A waterfall on the New River?!? Yes, and a pretty impressive one to say the least. Sandstone Falls is 8 mile downstream of the town of Hinton, WV. Hinton is tucked away in the New River valley, just upstream of where the official New River Gorge begins. It took us over an hour to reach Sandstone Falls from Fayetteville, WV; it really is an out-of-the-way park-n-huck destination.
 
Upon arriving at Sandstone Falls, you’ll be greeted with a nice boardwalk that takes you over a couple bridges and out to the middle of the river at the base of the main falls for a great view. On river right is a massive rapid that few have ever run. In the middle of the river is a wide 23′ falls that lands on a mixture of sharp sandstone chunks, shallow pools, and a few deep ones. You’d better scout real well to make sure you’re going over a horizon line that does in fact land in one of the deep spots. Approaching a wide waterfall like this is always a little scary just trying to line up with the exact spot you scouted, because it all looks pretty much the same from upstream. On the river-left section are some smaller, scrapier drops that would be fun a higher flows. We had about 7,500cfs and were thinking that we’d like to come back around 13,000cfs when some more col lines would open up.
 
Cooper Lambla, myself, and Luke Hopkins did laps on different parts of the falls, plus a lot of exploring since it was our first time there. This was Cooper’s first time in the new Diesel 80, but it looked like he’d been paddling it for years with how smooth his lines were. Cooper never missed a boof in all his runs over the falls, and he skimmed over the holes in the rapids with ease.
 
We all are looking forward to more rain this spring to check out Sandstone Falls with even more flow. This place is reminiscent of Great Falls on the Potomac in that there are a plethora of line to bomb down at all sorts of different levels. The quaint town of Hinton is a gem to drive through as well, and it just adds to the ‘lost-world’ feel of exploring Sandstone Falls.

Over at Team Potamac Paddlesports, there’s a great trip report with the new Diesel taking on the snowy Great Falls, and needless to say it was up to the task. Check out their review, and some amazing pics from the trip!

http://potomacpaddlesportsteam.blogspot.com/2009/02/great-falls-on-snowy-day.html

Wave Sport Team Member Bryan Kirk sends over a description of his latest trip into Wild, Wonderful (and frozen solid) West Virginia to test out the new Diesel 70.  How did it perform?

Photos by Brian Jennings.

I awoke this morning with a knock on my bedroom door; my roommate Brian J was exclaiming, “Mill Creek is running!” For the past 2 weeks West Virginia has been in a deep freeze, with some nights well below zero. This latest winter storm has been kind to Fayetteville, dropping over an inch of warm rainfall on top of 4″ plus snow on the ground.

At the put-in, I was wondering where all the ice was. Around the bend, I found the answer to my question with a massive ice dam. I didn’t want to portage in the snow, so I plowed up on the ice and use my AT2 and hands to push my way across.

At Mill Creek falls, the 20 footer with multiple lines, I was wondering how the planing hull of the new Diesel would feel on the landing. I landed with around a 40 degree angle, and the bow hit first with a surprisingly soft feeling. The rest of the boat landed and propelled me out away from the base of the falls. This was slightly flatter than I like to land off a 20 footer, but the new sidecut on the bow made it feel similar to landing in a round creekboat. I was stoked - my main concern about taking the Diesel creeking was put to rest. It landed much softer than the original Diesel.

The new Diesel 70 also boofs like a champ, thanks to the new, more gradual rocker profile. The stern feels like just the right shape to slice in while boofing to raise the bow, but not too small to feel squirelly in rapids.

I’ve been paddling my Habitat 74 lately on the Green, Manns, and Wolf creek. Hopping into the Diesel on Mill creek today was a pleasant change from my round creekboat. The Diesel feels more sporty, or high-performance, and is definitely faster than my creekboat. The chines let me hold a nice line though rapids, then glide a nice arc into eddies with just the lift of a knee.

