# Cataract Canyon Advice?



## jesse.b (May 4, 2007)

I am running Cat for the first time August 13-17. Any advice for me? We are taking 2-14 foot oar rigs and an 18 ft oar rig. No motors. Anything major to be aware of (besides the usual)? How terrible is the row out going to be at the end?


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## richp (Feb 27, 2005)

Hi,

The lake will be relatively high, which means there will be much more flat water than most people would care to row, and you will have a reasonably great probability of headwinds. 

Some people are young, strong, have plenty of surplus testosterone to burn off, and 30 miles of rowing against the wind is just their thing. Others have plenty of time and don't mind the drudgery of a long flat row-out. But if you are not irrevocably committed to a no motor trip, many folks would urge you to reconsider. I certainly would...

FWIW.

Rich Phillips


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## WestSlopeWW (Jun 26, 2008)

My advice? Take motors. We ran out of gas once and that was bad enough. And oh yeah, take enough gas to get to Hite!


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## BmfnL (May 23, 2009)

One word: SHADE. Rig some up or die. 

Ditto on the above motor recommendations. One tiny motor will take care of four or five boats lashed together.


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## kazak4x4 (May 25, 2009)

Ditto on motors and shade. lake is way too high now (40+ feet higher than last year) so a lot of flat water against the wind.


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## ccombs (Mar 17, 2004)

We did this trip last year and ditto on the boat shade it is mega hot 100+ every day, with shade and swimming alot you can stay cool. Everyone that passed us on the rio asked us the same question "Got a motor?" To our reply of no they just smiled with that look on their face of just you wait and see. We split the last 30 miles into 2 days and got lucky with a little current on the first day and only moderate wind with 1 ft choppers on the second day. We took half hour rowing shifts and it took us a full day and thrashed one of my buddies backs pretty good. Its one of those things I'm glad i've done it once but can't say that I would do it again without a motor unless I didn't have any other choice. Have fun its an adventure.


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## Fuzzy (May 25, 2005)

Camp at the beach at #1 river right. should be sweet this year after the prolong high water. You can still hike the doll house from there. Shade for sure. 

Check the moon if it is close to full row out at night no wind!

Row the big drops naked or face the river gods


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## BCJ (Mar 3, 2008)

Motor good. Shade good. Whiskey bad.


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## Paco (Aug 3, 2007)

Just got off. No motor- No problem. Did 27 miles of lake in a day.

But... we got really lucky w/ minimal wind and we had 3 rowers to trade shifts.


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## jesse.b (May 4, 2007)

*What size motor?*

What size motor would you use to push 3 rafts and 7 people?


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## richp (Feb 27, 2005)

Hi,

A five would be plenty - done it many times. You're looking for mobility, not speed.

FWIW.

Rich Phillips


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## WestSlopeWW (Jun 26, 2008)

jesse.b said:


> What size motor would you use to push 3 rafts and 7 people?


Depends on how fast you want to go, but a 5 horse would do you fine.


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## WestSlopeWW (Jun 26, 2008)

richp said:


> Hi,
> 
> A five would be plenty - done it many times. You're looking for mobility, not speed.
> 
> ...


 
Dammit I guess I wasnt fast enough!


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## BmfnL (May 23, 2009)

We had great success pushing four rafts and 9 people with 4 hp. Made 7 or 8 miles/hour on the completely flat water of that run. It wasn't light speed, but I would think there would be a definite "maximum velocity" for a rubber party barge even if you had more power.


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## richp (Feb 27, 2005)

Hi,

Anything past half throttle on a barged up rig like that is wasted fuel. I'm happy to move at 5-6 MPH under power, as opposed to hour after hour of toil against wind and waves. Or even mile after seemingly endless mile of silt banks with no wind at all...

FWIW.

Rich Phillips


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## okieboater (Oct 19, 2004)

I you elect to use a motor, here is another vote for throttle back and relax.

I did cataract in my Response (granted one of the faster old school kayaks) and we had a raft with a small outboard as well.

I could paddle a bit faster than the raft was motoring but would wear out.

It was nice to set on the raft and relax and have the time to enjoy the scenery.

Agreed, the purest would want to row all the way. It took us a while to motor along at slow speed but sure as heck beat paddling or rowing out from the Big Drops.


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## BCJ (Mar 3, 2008)

Listen to the wisdom! RichP, Okieboater, etc. - - a small motor, 4, 5, 6 or 8, will get you there. Full throttle IS wasted fuel. With motor = sit back, relax, have a brew and enjoy the scenary, OR without motor you can try to prove you are bigger than the canyon (or someone else) and row, row, row, row . . . . Either way, you will get to the take out. If given a choice, I take option #1, motor.


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## tanderson (Mar 26, 2010)

If our prayers for an earthquake were answered, we wouldn't need a motor.

