Glossary (For those new to whitewater paddling):

Airbag: an inflatable plastic bag used to occupy space in open and decked boats in order to keep water out

Baby Falls: a 13-foot runable waterfall on the upper Tellico River in Tennessee

Big South Fork, Chattooga, Daddy's Creek, Doe River, French Broad, Green River, Hiwassee: popular southeastern whitewater rivers

Blue hole: a deep pool in a creek or river (Blue Hole: a trademark for canoes once manufactured by a Tennessee company)

Boat scout: to observe a rapid from your boat in order to find the best route through it

Brace: to apply downward pressure to the water with the blade of the paddle in order to stabilize your boat

Bull Sluice: a Class IV rapid on Section III of the Chattooga River

Carabiner: an oblong metal ring with hinged section that snaps open, allowing a rope to be inserted; used with ropes for river rescues

Chute: an area in a rapid where deeper water pours smoothly between rocks, often an indicator of the best route

Class I to Class VI: International Scale of River Difficulty, a rating system for rivers/rapids; increasing numbers indicate increasing difficulty/danger

DaggerTM : a well-known Tennessee company which makes a variety of popular canoes and kayaks

Drop: a steep or abruptly descending rapid

Dry bag: a sealable, waterproof bag for gear storage for river trips

Eddy: the relatively calm area of reversed current which forms behind a rock in moving water

Eddy turn: a maneuver used to enter an eddy

Ender: a stunt in which downrushing water forces a decked boat's bow or stern below the surface, causing the boat to stand on end (also called "pop-up" or in the West, "endo")

Ferry: to move horizontally across a river by keeping your boat at a constant angle to the current

Flushed: to be moved explosively through a rapid by the force of the water

Gunnel: the upper edge of a canoe's side

Hole (hydraulic): a depression in the river's surface caused by water rushing over an upstream obstacle

J-stroke: a paddle stroke used by canoeists to keep the canoe on a straight track

Keeper hole: a hole from which it is difficult to escape

Mystery move: a squirt boat stunt in which the boat and paddler are sucked completely beneath the surface by the current

P.F.D.: personal floatation device, life jacket

Pinned: trapped by the current against a boulder or other obstacle

Pirouette: an ender in which the boat turns 360 degrees while standing on end

Portage: to carry a boat around a rapid

Punch (blast) a hole: to paddle downstream directly through a hole at high speed

Put-in: the place where boats are launched and the river trip begins

River left (or right): the left (or right) side of the river as you face downstream

River rodeo: a river carnival where paddlers show off their skills and compete for prizes and glory

Scout: to observe a rapid prior to running it, in order to plan the best route

Shuttle: the process of moving vehicles, boats, and people between the put-in and the takeout

Shuttle bunny: a woman who does not paddle, but just drives the shuttle vehicle

Shuttle rabbit: a male shuttle bunny

Solo: refers to canoeists who paddle alone without another paddler in the canoe, or to anyone who paddles alone

Sprayskirt: cover on a kayak which seals around the cockpit rim and the paddler's waist to keep water out of the cockpit

Squirt boat: an extremely low-volume, high performance kayak

Strainer: a dangerous river obstacle which acts like a sieve by letting water through but not boats or paddlers

Surf (a wave or hole): to perform stunts with your boat on a wave or in a hole

Takeout: the place where the river trip ends and boats are taken out of the water

Tandem: refers to two people paddling in one canoe

Thighstraps: straps which canoeists use for stability while running rapids

Throw rope: a safety rope used for river rescue

Z-drag: a river rescue technique