Skill Development

These Rowing courses teach essential skills that range from beginners to advanced and help you learn skills used to navigate Class I-4 whitewater. Participants will focus on fundamental maneuvers, river reading, hazard identification (like holes/waves), basic safety, and self/group rescue, introducing skills needed to guide a raft, emphasizing personal judgment, proper equipment use, and team responsibility for an enjoyable experience. 

Core Objectives & Skills

• River Reading: Identifying features, hazards, and safe lines in rapids (waves, hydraulics).

• Rowing Techniques: Efficient strokes, and maneuvers to control the raft.

• River Safety: Understanding river dynamics, personal safety, and basic rescue techniques (self-rescue, swimmer recovery).

• Raft Handling: Maneuvering the raft effectively and learning guiding skills for oar rafts.

• Equipment: Familiarization with oar raft gear and appropriate personal clothing. 

What You Learn

• "Hard Skills": Strokes, boat control, and how to navigate specific river features.

• "Soft Skills": Developing judgment, awareness, and responsibility for others in your group.

Who It's For

• Paddlers looking for more advanced skills and to gain confidence in larger, more difficult rapids.

• Those wanting to learn the fundamentals of rowing a raft for personal or future guiding roles. 

Take your skills to the next level

Guide Schools

We specialize in personalized Multi-day Guide Schools for both commercial raft companies, and private boaters of all levels.

Personalized Instruction

All of our Rowing courses have a low 6:1 participant-Instructor ratio. This allows us to deliver high-quality instruction, increases time management, enhances individualized attention, helps form more personal relationships, and promotes a more positive learning environment.

We offer the following ACA Courses:

• Level 2: Essentials of Rafting - Oars

• Level 3: Rafting - Oars

• Level 4: Whitewater Rafting - Oars

• Level 5: Advanced Whitewater Rafting - Oars