A huge thanks to all that came out to our first and Asheville's first SUP demo. Mother Nature cooperated with us and provided us with sunshine just in time. Lots of questions were answer and we had lots of strange looks, but good times were had by all.

Here are some pictures from the event thanks to Mike Nail.

 

 

 

This Wednesday, February 25th, 2009, WakaWai will be holding a YOLO Stand Up Paddle Board DEMO at the Woodfin River Park in Asheville, NC. We will have all of their models available for demo, including the New Yolo Yak!. The event is FREE and open to the public from 4 to 6 pm.

Please make sure to bring some kind of shoe that is warm and you are willing to get somewhat wet and a PFD if you have one. We will have PFD's on site as well. This is an activity that can be done in everyday street clothes with a marginal learning curve, so please don't let that keep you from coming. My 65 year old father took one step onto a YOLO Board and is hooked!

The YOLO Boards are super wide so falling in the water should be the least of your concerns. For instance, the YOLO Yak has a recessed deck to facilitate better stability for a variety of water pursuits such as fishing, crabbing, beginner surfing or flat water paddling. The Yak comes rigged with a front bungee tie-down system, molded-in keel system, foam traction pad and both side and rear handles.

The YOLO Board Rep will be on hand to help us answer and assist with all questions and concerns. The directions to the Woodfin River Park are provided below.

Start at: Asheville, N Carolina

1. Head northwest on McDowell St/US-25 toward Phifer St - 0.2 mi
2. Continue on Asheland Ave - 0.7 mi
3. Turn left at Patton Ave - 0.5 mi
4. Take the ramp onto I-26 W - 1.6 mi
5. Take exit 25 for NC-251 - 0.3 mi
6. Turn left at Broadway St - 0.1 mi
7. Continue on NC-251/Riverside Dr  Destination will be on the left - 2.6 mi

Arrive at: Woodfin River Park

Hope to see you there!

 

 

 

We decided to outfit the SCUD and take it to the park and play spot called Big Rocks, on the Nolichucky River. Seems to have worked perfectly fine after the beating and shipping damage. Big thanks to Mike Nail and Scott Darby.

CLICK HERE!

 

 

 

 

Fluid has had many requests lately from people who want special color boats. Don't know why so many requests suddenly, but they decided to make special colors on order, under the following conditions:

1) The special colors have to be colors that we already use in other models. In other words white, pink, purple, green, black and silver.

2) There will be an extra fee. Contact WakaWai to inquire.

3) A deposit will be required. Arrange with WakaWai.

4) It might take a while to receive the special color boat, as it will have to tie in with bigger shipments from the factory. The next container of Fluid boats to the USA is in March 2009.

Below are some special color boats they have moulded already.

 

 

 

 

 

USNWC...In Trouble?

 

Leading the way in kayak designs, Bliss-Stick is committed to providing the very best of the best for our customers, with that goal in mind we launched a new creative selling technique , far from the usual method that a customer would experience when committing and investing in buying a new kayak.

Our mission is to set up a dedicated team of kayakers who can sell kayaks to kayakers. It sounds reasonably normal, but all this is done out in the field, at the river and while having fun at the same time. We urge our Agents just the one request....and that is to go paddling and have fun in our boats. What better way to pay for your very own kayaking habit.

This new sales method not only has benefits for our agents, but adds a more personalized touch directly with the kayakers and enables us to offer a respectful pricing structure directly to the paddling community.

Have you got what it takes to become a Bliss-stick agent?

We are not looking for the very best paddlers or the hard out sales executive, all we are wanting is real down to earth paddlers like ourselves. We are fortunate to have Agents that possess a great deal of all of the above and we are very proud to have them as apart of this new exciting selling method and as part of the Bliss-Stick team.

We are looking for Agents in the followong states:  AL, OH, IN, IL, KY, MD, MS, NH and RI.

If this all sounds like a bit of you, and you are keen to find out more about our USA Agent program, drop us an email: Details on the US Agent Program.

How to set up your Bliss-Stick Kayak

After completing the ordering and purchase of your Bliss-Stick Kayak we will use every means possible to have the delivery to you in 5 working days.  Sometime sooner, depending on you location with in the States.  This section is to help you from the time you receive your Kayak at the door, until just moments later when you are ready to set off on your first river trip in your new Bliss-Stick Kayak, We hope you enjoy paddling your new boat and get as much satisfaction from it as we have had making the kayak. Our goal is to make our customers proud to be Bliss-Stick owners.

Arrival at your door.



While the driver is still at your doorstep please check the package over for any obvious signs of damage from the delivery company, If you are happy , you can thank the driver.



Pre-cautionary only ......If on the other hand you do notice obvious signs of damage to the kayak like tears to the plastic and chaffing or forklift holes in your kayak, dont let the driver go just yet, have him take the boat back and please do not accept the delivery, Contact WakaWai customer services urgently so we can get a replacement on its way.



It is time to begin to play with your new Kayak, remove wrapping ( just kidding )



Before you can begin to adjust your kayaks hardware you will notice the Adjustment key located in the rear of the backrest.



Begin by removing the Goodie Bag , and you may need to use the extra cut shims to pack out or alter the amount of hip pad support is required.



Either add shims or remove shims to suit the fit for your hips.



