# My boof is gay



## yakkeranna (Jul 8, 2009)

Seriously, my boof sucks. I swam yesterday because I failed to land my boof over a pore-over hole and that sucked. I can usually boof OK in my playboat, but not at all in my creekboat. I usually just end up penciling into a drops. I try to practice by ramming myself over submerged rocks in flat water, but it doesn't seem to be working.

help??


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## Websta' (Jun 1, 2010)

First off, Why use homophobic language? Leave that to the middle-schoolers.
Secondly ramming into submerged rocks really isn't going to do anything for you. Try boofing off of big waves and smaller pour-overs and work your way up. Also watch some videos of the pros on youtube, watch their timing and body position.


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## yakkeranna (Jul 8, 2009)

Websta- I was referring to a video someone posted a while back. I didn't intend to be offensive. Apologies.


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## smauk2 (Jun 24, 2009)

The Colorado Kayak Chronicle: Fist of Boof Presents - Boof Kwon Do, The Art of the Over Vertical Boof Stroke


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## Redpaddle (Jan 10, 2007)

In my opinion, and i am no expert on the subject like stafford, boofing a creekboat takes more setup and timing. in a playboat i find i can throw in a last minute boof stroke and release pretty easily. in a creekboat i need to set up more, gain more speed and time my stroke. bigger boat so it takes a little more to control.


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## Old Fart (Oct 12, 2003)

Hey Anna Was the swim in Husum? If so, as gay as your boof may be, that drop is really more about how and where you position your boat at this level. If you're in the right place, a gay boof will work, not to say that you shouldn't try to" straighten" out that boof
SYOTR
Scott


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## freexbiker (Jul 18, 2005)

What is this with the "its easier to boof a playboat"? 
Creekboats have more volume to ride up over the insert whatever feature you're boofing more speed to get a better release, aaaand might I add creekboats are designed to be boooofed....
Just think about PASTA!
P: Position
A: Angle
S: Speed
T: Timing
A: Adjustment (In this case its the follow through with the BOOF stroke)


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Tilt rather than timing but right on Luke. It's all about laying on fatty vertical stroke and torquen fatty with your core. Vertical strokes translate to more forward momentum... the tilt is key for a solid release when you are using your torso kinda like same concept of blunting.


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## yakkeranna (Jul 8, 2009)

Scott-
Nah, this was on the lava falls section on the deschutes. I ran Husum in my playboat last weekend and nailed the boof flake that time... which is why I was pretty bummed that I did not do well this time.

Smauk2- nice link

What features are best to learn to boof on? (i.e. best = least consequences, for me)


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Consequencial as in how? It's Kayaking


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

yakkeranna said:


> What features are best to learn to boof on? (i.e. best = least consequences, for me)


The best answer I can come up with for this is a stout ledge, with a nice pool at the bottom. There are some around here...but I have no clue in Oregon (although there should be plenty).


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## bobela4 (Apr 14, 2009)

that is brilliant! thank you!




freexbiker said:


> What is this with the "its easier to boof a playboat"?
> Creekboats have more volume to ride up over the insert whatever feature you're boofing more speed to get a better release, aaaand might I add creekboats are designed to be boooofed....
> Just think about PASTA!
> P: Position
> ...


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## paulk (Apr 24, 2006)

not sure of your level but the upper wind has plenty of high fun low consequence boofs. the lower wind right now should be good boof practice never done it but I hear there are 5 to 6 waterfalls you can run at low water. mostly look for rocks on your local run that you know are clean at the bottom and go for them. opal creek near corvallis has some nice boofs too if i remember right.


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## leif (Jul 11, 2009)

Maybe try Sunset falls on the East fork of the Lewis, near portland. It's basically a park 'n huck (although there is a run below there). The left side is sort of hard to boof when there's water, so if you hit a good boof, you'll know you're doing it right. Just lap it over and over again until you nail it every time. 

Also, do you have video of your boofs? Maybe the buzzards could critique your style. One good piece of advice that I've heard is to wait until you see the landing before pulling the stroke.


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## KUpolo (May 24, 2005)

Just since no one else has mentioned it, how is you outftting? I find that if I am at all loose in my creekboat, boof becomes veryu difficult. If I have great knee/thigh contact, I can crank that sucker with almost no effort.


