Team JK member Rodrigo, from Chile tells about his Rocker Experience on a low water falls

By Rodrigo Tuschner

Hey there Jackson Kayak,

November 9th was another beautiful day in Pucón, Chile and my friend Chris Korbulic and I wanted to go kayaking. All the rivers had very high water, so we wanted to go to the Rio Carhuello for some action. When we got to the put in we saw that the river was really low. We were really surprised but decided to put on anyway. The first and second drops are at the put-in, so we bounced down the first then got out to scout the second. Both lines were marginal with the low water, but I decided that I liked the far left line, which looked like a big boof that would send me out over a little tree in the water and into the pool about 6.5 meters below. We knew the pool was shallow but I was confident with my Rocker that I could make the boof and clear the tree and rocks. I paddled hard toward the drop, bouncing over some unseen rocks and got slowed down and pushed farther left than I wanted to be. I still knew I could make the boof, it would just be a little harder. I hit the boof rock, pulled my stroke, and felt my bow come up. Then I felt the consequence of getting slowed by the rocks. My stern hit the same rock I had just boofed and my bow dropped towards the rocks at the bottom. I pitoned between two rocks.

Afterwards my legs and feet didn’t hurt at all. The strong and soft bulkhead absorbed all the impact and kept my body from feeling much impact. Also, I could paddle just fine after because the rope system that absorbed the impact stayed in place and was still solid. The boat felt a little more pain than I did and it had two big dents in the front from getting pinched between two rocks, but after I left the boat in the sun for less than a day, I could not even tell that I had pitoned! Solid boat and outfitting system in the Rocker kept me safe and ready to paddle more hard whitewater!!

Incredible system for a Creek Boat…

Just another awesome day in the south of the world…

Have fun out there and good luck.

Rodrigo Tuschner
CHILE.