Whitewater Rafting River Terms
“This stretch of the river is class 4 rapids and will require front and back strokes on my command to follow our line. Everyone ready?”
We get it, you want to fully understand the talk to successfully walk the walk. The table below will get you up to speed in no time on whitewater rafting river terms.
We also recommend to become familiar with whitewater rafting hand signals and river difficulties.
| Terms | Definition |
|---|---|
| Above | Upriver from |
| Back Pivot | Turning the raft 180 degrees with the stearn facing downstream |
| Back Row | A stroke consisting of full body movement for a more powerful move |
| Below | Downriver from |
| Bend | Curve in a river |
| Blade | The wide, flat part of an oar or paddle |
| Booties | Wetsuit footwear for warmth |
| Bow | The front of the boat |
| Brace | Support yourself/raft to prevent a flip or going overboard |
| Breaking Wave | A wave wich falls back on itself upstream |
| Capsize | To flip in the water |
| Channel | A deeper, narrower section of the river |
| Chute | A channel between obstructions moving faster than surrounding water |
| Class I Rapids | Fast moving water with riffles and small waves |
| Class II Rapids: Novice | Straightforward rapids with wide channels requiring occasional maneuvering |
| Class III: Intermediate | Rapids with irregular waves requiring complex maneuvers |
| Class IV: Advanced | Powerful, predictible rapids requiring precise maneuvers in turbulent water |
| Class V: Expert | Long, violent, obstructed, and unavoidable rapids needing complex routes and navigation |
| Class VI: Extreme and Exploratory Rapids | Rarely attempted runs with high danger, unpredictability, and difficulty |
| Clean | Clear of obstructions |
| Confluence | The point where two or more rivers meet |
| Current | Moving water |
| Downstream | The direction the river is flowing |
| Draw Stroke | Paddling technique to move the boat sideways towards an outstretched paddle |
| Drop/Pitch | An abrupt descent in a river |
| Dry Suit | A rubber suit that allows no water in for warmth |
| Eddie | Water flowing upstream behind an obstacle |
| Ferry | To move sideways across a river without moving downstream |
| Flip | Turning a boat upside down |
| Flotilla | A group of boats together on a trip |
| Flow | The amount of water passing a single section in the river meased in volume per second |
| Guide | The person who steers and gives commands to the crew |
| High Side | When hitting an obstacle sideways the side of the boat that gets elevated. Typically accomanied by jumping to the high side to prevent a flip |
| High Water | River flow above the average, which makes the current faster and rapids easier/harder depending on features |
| Lead Boat | The first boat in a flotilla, typically captained by the trip leader |
| Life Jacket | A personal floatation device |
| Low Water | River flow below the average, which makes more obstacles to technically maneuver |
| Oar | A pole with a blade connected to the boat used to row |
| Paddle | A short pole not connected to a boat with a blade on one or both ends used to row |
| Paddle Commands | Commands used by the guide to communicate techniques to the crew during runs |
| Portage | To carry the boats on land |
| Pull/Stroke | The movement of the paddle to direct the boat |
| Put-In | The location with river access where the trip begins |
| Raft/Boat | A buoyant boat used for floating |
| Rapid | Water flowing through a shallower, narrower, or steeper section of the river that causes whitewater |
| River Rating | The level of difficulty of a river (higher the harder) |
| River Left | The left side of the river when facing downstream |
| River Right | The right side of the river when facing downstream |
| Run | A river section that can be boated |
| Safety Talk | A talk by the guide before the trip to learn river safety |
| Scout | To stop and look at a rapid before running it |
| Setting Safety | Catching an eddie or going past a rapid to ensure safety of a boat behind you going through a rapid |
| Stearn | The rear of the boat |
| Sweep Boat | A boat rigged with first aid and rescue gear, typically the last boat in a flotilla |
| Swimmer's Position | Safest way to swim in a rapid. On back, feet up, arms to the side, facing downstream |