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## jmack (Jun 3, 2004)

If you are plugging most drops in your creeker, chances are that you are not even planting your paddle correctly. You need to give yourself time to plant a good paddle stroke at the lip. If you are just windmilling towards the lip with no plan, your boof will not work unless you get lucky and auto-boof. get your speed and momentum early, then when you get to the point when you are not sure whether to take one or two more strokes, wait and take one good one. One good stroke is alot better than two bad ones. It should be vertical and you should rotate your torso to pull yourself away from the lip.

Sunset falls would be a fine place to practice, but any small pourover will do. I think the most critical thing is being able to drive cross-current and boof into an eddy. Even if the boof is only one foot tall, you will know if you do it correctly, and probably no consequences for missing. Do this a couple hundred time and see if your boof on bigger drops is not alot better. Good luck.

Josh


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## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

Hard to know whats wrong without seeing it, but the most common mistake I find is taking a boof stroke too early. An early boof simply makes your boat go a little faster, but doesn't keep the bow up as you go over the drop.

A good boof, at its most basic, will be taken at (or just downstream of) the inflection point of the water where it transitions from moving forward and downstream to moving vertical and downward. This is typically where water is at a 45 degree angle to the vertical. There are a few exceptions that require a late boof, but thats another story. 

A good boof feels like a pole vault. You plant your blade at or just downstream of the inflection point of the water. You lean and reach forward with your boof stroke, pull your body and boat forward using your blade as leverage, and using your abs, arms and torso you lift your boat up and forward. You should have the feeling of vaulting yourself forward at the point where the water drops.

One of the better explanations of this is in the Genes Advanced White Water Technique video. It has excellent visual cues such as slow motion video of good and bad boofs with a line drawn in that shows the exact spot to boof. Good one to check out if you are having problems with the boof.

A good way to put this into practice is to scout a drop, figure out where exactly the boof stroke should be, and then either video of take pictures of you boofing. Looking at the vid /pics afterward will tell if you boof too early or what your set up problem is. You want to focus on where the paddle blade is buried in the water with respect to the inflection point. If its upstream you boofed to early. 

In general though, the best advice to for people trying to get the boof nailed is to have patience and wait for that perfect timing at the lip, but never before. What works well to start is taking the last stroke before the boof early so that you have time to wait, pause, see your boof stroke placement point, and take the stroke.


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## foreverhard (Apr 14, 2009)

*Don't look down*

Perhaps I can word a response a little differently:

One thing that clicked for me as I've strived to add more O's to my boof is to pay attention to where I'm looking as I go through the move. I've noticed that if I looked down into the hole that I was trying to boof over, I would likely plug the hole (or land at some angle other than perfectly flat which does not produce the sound and hence should not be referred to as a boof in my book even though sometimes this is what you want). This looking down & plugging business is a symptom of too-late of a setup/stroke for boofing.

Conversely, I noticed that if I forced myself to look only upwards at the sky or only out at the distant horizon at the lip (trying to take flight over the next far mountain range, never looking down) then I could land flat and boooof. Now when I want to boof, I think of getting hangtime like Air Jordan.

It's also helped me to learn the timing of boofing by doing it in other sports. I love to fly through the air, so when I'm biking in the fall or skiing in the winter for example, I'm practicing boofing at nearly every horizonline within my ability.


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## tallboy (Apr 20, 2006)

I don't have a dialed boof, getting there though. What helped me get the right frame of mind is thinking about it like riding a bike off of a ledge say 4' tall. You have to commit to riding a wheelie all the way off the lip or you'll drop the front wheel and eat pavement. If you pull too early same thing. Timing with commitment.


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## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

Yo Kayaker Anna, time your boof like you moon cars and you'll be fine. There's tons of good advice here except for caspermike's, so pretty much par for the course on the buzz. I think one critical thing is not to try to do everything at once because man there's sure a lot to think about in one split second. 

Playboats are sure easy to boof so I think it's natural to feel like it's harder to boof your creekboat. The length may also be throwing off your timing.

In my opinion, the first order of business is the timing. As others have said, it's usually later than you think and I like the rule of thumb of once you can see what's below you, then throw the stroke. One of the those early lessons in boofing a drop is that it's a lot less important how many strokes you take and how strong they are than it is when you take them. One technique that often works is doing a pry with the opposite stroke that you're going to use to boof to hold your position and transition to your boof stroke. Some do something similar with their actual boof stroke as well, but I think that's more difficult. 