Once satisfied with the fit, simply close the hip pad sock and you are done.



With your adjuster key turn back the seat bolts 4 - 6 turns each, and on both sides of the seat. Taking the bolts out completely will release the Brass plate on the other side, and getting this back into place will require some language and body flexing.



This will allow the seat to travel either forward or backwards, it will need some help as indicated in the picture. The seat is set at the Factory in the Medium setting ,and we urge you to paddle the boat at least once to decide on the seat coming forward if your legs are short'ish or going back if your legs are long'ish.

Re tighten the seat hardware back up tightly on both sides.



Next are the cool thighbraces, these can be set forward or back wards as well , and the factory setting is again Medium, you want the thighbrace cup to be mostly on your thigh below the knee, and not right on the knee cap.



The cups are designed to rotate in 4 directions , the cup itself can move from side to side from the easy or extreme settings or they can also be twisted to suit the angle of your leg position. When running your local run use the easy setting for general river running and when you get to the playholes notch them right-up in the Eddie.



The outter adjustment is if you want to move the thighbrace base forward or backwards, just loosen this bolt 4 - 6 turns only so the brass plate stays in place on the inside.



The seat unit is fitted with a comfortable seat Pad.



We have made the front storage roomy enough to take a Pelican case, throwbag or water bottle.



The rear drain plug is secured by a lanyard , make sure you screw the plug back in to place once you have completed using the drain hole, a loose and hanging drain plug can easily go a stray on you. The Molded in design to the left is a typical New Zealand myth, this is called a Mania and is formally one of many water Spirits and Taniwha's, this one is a "good luck " and Guidance one thankfully.



Rads come with a one peice foam footblock that can be cut to suit.



Mark you cut on the footblock and angle it slightly to give you more toe freedom, the foam can be cut with a Saw or a sharp bread knife, It pays to start conservative and not cut too much off in the first attempt.



The SCUD comes with a 2 piece footblock to allow for the long front pillar. These are left and a right with the wedge shape facing downwards. Foam footrests keep the weight issue to a premium for the playboating side to the SCUD



Again marking the footblock is required and cutting a little at a time is reccomended. Setting a slight angled cut will give more toe space on the top edge of the footblock.



Normal River Running boats like our Mystic, Huka and Mac all come with an adjustable Bulkhead footrest, these can be adjusted with ease from inside of the Kayak and require no cutting. Unlike a play boat these footrests offer a more solid foot brace system but carry with them the added weight.



These can simply be adjusted by removing the 4 tri knobs and setting the required distance, placing all 4 tri - knobs back afterwards is essential. This system is great when you have multipule users of a kayak.



Finally once the seat, Thighbraces and footblocks have been adjusted to suit you in your Bliss-Stick, there are still a couple of fine tune micro adjustments to be done to make your paddling day perfect, these adjustments are done on the day and right when launching off onto your favourite run. Behind the foam backband there are 2 Metal Cam buckles which have a breaking strain of 350 Kgs, ( 800 lbs ), this will semi adjust the backband into position, the micro adjustments are on the top of the thighbraces, and these are a binding ratchet on either side, Use these to adjust the backband to tention once you are in the kayak, you can relax the tention or crank them up when required at your favourite playspot.



Congratulations! your adjustments are all now completed and your kayak will feel as snug as you decide and need, it to be. All there is to do now is to load up the car, Pat the cat and go have some fun.

Actually.......There is just one more job to do........



This outfitting section will be added to as we go and get request or great ideas in from paddlers in the field, we hope you find the information useful and would like to hear your feedback and your comments on your new Bliss-Stick Kayak.

 

From AW:

After passing in the House, an economic stimulus bill totalling $800 billion dollars is heading for the Senate. This massive stimulus package hopes to put three million people to work on short-term projects that will have lasting benefits. If passed, this bill will allocate over $3 billion dollars of funding to federal land management agencies—the same agencies that manage many of our country's most treasured whitewater rivers. These agencies, including US Park Service, US Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management, will spend the stimulus money on construction and restoration projects such as road, trail, and river access area maintenance. This is our opportunity to make suggestions regarding how and where this funding should be spent, and to help these agencies prioritize projects that will benefit enjoyment of our public lands and rivers.

We need your input on potential projects

American Whitewater has joined forces with other members of the Outdoor Alliance to compile a list of infrastructure projects that are important to the active outdoor recreation community. We will put this list in front of the federal land management agencies during upcoming trips to Washington, D.C. to provide guidance on how to spend this stimulus money in the most efficient and meaningful way.

We need to hear from you! This is your chance to propose a project or highlight a physical problem with a federally managed road, trail, river, or landscape in your back yard that needs increased financial support. Suggested projects can include the design of new river access areas or trails, maintenance or removal of existing roads or bridges, remediation of abandoned mine sites, and stream restoration projects. Projects must be on federal lands, and must be physical construction or restoration projects. Please take the following survey and provide as much information as possible.

Take the survey

 

Here is the schedule for the Cheoah River in NC for the year 2009. Hope to see you out there!

February 21, 2009

March 14th, 2009

April 4,5,18,19,25,26, 2009

May 9,10,16,17,30,31, 2009

June 20, 21, 2009

November 7th, 2009