Jackson Flow review

 

I demoed Dennis C's medium Jackson Flow on the Hiwassee Sunday. I had paddled his Flow once before briefly on the Mulberry Fork last year and wanted to give it another try.

I've been spending all of my river time in my medium Jackson Antix 2.0, and expected the Flow to have a similar feel. Once we put on and I ferried over to the grasses where we get everyone together, I thought, this thing is a pig. It felt sluggish and slow. I was surprised by this and had a suspicion that seat position was the key. I pulled over at the teaching island and moved the seat back from the middle to one notch back. (One great thing about Jackson outfitting is how easy it is to adjust the seat and bulkhead on the fly.) I was right; moving the seat back let the bow release some and it let me edge the boat and surf. I was able to put the boat where I wanted and catch all of my little surf spots. Front surfing is my favorite thing to do in a kayak and it surfed well. I purposely did not boof any rocks as I was in a friends boat, but I also purposely went through holes just to see how the bow rocker felt; as expected it went over the holes instead of plugging them. Example being the feature at the top of Devil's Shoals.

The knee position is flatter than the Antix, and I kind of wish they had gone with the Antix knee height and am curious why they didn't. I didn't notice it after awhile and it wasn't uncomfortable. It rolls easy.

The Flow does not have the feel of a fast performance creeker, but that isn't its purpose.

To me it's like an Antix for days I don't want the slicy stern grabbing me. I think the Flow is designed for river running and creeky rocky runs with little eddies to tuck in. I like that it is shorter than most creekboats these days. No idea how it does in big water, but it does have edges which would help. I dig the boat.

*edit to add, this would be a good boat for beginners as well.

Me in the medium Jackson Flow 

Fun Stuff 2025 Part 2

 Blogger is not letting me update my blog so I'm starting a part 2.  

I'd like to find a better hosting platform but a minimal search this morning didn't come up with much.

Anyway: 

April 12 Upper/Lower Mulberry. In the Jackson Antix 2.0.  With Peggy, Jie, Kevin S., and Westin.  Level around 2.1.  Kind of too low for the Upper but we were happy to get on it at least once this season. 

April 18 First dive of the year at Blue Water Park.  With Bethany G.  My first dive with my new 5mm wetsuit which is a Henderson Aqualock.  It is very warm!  

April 26 Diving at Blue Water Park.  With Helen, Andy, and Reed.  Nice couple of dives.

Me mind-melding with a young bass. Photo by Helen H. 

May - we did the Mulberry and Locust. We had fun.  rinse and repeat.

May 24-26 BCC Hello to the Hiwassee.  We stayed at AU.  I did the Hiwassee Saturday and Sunday, and then the Cartecay on Monday.  Fun in the rainstorms. The water was colder than usual on the H so I wore my drysuit both days.

Fun Stuff 2025 part 1

Jan 1 2025 BCC Feast on the Beach. At the Birmingham Canoe Club property/Mulberry Fork takeout.  Level 1 ft, my favorite.  In the Jackson Antix 2.0m, also my favorite.  It was sunny, perhaps 60 as the high, and many people enjoyed the float and the feast after. 
Photos here: https://dangerjudy.smugmug.com/Other/PADDLING/Feast-on-the-Beach-2025

Jan 2 Mulberry.  Level approx 8 inches on the old bridge.  In the Jackson Antix 2.0m. With Tammy P., Andy L., Jason L.  Shahn W. tried to join us but he had left his helmet at home.  It happens to us all - have to Count Five. Sunny, mid-50's, Training Wheels wave was great, Lunchstop was flatter than at 1 ft so a bit harder to get onto, but was great to surf.  5-0 was shallow and steep.  
What does Count Five mean?  It means count the five things you must have in order to whitewater kayak: your paddle, your boat, your spray-skirt, your pfd, and your helmet.

Jan 16-20 GCA Florida trip. In the Dagger Axis 10.5.  Wonderful trip to paddle the springs of Florida with the Georgia Canoe Association.  Now I want a Stratos 14.5s.  I had a hard time keeping up with the long boats!  
Google maps will tell you it's 7.5-8 hours drive to Chassahowitzka Hotel where we stayed.  It's more like 9.5-10 hours. I went through Atlanta, it adds 100 miles but is the same amount of time and mostly interstate instead of little country roads.  
Friday 17th - Halls-Homosassa Rivers
Saturday 18th -  Pithlachascotee (Cotee) River
Sunday 19th - Withlacoochee River from the Inglis Bypass to Bird Creek Beach
Monday 20th - Chassahowitzka River then drove home.  Tons of Manatees!

Photos here: https://dangerjudy.smugmug.com/Other/PADDLING/GCA-Florida-2025

Feb 1-7 Ski Steamboat Colorado.  Beautiful trip including a visit to Strawberry Springs. I stayed with my friend Betsy.  With Margaret W., Eva V., Trey C. and David MC.  

Photos here: https://dangerjudy.smugmug.com/Other/Other-1/Steamboat-2025

Feb 15 Locust Fork. In the Jackson Antix 2.0 medium.   Level 3.75.  Justin C. and I were going to do Calvert Prong but it had dropped out.

Feb 16 Mill/Murphy creek and Calvert Prong.  In the Pyranha Scorch medium. Mill/Murphy was minimum and manky.  Calvert was high and the weather was down to 41F.  I had a crappy swim on Cyclops.

March 1-2 Mulberry Fork Races.   I volunteer gate judged on Saturday and went by Sunday to take photos.  Level was low but they added the Duck release Saturday so it was higher than minimum.

March 15-21 Roatan Diving. With Andrea and Keith, Larry and Leslie.  Wonderful trip. I did 9 dives, including a night dive that featured the String of Pearls.  Tuesday was too windy to dive so I visited Carambola Gardens.  Not sure why I left Roatan to return home.  Photos here: https://dangerjudy.smugmug.com/Other/SCUBA-DIVING/Roatan-March-2025.

March 15-23 Mulberry.  In the Jackson Antix 2.0m. Level around 1.17.  Great surfing with lots of friends.  Unfortunately I got something in my eye (probably sunblock) and it was windy so I was dealing with that.  Mexican at Casa Fiesta afterwards.

March 29 Mulberry. In the Jackson Antix 2.0m. Level around 1.17 again.  Perfect surfing levels at Training Wheels, Lunchstop, and Hawaii 5-0.  The Antix 2.0 has turned out to be the best boat for my needs that I've ever owned.  With Peggy, Andy, Joe, and open boaters John and Bobby.

Me surfing the Antix 2.0 at Hawaii 5-0 wave.

April 5 Locust Fork Races.  In the Jackson Antix 2.0.  For the first time in many years I decided to race. As in the past I was very slow but had fun. Great time visiting with friends and playing guitar with Shannon G on violin. I chose not to camp due to the forecast. Unfortunately the weather overnight meant Sunday was cancelled. The river went from 2 ft. range to 13 ft. range very quickly Sunday morning!