Taking the Cross River to Canada.

Okay I have been on the road for a while so its time for a little more info on the CR series as well as some other stuff thats been going on.
I drove up to Canada a couple weeks ago to do a few things. I wanted to paddle the CR in a little bigger water and on some waves to just get a feel of where we were in that aspect now that we have gone through 5 different versions of the Cross River including hulls with no disk, progressive rocker, and all that stuff. What I figured out is that the spin disk is still the way to go. The CR is much looser with the disk and I don't have to put such a wide flat hull on the boat to get that looseness. What that allows me is the ability to make a forgiving boat that is still loose and easier to edge. It doesn't feel like some huge box that you are trying to paddle downstream. Nor do you have to sacrifice performance for looseness and edging. That extra width also messes with your roll.


So anyway here are the things that I have really grown to like.
1. It is comfortable. I was paddling in it all day and not having to get out for anything.
2. It was still very playful. I could flatwater cartwheel it. I could actually flatwater loop it and I am not that good at it.
3. It paddled on the wave very well. I actually chose it over a playboat some days because it was faster for catching flatter waves. In fact both of the guys that were paddling them in this video were actually psyched enough to choose them some days as well.
Zack the guy in the blue boat in the video actually asked me specifically if he could paddle it several days including wave sessions, and a couple of river runs. That was, I think, a good indicator of where it is right now. Which is, playful, comfy, and getting very close to being done.

I also paddled with Pat Camblin in the CR. That will be a post for another time.

Here is the video of Tom and Zack playing on the Ottawa. You can also check out some river running footage.
Cross Rivers on the Ottawa, Click Here!
Cross Rivers on the Green, Click Here!

More to come...
Shane