| Take-Out | The location with river access where the trip ends |
| Trip Leader | A guide designated to oversee multiple rafts of a trip |
| Agile Bow | A member of the crew assigned to get out on shore to hold the boat |
| Wrap/Hung Up | A boat held against an object by the force of the current |
| Lean In | Shifting your weight towards the center of the raft to prevent falling out |
| Line | A route through a rapid |
| Front Pivot | Going from an orientation to a bow downstream orientation |
| Point Positive | The direction that you are telling someone to go (never point negative) |
| Pool | A calm portion of a river |
| Power Face | The thicker surface of a paddle blade used to move the boat |
| Ready | Everything from the boat to the crew is prepared to go down the rapids |
| Reversal | When water moves upstream or swirls in a rapid |
| Set Up Safety | When boats/people set up along a run to provide rescue support if needed |
| Sneak | Take an easy route around a difficult rapid |
| Section/Stretch | The river portion located between two points |
| Swimmer | A person who has falled out of a boat |
| Toss/Throw Bag | A rescue bag with a floating line in it that is thrown downstream of a swimmer |
| Upstream | The opposite direction of the current |
| Wave | A hump in flowing water |
| Whitewater | The white, aerated water of rapids |
| Wet Suit | A rubber suit that allows minimal water between the suit and skin to keep warm |
| Back Roller | A wide rapid reversal |
| Boat Angle | The angle of the boat relative to the current |
| Boil | A water current upwelling into a mound |
| Boof | To slide over an object, but not to nose dive |
| Broach | Moving a boat perpendicular to the current |
| Carabiner/Biner | A clip used to secure items into the boat |
| Cartwheeling | Spinng a raft around an object |
| Curler | A wave that falls back onto itselt upstream |
| Dig | To paddle lower in the water to take advantage of stronger deep current |
| Dry Bag/Day Bag | A bag for keeping gear dry on the river (unless submerged) |
| Eddie Cushion | The layer of water that pads the upstream face of obstructions |
| Eddie line/fence | The location where the water flowing upstream passes the water flowing downstream |
| Eddie Out | To catch an eddie |
| Feathering a blade | On a stroke return switching your blades orientation through the wind to make it easier |
| Flip line | A line used to turn a flipped boat up right |
| Foot Cup | Shaped like a cup for the crew to put their feet into for leverage and support |
| Freeboard | The distance from the top of the raft to the water line |
| Gate | A narrow passage between obstacles |
| Ghost Boat | Push the boat with no occupants through rapids |
| Beam | The width of a raft at its widest point |
| Laterals | A wave or hole coming off an obstacle at an angle |
| Oar Frame | A wood/metal frame of the raft to provide the basis for oar leverage |
| Oar Rig | A raft rigged with an oar frame to be rowed with oars |
| Paddle Boat | A raft that is paddled and not rowed |
| Pool-Drop | A river type that has pools of calmer water in-between rapids |
| Standing Wave/Haystack | A wave formed by obstacles on the river bottom causing the wave to stand still relative to the bank |
| Stern Rig/Paddle Assist | A raft where the crew paddles sitting forward and the guide has a frame in the stern for oars |
| Strainer, Sieve | An opening that water can flow through but not objets (boat or people) usually formed by trees or rocks |
| Stream Gradient | The ratio of drop in elevation of a stream per horizontal distance |
| Strokemaster | A member of the crew (or the guide) in charge of setting the cadence and timing for the whole crew |
| Z-Drag | A pulley system used to help free a boat from a wrap |
| Keeper | A reversal that is strong enough to trap a raft for an extended period of time |
| Rooster Tail | Water crashing off an obstacle in a fan-shaped plume |
| Sleeper | An obstacle just under the water surface creating no disturbance |
| Tail Waves | Standing waves at the bottom of a rapid |
| Tongue | The "V" shaped fast smooth water found at the head of rapids |
| Undercut | When water flows under an obstacle or ledge |
| Wave Train | A spot with continuous waves |
| Hole/Hydraulic | When water flows over and down an obstacle and then back onto itself causing whitewater |