Bail Cord- A cord attached to the spray skirt, which allows the paddler to release the spray skirt,
and get out of the boat.

Boater- A kayaker. Recognized by their addiction to the weather channel, and the wild-eyed
smile that refuses to leave their faces when it is raining. See Paddler.

Class I- A rapid with slow moving water and no obstacles or hazards. Can be run anywhere.

Class II- A rapid with easily avoidable obstacles, and no hazards. Can have several different
routes.

Class III- A rapid with obstacles and hazards, which can easily be avoided. Routes to avoid
the obstacles are easily recognizable.

Class IV- A rapid with dangerous obstacles. Requires intricate maneuvering.

Class V- A rapid with violent water and dangerous entrapment hazards. Routes can not be seen
from river level. Runnable only by a team of experts with proper safety precautions in
place.

Class VI- A rapid that is generally considered unrunnable. No safe route exist can be seen.

Cockpit- The opening in a kayak where the paddler sits.

Creek- A low volume stream that harbors steep obstructed rapids. Characterized by fallen trees,
undercut rocks and many other entrapment hazards. Not for the faint of heart, these runs
highly technical and require advanced water reading ability.

Creekin- Paddling steep creeks. Usually done in high volume boats, by the lunatic fringe of the
paddling community.

Creek Boat- Large volume kayak or decked canoe.

C-1- A decked canoe. Resembles a kayak. However, a "c-boat" is paddled with a one bladed
paddle.

Eddy- Calm pools found on the downstream side of rock, bridge pilings, and other debris in a
river.

Eddy Line- A zone of strange water separating an eddy from the main flow of the river. The bane
the novice paddlers' existence and eddy line will often cause the unwary boater to find
him/herself upside down.

Ender- To stand your boat on end in a hole for fun.

Entrapment Hazard- Submerged rock, tress, and other debris can potentially snag objects and
hold them in place.

Falls- A.K.A Waterfall- A vertical drop higher than six feet. The world record for running a
waterfall in a kayak is currently held by the very deranged Tao Bermann. His first
descent of a 98 foot unnamed waterfall on British Columbia's Johnson Creek has redefined the limits of the sport.

Flood- The joyous time of year when spring rains cause rivers and creeks to swell outside their
Banks, causing the difficulty of a river to increase. Hydraulics increase exponentially in
size. Paddling a river at flood stage is a dangerous endeavor because of the debris that
can be found floating in the river.

Hair- Extremely difficult whitewater, generally considered unrunnable by the average paddler.

Hole- See Hydraulic

Hydraulic- A river feature caused by water pouring over an obstruction and re-circulating
upstream. Can be very dangerous because the downstream flow in a hydraulic is
generally several feet below the surface and may feed directly into an entrapment hazard.

Keeper Hole- A hydraulic with no surface outflow. A very dangerous river feature, which
should avoided. ie. Woodall Shoals on the Chattooga River.

K-1- One man kayak. Paddled from a sitting position using a two bladed paddle.

Paddler- Strange species of human being, not gender specific, who generally can be found
sneaking out the back door of their workplace whenever it is raining. See Boater.

Play Boat- A low volume kayak, made to surf waves and holes.

Put In- The place where you leave your car and get in your boat. Recognizable by the confusion
caused the decision over who is going to run shuttle.

Set-Up- The first step in the Eskimo Roll. Involves leaning all the way forward, with the paddle
reaching for the surface.

Shuttle- To run shuttle; The act of shuffling cars, beer, and dry clothes around so that they will
be at the take out at the end of the day.

Shuttle Bunny- A non- paddler who runs shuttle for the people paddling. A term of affection.

Sieve- A dangerous rock formation. Typically formed by large boulders, which allows water to
flow through them, but not objects.

Skirt- Spray skirt. A piece of neoprene which attaches to the cockpit of a kayak to keep water
out. Worn around the waist.

Strainer- A log which has fallen into a river. Called a strainer because they tend to catch objects
floating in a river. A serious entrapment hazard. Several highly skilled paddlers have lost
their lives because of logs that have washed into creeks at flood stage.

Surf- To ride a wave or a hole. Usually done for fun, but getting caught in a hole will cause
you to "get surfed."

Swim- To fail to roll you kayak and have to pull your bail cord and exit your boat.

Take Out- Where you get off the river, and get into your car. Often a place where paddlers spend
hours telling lies about the great run they had on their local hair creek last weekend.

Trashed- A dynamic, and often painful experience. Usually results from missing a line in a hard
rapid and blundering into a large hole. Also called getting surfed, munched, toe- up,
worked, hammered, or busted.

Undercut- A rock which has been eroded away on the upstream side. One of the most dangerous
entrapment hazards. Things that wash into an undercut do not typically wash out.