An Ode to a Playboat, by a Non-Playboater: my first few laps in the Helectron
Last year, I hit my goal of 200 days on the water, and of those days, less than 10% were spent in a playboat. Unless you count a half slice as a playboat, which I do not. I self-identify as a creek boater, so much so that on my home rivers, my friends tease me when they see me in a boat with less than 60 gallons of volume.
Enter, an opportunity to paddle the Helectron on a 5-hour New River playboat lap (iykyk), and exit, someone closer to a playboater than they’ve ever been. Now, I find myself singing the praises of a boat I really have not enough expertise to speak on; but as a “non-playboater”, who tries to occasionally playboat, I can’t help but love the Helectron.
My home river, the New, already has less than a foot of water, meaning long flat pools perfect for distracting myself with trick practice. Double pump, check. Stern stall, check. Something that could maybe resemble my first cartwheel, check. I’m grateful to have more ‘slicyness’ in my bow than some other designs to make the flatwater play a bit more achievable. The closer I am to getting tricks, the more I want to practice, and the more I practice, the closer I get! It’s a viciously amazing cycle that the Helectron is helping me with.
Surfs were great, of course, and a fun hole on my home run has already provided hours of loop practice. Unsuccessful, but enjoyable. It was easy to catch all the little whitecaps scattered through familiar wave trains, and I’m eager to get the Helectron on a proper surf wave. More important than all this, it’s a boat I can actually sit in for hours on end, only popping my skirt to let my feet out occasionally.
My last point of praise for my new favorite playboat is its performance on downriver paddling. The slots and eddies and ferries are normally something I give up on a playboat lap. I choose to spend my energy practicing my double pump, not carping my way down rapids until I can get upright. However, whipping in and out of the James Brown Eddy at Lower Keeney’s, I felt confident and comfortable, which is no small feat while driving a playboat. It boofs great and speeds up quick, letting me zip around lines I enjoy running, in between the surfs and splats it already has a great reputation for.
All in all, now that I have a Helectron in my fleet, I may be an occasional playboat convert. It’s a boat that can keep me entertained on low-water slicey laps and perform how I need it to on high-water surf sessions. As much as I love my Firecracker, I will definitely be thankful not to be slow cruising down the river while the homies spin their way down in playboats!