Great Falls on a snowy day

Running the crack in the Diesel 80

Last week I took out the new Wavesport Diesel 80 for a spin on Great Falls. I wanted to see if the production model was as good as the prototype I’ve been paddling for the past few months. The Diesel 80 is definitely going to be my boat of choice for creeking and river running. The peaked deck sheds water and allows the boat to surface quickly after drops. It has a more hull speed than any creek boat I’ve paddled while being loose enough to flat spin on waves! That’s a pretty amazing combination of traits to find in one boat. Potomac Paddlesports has demos of the Diesel 70 and 80 in stock.

Geoff Calhoun and I put in during a snowstorm and paddled towards the Virginia side of the river. The level was around 3.5 . A nice stout level for the Virginia lines. Our first run was great. We bombed over Norman’s, Leap S-turn ( does the Potomac need 2 S- Turns? ) and finally dropped through the crack next to the Spout. Carrying up the snow and ice covered rocks was at least as treacherous as the paddling but we made it to the top for a second run.

The second run was a little more interesting than the first....

.....thank god for drysuits!!

Photos by Michael Kircher