Chili Bar Section of the American in the Fun Runner 70!

I can confidently say that the wait was worth it! This past weekend I got my Fun Runner 70 and I was able to take it out for an exceptional day on the quintessential river run in this part of the paddling world. Chili Bar(Gnar) is a super fun class 3 to 4- play run. You will typically see all types of boats ranging from creek boats to full on play boats on this stretch of water. Until yester day the only boat other than a play boat that I have taken down the run has been my Duo, so I had the opportunity to look at the river in a whole new way. The speed as well as the quick edge to edge transfer of the fun runner let me make all sorts of moves like I was in a slalom style boat with the added forgiveness of rocker! Boofing was great and I was pleasantly surprised at the quantity of different play spots I found along the way. The amount of stern squirts, rock splats, wave wheels, and kickflips surpassed my wildest imagination. There are two well know play spots on this run. First up is Maya, which is typically, considered the beginner play spot. It is a bit flat and hard to stay retentive on more difficult play moves. I was able to surf way more of the wave that I have ever before, but I was still able to spin on the wave and the enders were super smooth and consistent. I was super impressed how predictable the fun runner was in a back surf. After only two tries I was able to carve around the face of the wave backwards for a good long surf. To be honest I usually take a handful of rides on this wave and then I rush downstream to First Threat, but on this day I was the last person in the eddy after the rest of our group had moved down stream. It was my single most fun session on this feature ever! I had no problem catching up to the rest of the group before we got to the crown jewel of Chili Gnar, first threat. First threat is a steep fast wave that often keeps a good number of boaters on shore watching, which is too bad since it is actually a super forgiving feature. It may be a challenge to surf, but the second you flip over you get spit right off the wave. My biggest concern was to see if I could keep all of the Fun Runners speed under control to surf this already fast wave. The first ride or two I was all over the place, but as I refined my body position and got used to the boat I was able to start to move around the wave predictably. After that task was accomplished it was time to spin, and that did not pose a real issue. For a medium length boat it is super loose and easy to spin. I was actually able to grind the boat for a short bit. With a little bit of practice I will be able to extend that to a long grind for sure. My real goal for the day was to blunt the fun runner on first threat. I know that I have done it with the proto of the Fun Runner 60 in the ocean, but a river wave was the real test. The first try I was a bit low on the wave and my bow hit the bottom, but then I started to work my way higher up the wave and I started to hit a few roundhouses. At this point Daniel, who runs www.awetstate.com , wanted to give the boat a try so I let him hop in and I took a few photos of him endering and going for a huge loop (I need to try that next time as well). I got back in after Daniel had a few surfs and on my last ride I was able to hit the tall blunt that I was hoping for. That was a great feeling for sure. On our way out Noah found a nice little hole that we were able to fully cartwheel the fun runners in. I will be posting more stories on my new toy as I learn it and get it out to a variety of different river settings.

Later ; Colin