Words By: Garrett Quinn
Photography By: Scott Mcbride
Boat designers and manufacturers are doing an awesome job of making boats that make hard moves easier and this is helping to push the sport to new heights. The number of possible arrows in the quiver is also growing. Companies are now making 2 styles of half slice, shorter more playful ones, and longer, more stable ones, which are more capable in class 4 and 5. In the more playful arena, many companies have full slice and freestyle options. A similar thing has happened in creek boats. There are creekers with sterns that are designed to initiate, creekers where the stern is made to stay mostly out of the water and avoid loading up, and now there’s a 10 ft boat class.
After selling my boat at the end of last summer’s trip to Iceland, I ended up buying a more sporty, lower volume, edgy creeking machine with a tail made to drop in and load up. I’ve very much enjoyed learning how to load the stern and pop the bow up and over things. I’ve also found myself beatering in new and interesting ways, back-looping things I may have plowed through in other boats and catching stern edges that are closer to the water. In a lot of ways, this has made me a better and more aggressive kayaker. However, as our Vancouver Island season wore on and my big goal for the season was staring me in the face, I felt like I needed to expand my kayak quiver to include a mission boat.
The objective was a trip to the Bedwell River in Strathcona Park on Vancouver Island. With my friends Koby and Scott, we would hike 18 km up and over a mountain pass, put on the river and paddle out through some awesome whitewater, mostly in the 4-4+ range, to Clayoquot Sound. From here we would water taxi to Tofino. I needed a boat that I could pack with overnight gear easily, would be confidence inspiring and safe when loaded, and was light for the carry in that ended up taking us 13 hours.
I’m the kind of nerd that has an excel spreadsheet called “Boat Stats” where I have compiled lengths, widths, volumes, weights and costs of many boats on the market today. While my wife is a Pink Mountain Ambassador and I appreciate the support they’ve given her and the way they roll, I don’t have any obligation to paddle a Waka Boat.
Here’s are a couple of reasons why I chose the OG and why I think the boat is the best on the market as a mission boat.
1. Confidence inspiring hull and volume: This is a big boat which means at a wirery 140 lbs I was on the bottom end of the weight range. This is a good place to be when packing a boat for a multiday. I found that with the added wight the boat was tracking better than it did unloaded.
I remember my first experience of paddling an OG a couple of years ago and thinking it was too big and bathtub like for me. What I realize now is that I just needed time to dial in the outfitting a little so that it was easier to put the boat on edge and take advantage of the awesome carving of the boat.
When you take the boat off edge and are sitting flat, it is super easy to turn with its short water line. On a new and remote run, I appreciated this nimbleness.
The Bedwell Trip turned out to be a great success and I’m so grateful for our “guide” Koby and all the awesomeness that Scott brings to any adventure big or small. I’m also super happy I picked up an OG as I don’t think that I could have pulled it off in my other creekboat. If you’re considering a challenging hike-in trip, give this boat a try; I think it’s the tool for the job.
2. Length: The OG is a bit shorter at 8’9” than a lot of other race-oriented creek boats out there. I found this sweet for 2 reasons. First, I had more time to feel rapids out than in a faster boat. Again, fully loaded on a wilderness run, I appreciated this.
Less obviously, when you hook a boat up to a backpack system, one of the big challenges is not whacking your heels on every step. Every inch counts here. While backpack ninjas like my buddy Koby have put in the time and hard work to accomplish this in a 9 ft boat, I appreciated the shorter length on the hike in. It was also nice when trying to not piton my fully loaded boat while shouldering it on the hike down to the river.
3. Weight: The minimalist outfitting in Waka’s mean that they are light. At 140 lbs and not super strong, I went into this mission knowing that every ounce would count. While I didn’t saw my toothbrush in half, I did really appreciate the lighter weight of the OG.
Some of the weight savings are from Waka’s infamous plastic grab handles. Without opening the worm can, I will say that I do appreciate that they made them more burly on the newest versions and this definitely influenced my decision to pick this boat.
4. Packability: some manufacturers design their boats with very small openings behind the seat. This can be really frustrating while trying to pack it for multidays. My last creekboat had tons of room, but I struggled to even get 10 L dry backs through the opening. The OG is a breeze for packing and 20 L bags fit back there no problem.
The Bedwell Trip turned out to be a great success and I’m so grateful for our “guide” Koby and all the awesomeness that Scott brings to any adventure big or small. I’m also super happy I picked up an OG as I don’t think that I could have pulled it off in my other creekboat. If you’re considering a challenging hike-in trip, give this boat a try; I think it’s the tool for the job.