I knew the new Diesels would excel in high-volume, pushy runs. Today proved to me that the Diesel can get me down rocky, steep creeks with the same confidence, yet more agility than my creekboats. Now I’m going to be faced with the quandary of what boat to take to my local creeks; I guess my mood will determine which boat I throw in the truck from now on….

Check out some action video from Team Wave Sport members Kelsey Thompson and Bryan Kirk looking for trouble in the 2009 Diesels.

2009 Wave Sport Diesel from Kelsey Thompson on Vimeo.

Bryan Kirk, a member of Team Wave Sport, has provided a great preview of the new Diesel and what went into the production process of redesigning this popular series, including new photos of the Diesel in action!
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The original Diesel 65 and 75 defined the term ‘river runner’ when they were released back in 2005. The designs were so solid that Team Wave Sport and countless others used the Diesels as their go-to big water AND creekers for years. Its combination of forgiveness, maneuverability, and bomber outfitting made choosing the Diesel a no-brainer no matter what river you were putting on.

For the 2009 season the Robert Peerson and the design team at Wave Sport decided it was time for an evolution of the ‘SUV’ of kayaks. We went out to improve every single aspect of the Diesel, and even added a size to the series.

How did we make it faster? With a new rocker profile and increased flared sidewalls in the bow and stern.

How did we make it more maneuverable? By eliminating the section of the rocker break that hindered quick turning. This also gave us the only loose river runner on a green wave!

How did we make it stay on the surface in huge rapids? We peaked the deck in the bow and stern just enough to resurface predictably and smoothly.

We now have 3 sizes to choose from in 60, 70, & 80 gallon versions. The new aluminum-base thigh hooks are more adjustable and will allow the even the tallest of boaters to have a perfect fit with a higher knee area.

Test Run
I was fortunate enough to be able to paddle one of the first Diesel 70’s at Great Falls on the Potomac River over Thanksgiving. It proved to me that all of our prototyping and testing really paid off. It was as if you took all of the attributes of the old Diesel and put them on steroids. The first thing I did was to lean the boat over with my hips to test its stability. The 70 felt more stable than my old 75 gallon version, and at least as stable as my creekboat, the Habitat 80! I felt like a faster, more controlled paddler in the 70. It carved into micro eddies effortlessly.

I resurfaced the 23-foot Spout waterfall in control and moving away from the drop with speed. The deck now sheds water amazingly well in big wave trains thanks to the new peaked shape. The Horseshoe Wave at the base of the falls was almost totally washed out and didn’t even look surfable, but I stuck a 180 then backsurfed it with no foam pile at all.

The redesigned Diesel paddles better in every aspect than the original. It’s going to be my new go-anywhere, do-anything boat this winter in West Virginia. I can’t wait to take it on a Lower Meadow into 15,000 cfs Upper Gauley run. I’d feel 100% confident in the Diesel 70 on a big mission like that.

-Bryan Kirk

Bryan also contributed some specs and insight over at the Colorado Kayak Supply Blog, check out their review here: http://cksblog.com/?p=979

Pics (Click to enlarge)

From the article at Paddling Life Magazine Christmas Wishlist with Pro Kim Russell:

Wave Sport’s new Diesel 60, 70, 80

Meet Wave Sport’s redesigned Diesel, the ultimate 4×4 of kayaks. With its new rocker profile and increased flared sidewalls, this kayak is faster than its predecessor. In addition, its is even more maneuverable, loose and forgiving! With its comfortable, easy-fit outfitting, its new thigh hooks, and three sizes, this boat fits anyone and everyone. This boat is truly the 4×4 of kayaks, running rivers effortlessly and even rivaling the Habitat for its creeking ability. But it’s also great for beginners. So, if you’re looking to give to a boater who wants to run-rivers and wants to step it up on the occasional creek, this is the boat for you.

http://www.paddlinglife.net/article.php?id=374

Merry Christmas.