-TDA


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## BmfnL (May 23, 2009)

Came to think of it this way for my party: 

Rowing meant 9 people at the oars in shifts on four rafts trying to enjoy their breaks.

Motor meant one person at the back "steering" while the other eight partied like school kids.


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## snakester (Apr 24, 2011)

I'm trying to picture how you lash those boats together. Is is side by side by side w/ the motor on the middle boat? or end to end or some other configuration?


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## dport (May 10, 2006)

This is how we did our motor out in 09.
In front 14' lion
next 16' Marravia SB raft
next two 16 cats side by side 
last a 18' cat with a 10hp motor
all were lashed together, we had a throw bag on each side of the lion going back to the 16' cats. tighten or loosen to keep the line straight.
Worked great for an hour, then at 9am the big W reared it's ugly. I was in front and was soaked on the motor out way more than the rapid section, and I even took a swim in BDIII. The trip out would have been horrid if not for the motor. Be safe out there, Dennis


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## richp (Feb 27, 2005)

Hi,

Frame to frame, to start with. Don't risk pulling D rings off when a rogue gust of wind grabs hold of the barge.

Rigging side by side gives more directional stability (less wobble) for the person operating the motor. But that increases wind resistance. So if you can get it rigid enough, a front-to-back lashup will allow a bit more efficiency for the motor's operation. 

But there still is a practical limit to how fast you can push that kind of unwieldy, non-streamlined agglomeration of hull forms -- no matter which way you do it. 

FWIW.

Rich Phillips


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## Riorider (Jul 20, 2011)

We've run a five boat rig with the motor on the front (center) boat, with a boat lashed to the lead boat on either side and two boats trailing behind those. The second tier of boats is pushed back to the halfway point of the lead boat - which creates a chevron effect and takes advantage of the bow wave of the front boat. I agree with the frame to frame comment for the front three boats. You don't need to worry so much about the last two (which are simply trailing behind) Don't be in a hurry. One of my most memorable trips was motoring out under a full moon. Wind is usually less at night too.


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## BackCountry (Nov 22, 2009)

I've done the row out of Cataract Canyon enough times to know we will be packing a 5 hp motor to get out from now on when the lake level is up to a point where there is not continual flow to Dirty Devil. When the lake is exceptionally low the trip out is not a big deal. Last year Powell filled up to the point where the trip was a 30 mile row into the wind. This year it will have even more water in it.

Having not had the pleasure of a motor to get out before, I am wondering how much fuel to pack to push 3-4 heavy 14'-16' rafts? Our motor is an older 5 hp 2-stroke. We are never in a hurry and wouldn't push the engine past half throttle.


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## richp (Feb 27, 2005)

Hi,

I have a five horse Honda four stroke and reliably have gotten 25 mpg while pushing 3-4 rafts out against the wind with my 16' cat. Don't know how that would relate to two stroke fuel use, but it may put you in the ball park.

FWIW.

Rich Phillips


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## Riorider (Jul 20, 2011)

Take more fuel than you think that you need....


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## BCJ (Mar 3, 2008)

Lots of good advice above. For, with 5 boats, lashing three across with motor on the center then 2 in front of that, a sort of pyramid, always works. Having the motor out back with no boats behind it relieves almost everyone except the motorman and his "good buddies" who will hang with him back there from the noise of the engine. Definitely run your rigging from frame to frame, not D ring to D ring. Some cross rigging of the front two boats helps too, to keep it all tight and in a straight line. Like RichP keeps saying, you're not looking for speed, just consistency moving forward. Keep the rigging tight and it will be more efficient and less annoying. Sloppy rigs don't steer or run as well as tight ones.


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## WestSlopeWW (Jun 26, 2008)

Another option to consider: Call up that nedneck friend of yours (you know well have at least one) and have him drive his fancy bass fishing boat with that 800 hp motor up from Hite and pick you up. That way he can run the shuttle too. I think compensation of two cases of Old Mil Light and a jar of stink bait would be fair...


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## Rich (Sep 14, 2006)

WestSlopeWW said:


> Another option to consider: Call up that nedneck friend of yours (you know well have at least one) and have him drive his fancy bass fishing boat with that 800 hp motor up from Hite and pick you up. That way he can run the shuttle too. I think compensation of two cases of Old Mil Light and a jar of stink bait would be fair...


 
******* friend is lame. Hire a couple strippers from Vegas and a big ass ski boat. Have them bring in cases of cold beer and water ski naked to the takeout!


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## Shizure (Jan 16, 2010)




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## WillYates (Aug 3, 2007)

I've pushed 9 fully rigged boats and a canoe once with a 9.9. I now have an 8 hp that can easily push 3 to 6 boats in any wind. The 5 will do just as fine.


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## durangloski (May 12, 2009)

If anyone is still reading this Thread.....
I heard Hyte was usable for a few more feet ( lake level is coming down) Who has seen it lately? 
Are any of the canyons reachable with the current levels? Dark Canyon? Camping?


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