Once you have the timing down, then I think you concentrate on pulling up those legs like you're doing a crunch. This one you can practice everywhere, even in flat water. 

Lastly I think you start focusing on the vertical paddle stroke, torso rotation, angled boofs, and various advanced techniques. 

Also, don't forget to use the water to your advantage. Think about where you can plant your stroke using the force of the water to load force on your paddle blade.

Maybe one day I'll learn to how to boof as well.


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## Crazy Nate (Aug 29, 2008)

Well I guess its time to once again post the video. Enjoy! JDHOG has the gayest boof. Thats right I said GAYEST BOOF and I am 28 years old. Gay . . . . gay gay . . . Gay Boof! 

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6156077/


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## smauk2 (Jun 24, 2009)

Link doesn't work


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## Crazy Nate (Aug 29, 2008)

smauk2 said:


> Link doesn't work


Yes it does


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## Crazy Nate (Aug 29, 2008)

Oh and Anna . . . keep your core tight and knees up along with an appropriately timed controled stroke. You'll get it.


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Wow that officially made the buzz gay. Glenn Kayaking.. my stabbed elbows heeled shut, good to go, we can work on our gay boofs specially cause I don't know what im talking about when it comes to boofing.....


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## Crazy Nate (Aug 29, 2008)

Dont judge me!


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Crazy Nate said:


> Dont judge me!


Chill broseph.. that was only a review of your steller vid...


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## darcyg (Nov 29, 2004)

*boofing 101*

Hey Anna,

I agree that ramming your boat into/over submerged rocks will only serve to weaken your boof. The best boofs out there are the ones where you don't actually hit any rock at all; it's just you, the water, and then some air!

If you practice these steps below, you should be boofing your creek boat way better than that little play boat in no time.

#1: look where you want to boof and line up for it. Spot your take off point and make sure to get yourself there. Again, you are NOT looking to go careening off rocks--that ain't boofing, that's just plain lame ol' rock bashing. 
Check out this photo:
http://www.smallworldadventures.com/assests/photos/boofingecuador.jpg

In a boof situation like this, you want to line up as close to the rock creating the boof as you possibly can without actually touching it. This is the place you will have the most speed, be able to get the best paddle stoke in and seperate your boat from the water with the most ease. Hitting the rock will only slow you down.

#2: Time your strokes. You often see people frantically paddling to the lip of a boof--forget that. Slow and calculated strokes are what you want. Make sure you time it so that your last stroke is right at the lip of the boof, even grabbing water that is already falling of the edge. Timing is everything!

#3: make sure that boof stroke is a good one. Get your paddle as vertical as you possibly can, remember you want to propel yourself up and forward. So the more vertical your paddle is the more this will happen (you don't want a sweep stroke here). Plant the blade up between your knees and your toes, and pull back, straight along the boat until the blade is about at your butt.

#4: as you take that boof stroke, pull up on your knees and thrust your hips forward (Note: do NOT lean back! Maintain an upright body position with your torso, just pull up on the knees, thrust forward with the hips). This action, combined with the well-timed paddle stroke should disengage your kayak from the water, sending you airborne into your "boof."


#5: upon landing, you will be sitting in an upright and ready to paddle position if you've properly done step #4. So you want to land, and immediately paddle out of the backwash of whatever it is you've just boofed over.

Say you've just taken a left boof stroke (like in the photo), well then you should be ready upon landing to immediately take a right stroke to get going downstream.

Like someone already said, you can practice this by boofing over small holes in the river. You don't need the perfect boof to practice on. Anytime you see a little hole, practice steps 1 through 5 and boof over em. It's the exact same feeling as boof in the photo, just less dramatic.

I hope this helps. 
Keep practicing!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Darcy
Small World Adventures


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## JDHOG72 (Jul 18, 2007)

*Soooo Badass!*

My boof is sooo badass! My boof is legendary in such places as California...my boof over pyrite may have been super gay but in general my boof is badass...see picture for proof. Absolutely nothing gay about it!


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## yakkeranna (Jul 8, 2009)

@JDHOG72-
See, that is exactly the boof I'm trying to achieve!


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## Crazy Nate (Aug 29, 2008)

yakkeranna said:


> @JDHOG72-
> See, that is exactly the boof I'm trying to achieve!


To achieve such boof takes a lifetime!


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## glenn (May 13, 2009)

LVM 21 on Vimeo
0:35, not gay.


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