Raft Guide River Slang To Know

If you’ve spent any time on a raft, hung out with kayakers, or even researched float trips this summer, you’ve likely heard references to a section of the river being “boney” or had someone ask you to grab your “PFD”, and wondered what the heck they were talking about.

So here we offer up the definitive guide to all things river slang; the next time you’re on the river, you’ll be able to answer back, “Yeah, dude, you’re right. This boney section is super sketchy. Hopefully we have some boogie water coming up soon.”

Boney- A section of the river that has lower flows, often exposing lots of rocks. Boney stretches require the full attention of the paddler since there’s lot of technical maneuvering to do.

Holes- Also called hydraulics. Water moves over a rock or other obstacle and creates a wave on the backside. Sometimes a river guide or paddler steers towards a hole because it means a big splash and lots of laughs. At other times a hydraulic needs to be avoided altogether- only experience tells you which is the right decision.

Boogie water- Class I and II sections of the river that do not require the paddler’s full attention because very few maneuvers need to be made. In other words, this is a good time to grab a cold beverage out of the Yeti.

Pool drop- A section of the river that has a pattern of rapids alternated with a sustained calm stretch of water and then repeated. Good examples of this on the Upper Arkansas River are the Royal Gorge and Brown’s Canyon. The opposite of this would be a continuously technical section of the river that offers rapid after rapid with no real break in between, such as The Numbers.