Come hell or high water, 73-year-old Bruce McGonigal and his pal Rob Goodine intend to float a homemade catamaran 30 kilometres down the Bulkley River from Quick to Smithers in northern B.C. in August.

Their plan sparks a notable question: what would inspire someone to undertake such an endeavour?

sa国际传媒淚 never thought I would live to experience a pandemic and Isa国际传媒檓 going crazy,sa国际传媒� McGonigal said. sa国际传媒淚 was outside thinking of something to do and I saw the two kayaks under a tarp and had this epiphany; it just kind of flashed and then it kind of just morphed.sa国际传媒�

It morphed into a craft, dubbed the HMCV Cat 1, with two boat seats and a cooler bolted onto a wooden superstructure attached to the two kayaks with an oar for a rudder.

sa国际传媒淲hen you think about it, itsa国际传媒檚 quite a stupid thing that we are about to do,sa国际传媒� McGonigal said.

sa国际传媒淪tructurally, those two kayakssa国际传媒� theysa国际传媒檙e not designed to take that kind of force as a catamaran,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淧oints of contact, thatsa国际传媒檚 going to be the issue.sa国际传媒�

To resolve that issue, McGonigal initially bolted the superstructure onto the kayakssa国际传媒� bow and stern with GRK RSS screws, a rugged structural screw with high tensile, torque and shear strength. But looking at craft afterward, he recognized while the screws themselves might hold up, there was another potential problem.

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sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 going to be all kinds of force and the only thing [holding the platform on] is the fibreglass thickness of the kayak at the bow and stern,sa国际传媒� he explained. sa国际传媒淚t became readily apparent that the four RSS screws were not adequate.sa国际传媒�

So, he added four cinching belts.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 now putting all my faith in the four cinching belts that bind the superstructure to the mid-frame of the kayaks in addition to the four GRKs,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 going to be a test by fire.sa国际传媒�

McGonigal sa国际传媒� who has been on the river many times in other kinds of crafts and who worked in water management in Smithers for 35 years sa国际传媒� figures by mid-August the river will be into its lower flow phase and most of the 30-or-so kilometres will be a fairly casual float.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a coastal, sort of fairly high-velocity river on the west coast,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淵ou just have to be attentive, there are some log jams, so you just pick the best channel.sa国际传媒�

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However, there are three critical points where hydraulic conditions could be a major factor.

sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e not to be ignored or taken casually,sa国际传媒� he said.

The first is just above the Telkwa Bridge.

sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 some fast heavy water in there,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚 think Isa国际传媒檓 only talking Class 1, no more than Class 2 [rapids] for sure, but in this contraption wesa国际传媒檒l have to pick the best line.sa国际传媒�

The next one is at Eddy Park, where they will have to avoid heavy water in the eddy, but McGonigal believes there is a side channel they can use to get around it.

Finally, the big test, the standing wave at Tatlow Falls, a favourite play area for kayakers, canoeists, riverboarders and even motorboaters, but has unlikely ever seen the likes of McGonigalsa国际传媒檚 latest invention.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e been over, around, Tatlow Falls many times so you just do river right,sa国际传媒� he said.

Whatsa国际传媒檚 the worst that could happen?

sa国际传媒淭he worst-case scenario is we go under and we donsa国际传媒檛 come up,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淎 more realistic scenario is the boat breaks up and either a) we salvage the kayaks and paddle down or b) if the whole thing floats away on us, we paddle to shore and start walking to a road.sa国际传媒�

In any case, he said he has the best partner for the task. Goodine, a local contractor, is a big, strong guy, he said.

sa国际传媒淗esa国际传媒檚 cannon-proof, hesa国际传媒檚 rock solid,sa国际传媒� McGonigal said. sa国际传媒淲hen things go sideways, hesa国际传媒檚 the kind of guy you want at your side.sa国际传媒�

They are not picking a date for the adventure, simply waiting for the first calm, sunny, 20 C degree day in August.

They are also not planning to test the boat or have anybody monitoring the float.

sa国际传媒淚 just want to put it in and see what happens,sa国际传媒� McGonigal said.

editor@interior-news.com
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