have a good efficient power stroke. Plant your paddle in at your toes, winding up your torso so that your shoulders are nearly parallel with your boat . Your paddle should be nearly vertical (the more vertical, the more power; the more horizontal, the more you’ll turn). Unwind your torso as you take your stroke to generate power from the big muscles of your stomach and back (instead of just your chicken wings). See Figure 2.

In order to do a boof stroke, start with your normal power stroke. When your paddle reaches your knees, thrust your hips forward to separate you from the water (see Figure 3.1). Immediately after this, with your blade still in the water, pull your knees toward your nose (see Figure 3.2).

Figure 3.1

Figure 3.2

The ideal of the boof, when you’re going off a waterfall, is that you land flat. This can cause problems with larger drops. The general consensus is that on waterfalls over 12-15 ft. you want to land at more of an angle. Boofing waterfalls of 18 ft. and landing flat feels a lot like getting too much air at Cracked Yakers. In this case you want to relax your boof a bit and assume the crash position. Put your hand across your cockpit and put your cheek against your bicep. This reduces your chances of smacking your nose against your boat or paddle and also protects your spine from compression. You should factor in how aerated the pool is below the water fall. The more air in the water, the softer the landing (think about how much less hitting a big hole hurts than falling while waterskiing).

Another consideration is the angle at which you want to land. Most of the time this is perpendicular to the ledge. You need to take into account that your boof stroke will turn you to some degree. Thus, if your boof stroke is on the left side, you should approach the drop pointing slightly to the left (see Figures 3.1 and 3.2). You can control how much you turn by controlling the angle of your paddle shaft. The more vertical it is the less it will turn you. The main thing is that most of the time you don’t want to land sideways.

Figure 4

Another thing to take into consideration is the shape of the rock formation underneath your boof. Some waterfalls have rock formations that force you to boof even if you didn’t intend to. In Figure 4, the lip of the waterfall is shaped like a ski-jump, causing an auto-boof.

Figure 5

It’s essential preparation to know what you’ll be landing on. It’s possible to land on little more than wet rock (see Figure 5), but you want to know about it before you land on it. In Figures 3.1 and 3.2, there are nasty rocks in the pool and only 4-6 ft. of clean water to land on. In this case it’s essential that know about these obstacles, pick the correct line and execute it. When you’re landing in shallow water, you also need to know about it and nail your boof so that you don’t piton (ram your bow) against the rock.

Figure 6

In other places, you can boof up onto a rock in order to skirt the hole at the bottom. In this case, the trick is to have enough speed to get up on the rock and maintain that speed. You’ll likely need a sweep stroke on the side away from the rock to propel you up onto the feature. You may also have to lean your boat so that it will slide up and over the edge of the rock rather than bouncing off of it (see Figure 6).

The key to any boof is timing. It’s a good idea to visually locate the feature that you’re boofing off of (if it’s a waterfall, pick the cusp or the end of the ledge). When you get near the point where you’ll boof, reach as far forward as you can by rotating your torso and plant your paddle just past that point. To put it more plainly, imagine that the water isn’t there and you’ll be pulling against the rock ledge. Wind your torso as far as you can and plant your paddle at that spot. Unwind in a powerful sweep stroke to drive your bow onto the rock.

Figure 7

So, the key is in the timing. How do you practice this without running waterfalls before you can boof? There are a few ways. One is to find a good round or flat boulder (with no undercuts) in deep calm water and use a boof stroke to lift your bow onto the rock (see Figure 7 ). Remember to adjust your angle so that your boof stroke turns you boat where you want it to be (probably straight onto the rock). Just like a rock boof, you’ll need to use a sweep stroke to get your bow up onto the rock. Especially if you’re in a playboat, you can control how high your bow goes by adjusting your lean. As you take your sweep stroke, pull up on the knee that’s away from your paddle. This will allow your stern to slice through the water, plane down and bring your bow into the air. Another way is to find a non-threatening ledge that you can practice on. Head out to the lock or brave the Toilet Bowl at the Salmon. You can also use your boof to get you up over holes and waves, just like you would to get your bow up and onto a rock. The point is to practice this technique as much as possible, improve your timing and explore its myriad applications.