More O-Deck and Rocky info

More surfing and attaining info, this from Stro...yes, sometimes you do find him ABOVE the water. :-)

Having paddled on the potomac for decades, I've acquired a quiver of boats to keep me happy at just about every river level. I prefer long boats and I love me some Rocky and O-deck surfing and attaining. Here's my boat choice list.
10 - 4.4 Rave Sandy Beach to Anglers
4.8 - 3.9 Reflex2 or Cylon attain to rocky
4.5 - 3.8 Rave put in at fisherman's eddy
3.7 - 3.3 Sleek put in at fisherman's eddy
3.2 - 3.0 Cheta, Reflex2 or Cylon attainment levels
2.9 - 2.6 Whirld at Bermuda Triangle

Sleek is 9' 5", Cylon 13'2", Reflex 11' 2", Rave 11', Cheta 13' 6"
Sleek is ok at lower rocky levels (below 4.1) for 2nd, 3rd, 4th wave
I consider O-deck in around 3.9 and like something about 11' long or longer. 9 ft and 8.5 boats like the rpm, axiom, zen, speeder can start to stay on o-deck in the mid 3.7 and below.

O-Deck levels

Not really an attaining topic, but this information from Robert Polleck should be of interest to those who only attain to get to the good surf spots. :-)

O-Deck is in from at least 3.4 to 3.8. Above 3.6 it is a challenge to jockey a playboat across the current without getting swept downstream and you will want something a bit longer to punch into the top wave.

Easiest access is probably from Fisherman's Eddy on the GF Virginia side. When you enter the park, take the hard right hand turn to go to the parking lots a little downstream. I really hate the climb down the VA side, but it's worth it. The ferry over from Fisherman's to the O-Deck waves on the Maryland side can be a little tough in shorter boats.

You can attain up from Sandy Beach with a carry at the appropriately named Portage. :-)

Gorge runs above 8 feet

More info from the Encyclopedia Van Grack:

From 8-9 feet:

-Sandy Beach to the Main Current is swirly with some waves (no big deal).

-Rocky Island Outflow is turbulent, but not chaotic.

-Wet Bottom is flat.

-The Gorge after the Left Turn becomes slightly chaotic. While this area is flat at most levels, starting around 8.5 feet, it has crashing waves, moving holes, and (at 10 feet) a horizon line drop. This area at high water is called "The Jumps." At 9 feet, some people call it Class IV. At 10 feet (and above), some people call it Class V.

-The Chutes, Dead Cow, and Skull Island are all fun to play in at this level as well.

If you have never been out above 8 feet, make sure you have big water Class IV skills and go with someone whom you trust.

-Adam

Long boat surfing at 7ft and above

More great info from the river encyclopedia, Adam VG:

Long Boat Surf-spots Above 7 Feet (Little Falls Gauge)

Skull Island Wave

Long River Runner: 6.6 - 7.3

Slalom Boat: 7.1 - 7.8

Sweetie Pie Wave (aka Back Channel Wave)

Long River Runner: 7.4 - 7.9

Slalom Boat: 7.9 - 8.2

Dead Cow Wave

Long River Runner: 8.6 - 8.9

Slalom Boat: 8.8 - 9.3

River Bend Wave (River Right at Right-Turn Elbow in Mather Gorge)

Long River Runner: 8.1 - 8.5

Slalom Boat: 8.3 - 8.8

Potomac 4.7 ...in a playboat!

No, playboats should not appear in an attaining blog. But it was quite the education in the art of the possible --- and impossible --- as I tried out a Jackson SuperStar for the first time on the Potomac.

The only real attain I tried was up from Offet. I almost made the attain up from the Offet ledge, working my way up the attainer's left channel above the rock beside the Offet wave. This attempt failed as I tried to make the move upsteam above the hole, though I think it could be done.

After carrying over on the island shore, I relaunched and ferried to the Maryland shore. I paddled up from there until I ran into a patch of fast current about 2/3s of the way up. I ferried to the island shore again, but was stumped by the little ledge. I hardly look at this ledge in a long boat, but was forced to give it respect on this night. I finally conquered it by grabbing the rock on my left, wedging my paddle into the bottom on my right, and pushing myself up. The rest of the attain back to Anglers was just a matter of steady paddling...in the dark.

Had a great workout, actually. But hull speed gets a whole new level of appreciation from me, for sure! It may be interesting to gather new stories of playboat attains, so I'll add a playboat tag.

Assaulting Wet Bottom at 4+

With local levels staying above 4 ft, Wet Bottom has become a good spot to burn a few calories. Key factor is the presence or absence of the first eddy as you ferry from attainer's right.

Above 4.2 , it's pretty much gone...so you drive straight over to the tail of the eddy below the big center rock. At 4.2 and below, you have a paddler's dilemma --- to use the 1st eddy or not? My rough gauge is the strength of the eddy lines on the 1st eddy. If they are strong enough to cause me problems as I ferry across, then stopping in the eddy to climb up is probably a good tactic. If there is mostly a wave train with weak eddy lines, then I may use the waves to reset my angle upstream...but then I move over to the big rock eddy.

At 4.1+, I think I've discovered another secret once I get to the big rock eddy. While my instinct told me to get away from the waves and to use the boily water on my left for the climb up, I consistently failed. But when I moved closer to the waves of the 1st eddy on my right, apparently into faster water and risking catching my bow, I was able to drive up.

Maybe the swirly boils don't let me get a good catch? Maybe the water to the right only looks faster? Maybe the boils take away as much as the give? Whatever it is, it got me up twice in a row at the end of a long session.

Incidentally, don't be afraid of even higher levels. I actually think that 4.4 may be a little easier than 4.2, for example. And somewhere around 4.5 or 4.6, a move on the Virginia side opens up.

Attaining in the lower 4s does provide a great prize at the end --- prime surf time at Rocky! ;-)

Potomac 4.3 and rising

A Wednesday night with the Cheat group found a few folks working hard to make the Center Chute attain. After many attempts there, we headed over to Maryland to try our luck. To the surprise of the team, making the first left-to-right ferry was not as hard as imagined.

However, making it up the little ledge opposite the usual Maryland hole proved too much. This move changes with each level. On this night, it required good control along the rock up to the ledge, then a strong take-off with a little elevator help, getting to a place a little more than 6 feet off the rock to power up a seam. If you drifted too far out, you were doomed. If you made it up the seam, but tried to cut back right too soon, you were similarly washed back down. It was great practice in boat control for this group.

Stories from upstream told of some full and partial attains of Wet Bottom, certainly good work for this level.