Supernova/Whitewater

It seems as the weather warms my passion for my new found luv (supernova) only grows hotter… I’m itching to take her through a class 4 …I’ve never paddled at that level before. Am I getting overconfident in this boats abilities??? Has any supernova paddlers out there ever done class 4 ??? How does she handle it compared to 3 ???

Take it slow
Maybe it’s just the way I interpreted your post, but I get the impression you may not be well prepared for what you would be getting into. After floating easily through a number of different sorts of rapids, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that things can go really really bad in a hurry if things don’t go as planned. The sheer power of moving water really shows itself best when something goes wrong, and until that time, most people tend to drastically underestimate just how wrong things can go. Until you’ve had to swim or recover a pinned boat in the “easy” rapids you are doing now, it’s hard to appreciate this. Never mind the fact that you will need a fully outfitted boat (full bags, thigh straps, maybe even a spray cover with a paddle skirt). I’d suggest you take it slow, and take gradual steps to more powerful water in the company of very experienced paddlers. Maybe take a whitewater course (or two or five) and get plenty of practice before stepping up to Class IV. I’m not exactly the voice of experience here, but if it were me, I’d be awfully careful about moving it up a notch just yet. I’ve just heard too many stories of really simple problems killing people in water much less powerful than Class IV.

Ditto That.
if you haven’t taken the boat through class III yet, why would you ponder a IV? Kinda jumpin’ ahead of yourself… Potentially into a death trap. Not like the class ratings are linear in difficulty. Rather more exponential.



sing

Is that an open canoe?
I’d definitely be real sure you have the skills before stepping up. I ran a class III river yesterday and stared at a class IV drop for quite a while and decided to walk around it because I was unsure if I could hit the line necessary to blast through the boiling keeper hole. I would think an open canoeist would have required some really great skill to navigate through that drop. If you’re DOMINATING class III-III+ in the canoe, go for it. By dominating, I mean catching micro eddies, making the tough attains, cleaning the hard lines, etc. If you just bombed through a III and think the next step is IV, you’re in for quite a surprise.

no no no
hey guys i guess i gave the wrong impression …the supernova is new to me got it in dec. i’ve been doing class 3+ for 15 years off and on…i’m so fond of this paticular boat i’m wanting to try 4 in her…she’s set mohawk saddle and outfitting…nrs bags ect… i’m used to swimming “grin”…more specifically i’m intrested in hearing from supernova owners that have done class 4 or either think class 4 would be a bit much for this boat…thanks a bunch for all the input though

gotcha!
Sorry for the mistake jack, it was hard to determine your skill level from your post. Heck if you’ve been running III+ stuff for that long you have bound have run your share of class IV as well right? While I’m not an open boater, I have boated with a very good open boater who runs low class IV stuff on occassion but not much more than that. He paddles a Bell Occoee. Try Boatertalk. There are probably a lot more whitewater canoeists who could give you feedback there.

ask here
Ask your question at:



http://cboats.net/cforum



I’m sure someone there has some experience with a boat like yours.

my 4
has been in rafts mostly except on accident a couple times “grin” this is the first canoe I’ve owned i have been this comfortable in…

thanks