Originally Posted by
markb
You can tell where someone learned to boat based on how they boof. Plenty of solid runs don't exactly require boofing in the trad sense, but you're not going to style anything class 4 and up without some ability to time a stroke, make a rapid weight shift (hip thrust), and then get your upper body forward. Besides ledge drops you need this technique to get over a pile, cut across a beefy eddy line, get out of a hole, and then all the angled/delayed variations of a ledge or water boof. It's the fastest way to make a quick adjustment/relocation.
My first 6 years boating were in the southeast, and there is a distinct and effective boof style you see there. Last 8 have been in CA with some time in WA/OR/BC. People everywhere know how to boof, but you see little differences in timing and landing styles. Kind of like the different waterfall techniques across CA/OR/WA. I think I do more boof strokes out here in higher volume than back east just to keep my face above water so I don't have that two seconds in the meat where you can't see.
If you not gonna boof, you better be a damn good playboater, because you're gonna have to work your way out of all kinds of holes. And when was the last time a picture looked good where someone had their weight back or even paddle overhead?
Tellico's a great place to practice. The right side of baby kind of sucks but angled left off the edge of that kick in the middle can launch you into something proper. Or go lap 7-foot on chattooga; easy paddle down and can hike back to woodall if you don't want 5-falls.
