Page 114 - 2022-08-01 Paddling Magazine

WHITEWATER

RIVER SHORTS
From Scratch

With paper, plastic, patience and leftover parts,
Konrad Van Varseveld builds his very own boat.
And then another one. by louise stanway
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA engineering student
Konrad Van Varseveld has never shied away from a DIY challenge.
After recently building a hydrospeed (a whitewater riverboard) out
of an old whitewater creek boat shell, he decided to upcycle the
kayak outfitting too. “I figured I could probably build a new kayak
to put the outfitting in,” he said.
Determined not to let the idea fall into the drawer of winter-
projects-I’ll-never-get-to, the 20-something boater let these leftover,
odd bits serve as kindling for his next upcycled creation.
Van Varseveld paid close attention to edge and rocker design and
assembled multiple paper prototypes until all the pieces fit together
seamlessly. Once he had found what he thought to be the winning
combination, he traced the outlines onto high-density polyethylene
sheets before cutting them out and beginning the plastic welding
process. He then transplanted the cockpit rim from the dismem-
bered creeker. All told, the build took him about 60 hours.
Van Varseveld took the new kayak for a test ride down his local class
III. He bumped a few rocks, hit a few boofs, and yet the homemade
kayak endured. “This first kayak project went well, but after hiking five
laps of the Clearwater River’s Pink Mountain Wave without catching it
once, I decided to build a faster boat. The second design is narrower,
longer and slicier in the stern, making it well suited for green wave PHOTO: COURTESY KONRAD VAN VARSEVELD
surfing.” Watch the video of Van Varseveld’s build at paddlingmag.
com/0113.

VERSION 1. PHOTO: COURTESY KONRAD VAN VARSEVELD

OETZ TROPHY: NEW RACE REPLACES SICKLINE

THE INAUGURAL Oetz Trophy extreme kayak race to one of whitewater’s most prestigious events: Adidas
saw its debut in Tirol, Austria, on October 31, 2021. The Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship. When
world’s best whitewater paddlers charged their way support was pulled by the event’s title sponsors back in
down the technical, class V rapids of the Wellerbrücke 2017, it left a gaping hole in elite racers’ calendars.
section of the Ötztaler Ache River, hoping to score the After some extensive brainstorming, numerous
fastest time and earn the champion title. discussions with athletes and important players in the
If this is the first time you’ve heard of Oetz Trophy, Ötztal, the small team of enthusiasts came together and
PHOTO: JAKOBI MILOS/OETZ TROPHY Austria. The coaching staff consists of avid kayakers akers still flocked in from around the world to battle for a
the championship was reborn with a new name. And
you’re not alone. The event is the recent brainchild of
despite it being its inception year, household name kay-
the team at Source To Sea Kayak School in Innsbruck,
spot on the Oetz Trophy podium. In 2021, Dane Jackson
who spend long summers playing and teaching on
their home river in the Ötztal valley.
(USA) and Laura Hofberger (Germany) snagged the
wins. The next Oetz Trophy race takes place September
This valley isn’t a hidden gem, though. For years it
was very much on the map for kayakers around the
Extreme Kayak Championships. —LS
globe who came to know and love the river playing host 22-25, 2022, and has been chosen to host the European
114
P A D D L IN G M A G A Z IN E