B O A T i N s i D e r
Backwards and loving it.
PHoto: scott macgregor
tHe uncoMMon raven
the NeW BeGiNNer sOlO OPeN BOat frOM esQuif CaN GO BOth WaYs
AT LAST YEAR’S Outdoor Retail Show Esquif Ca- these stabilities together. The secondary rolls on were tossing it around, but we were not ready to
noe showcased the second Bob Foote/Jacques early and is so strong you hardly need to tilt the integrate them because we weren’t 100 per cent
Chasse creation, the Raven. Like the opportunis- Raven at all. In fact, aggressive tilts don’t im- sure of the saddle position.”
tic bird itself, the new Raven solo open canoe has prove performance. This is a boat that allows you The Raven doesn’t jump up to speed. It’s like
already become the subject of much mythology to concentrate more on your strokes and moves hopping on a 10-speed bicycle that someone left
and folklore. and less on balance. Nobody is going to find the in eighth gear. At first you need to stand on the
Bob Foote has lately produced fast, assymetri- Raven tippy. pedals, but once you build some momentum you
cal Swede-shaped boats, meaning narrower at The Raven is widest ahead of where you place pass the kids stuck in first.
the front and wider behind the centre point, like your paddle. The gunwales are tucked back The lethargic feel of the Raven has more to do
whitewater slalom kayaks. Chasse, Esquif owner nearly four inches from the widest part thanks to with Chasse’s uncompromising commitment to
and designer, has also dabbled in fast hulls work- radical tumblehome. “Excessive tumblehome is quality than hull design. Beginners beat the crap
ing closely with John Kazimierczyk to produce the one of our signatures at Esquif, especially when out of boats so he built the Raven with a super
Spark, a boat that is fish form or assymetrical with it’s used to accentuate flare,” says Chasse. “This tough Royalex construction spec sheet. The hulk-
the widest part forward of centre. combination allows us to add volume when the ing thwarts probably add another five pounds of
The story goes that when Foote arrived at Es- bow is deeper in the water, something that is very material to this beefy boat.
quif headquarters in Frampton, Quebec, to tweak important in white airy water.” When I told the Raven’s backward hull myth to
the plug, make a mould and generate a prototype, Paddling the cab-forward design of the Spark, a kayaker friend of mine he said, “Well that’ll be
he’d designed the Raven to be paddled one way. you quickly figure out that you must steer it from perfect, most open boaters I know end up going
Chasse, on the other hand, was thinking it would the bow—stern rudders and pries are wasted. down backwards anyway.”
be best paddled the other way. In the Raven, although the widest part is ahead I didn’t find his remark very funny, but with the
After the Raven’s debut at the show we swooped of you, the saddle seems to work best centred. Raven lining up to replace the Nitro or Vertige as
up the prototype and paddled it all fall—ass-back- A centred position means that you don’t have to a better beginner boat, it doesn’t matter which
wards with the wide end up front, and we liked it relearn to paddle, the Raven manoeuvres like any way they paddle it so long as we’re bringing new
that way. other open boat. people into the sport.
Often in boat reviews we speak of primary and Do you hit your paddle on the side of the boat?
secondary stability as if they are completely in- Yup, every stroke until your body adapts and it
SCott MaCGreGor is the founder and publisher of Rapid. He placed
fourth in both men’s solo and tandem at the aCa open Canoe North
dependent from one another with a window of feels perfectly natural. I asked Chasse if he’d con-
american Championships. Will the first person to set up a raven the
wobble in between. The Raven however mashes sidered the APS divots he uses on the Zoom. “We other way please drop him a line at
publisher@rapidmedia.com.
0 Rapid
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