Big Hawk, there are plenty of people around here that would probably be happy to show you the basics of rowing. You should pick a weekend day you want to go and then post something on the main board, asking for a little help.

Sweet looking boat!

-AP

I would suggest your first trip to be on a lake. Get the basics down, then ask for someone to head down the river with you who rows. That would be better than any book you might read.

Take it on a lake first, to get a handle on how to maneuver, then float the cowlitz from mission down to I-5. It’s a very easy float.

Me and two buddies are doing High Bridge to Ben Howard on the Sky a week from Saturday. Both of the other guys own/row boats. We could meet you up there and put one of them in your boat for a while.
I've rowed Andy's boat....you got a good one. I think that might have been the first db I ever rowed.
My one suggestion would be to make that a two man boat at least for a while.
The first five minutes of the float we are doing is really the only part where you'd want somebody else rowing.
We could help you with the shuttle too.
Send me a pm if interested.
Dave

Hey Tony....rather than do your toon that day why don't you hook up with Mr New Wood DB owner? It's a cool boat. Show the guy the ropes.
First ride for both our dogs. Pretty cool.

Watch the puppy feet in those slats. Potenial "ouch".

Kaiser I took Chase out for his first db ride in that boat at 10 weeks....learned to swim (Chehalis) and pee in Andy's boat. Took my Christmas card pic that day. Me, the boy and pup. Wish the fishing had been better.

oops wrong pic ;-)

Chris,

IMO, rowing on a lake isn't going to teach you much. Without current pushing on the back of the boat, it feels altogether different.

Get an experienced rower to go with you, and have him row first while you concentrate on what he's doing rather than fishing. Ask him to tell you what he's doing and when......and why he's doing it that way.

You can pick up a lot in a short time with an experienced rower who can explain things to you as you go along.

The cardinal rule is to point the bow at what you don't want to hit, and row. Don't push on the oars..........it only makes you go faster, and doesn't change your position. Set up early rather that late when entering any difficult water. Keep in mind that you can only row when you have enough water to get the oars into. Lastly, don't be afraid to get out and scout, or walk the boat around something you're not comfortable rowing through. Don't let your ego get the best of you.

Have fun.........you're going to love having that boat.

DanS WORD! +100!!!!!

Not so funny story...

We met a guy coming down the lower Duc a few years ago at Lyendecker's...he was in a brand new wood drifter that he had built from a kit, and had never rowed a boat before in his life.

A "friend" told him that the lower Duc is a good spot to take his first boat ride.

His boat had two holes in it, and was taking on water...they had to bail constantly as they rowed out, and it took a while because they waited at every drop for another boat to go through so they could follow them.

Dude was white as a sheet when I gave him a turnaround, never even fished he was so scared.

With friends like that, who needs enemies?

Don't be that guy.

Buddy boat with another experienced rower, and have a rower in your boat to show you the ropes.

Like Dan said, tooling around in a lake won't do much for you, you'll have to be in moving water to get any useful experience.

To get away from a hazard, point the bow at it and row.

This is a piece of advice for all rowers; if you get in trouble, keep rowing. Row hard. Row until you're upside down.

If you feel sketchy about a spot, get out and scout it out. Rope it down if you need to. Bring a lot of rope.

Have someone help you set up your boat for proper balance and oar length. It can be shown to you twice as fast as it would take to write it out.

Most experienced rowers don't use Oar-Rites...most beginners probably should. They can remove one sketchy variable from your learning curve, which is keeping your blades perpindicular to the water without having to look at them.

Don't freak out, stay calm...everything's easier when you do that.

Consider not fishing your first couple of floats...it's a distraction you probably don't need...remember, you're setting yourself up for a lifetime of fishing out of the boat, missing a couple of days at the front end isn't going to be a big deal.

One last note; you will learn over time that your boat is far more capable at doing things that you at this point would never consider doing. They are very well-engineered machines that are really, really good at doing their job. Your limiting factor is almost always going to be your skills and your confidence, and those will grow with time. Some people just "get it", and others need a lot of practice before tackling tougher runs and drops.

Figure out which one you are and act accordingly.

Fish on...

Todd

P.S. Or, you can chuck all that and learn the way I did...have someone drop you off at the Mill on the Sauk during low water when you're 17 years old, put you on the sticks, and drive away.

Worked fine for me, but I wouldn't recommend it any more than I'd recommend the Sol Duc for your first float

Looks like you need to hook up with some of these guys and head down a river near you. Lots of sage advice.

Chris,

no reason to wait till opening day. Leave the rods home. Get someone to run up to Ben Howard with you and take out at lewis street. That would take about 45 minutes max. Its all wide and deep since right now the river is about 8.25 feet which is like winter water. lots of area to train in. learning to read the water and how deep it is underneath is the important part, beside boat control.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wa/nwis/uv?site_no=12134500

Then run up to the sultan. no fishing and its about two hours back down to ben Howard.

It will be tempting to fish from the 522 down but its a long ride and there is one private pay take out between lewis street and snohomish town launch. Its a farm below Thomas's Eddie and its a side road a couple miles up from the mouth of the Pilchuck.

High bridge on the snoqualmie is tweakerville and dead heads are common to the confluence.

The snoqualmie Plumb landing to Fall city has one shute with big rollers but it only looks mean. Granted that river has a lot more bottom boulders in the upper section. By the time you hit the golf course, its open and boring.

Section between Fall City and Carnation is loaded with trees and frog water. I dont recommend it.

Not much to add, except that time on a lake can be useful to gain some coordination. If you do the Ben Howard-Lewis St. thing that will work for flight time.

Learning to read water is the tricky part. There are lots of good whitewater books that point out what to do and not do. I agree with Todd, point the pointy end at what you don't want to hit and row away from it. The water current will pull you away as your boat acts like a stationary rudder.
Be careful who you allow on the sticks. I have gotten into trouble by not doing that.

Ducker

Dave,

Sorry I did not reply sooner. (did not see your post...still trying to get his site) I've been reading and rowing and now believe I am ready to run any river. Ran the Skykomish...from Sultan to Monroe...a Breeze! If you are willing, I'd like to take you out so you can school me. No fishing for me. Just sit my but down and I will row for you. I have the stamina of a horse...no joke, so long trips will not hurt me. 4, 5, 6, 7, 7...10 hrs rowing? Bring it on!!!.

Chris

Hope you are liking the boat, Chris.