{"id":4477,"date":"2013-01-26T21:18:16","date_gmt":"2013-01-26T21:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unsponsored.co.uk:\/press\/?p=4477"},"modified":"2026-02-23T21:01:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T21:01:07","slug":"unsponsored-2013-qa-series-jim-snyder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unsponsored.co.uk\/press\/unsponsored-2013-qa-series-jim-snyder\/","title":{"rendered":"Unsponsored Q&A Series – Jim Snyder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jim Snyder is a squirt boating innovator, legend, founder and developer. He has been at the forefront of both boat and paddle design for decades. I am a huge fan of Jim’s boat designs and own all of his books<\/a> (all kayakers could learn a great deal from the squirt boating world). It is therefore a great honour to have Jim take part in the Unsponsored 2013 Q&A series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unsponsored Q&A Series – Jim Snyder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tell us a little a bit about you accomplishments in the canoeing\/kayaking world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I began paddling in 1965. I was a raft guide for 19 years including being one of the original guides on the Upper Yough. I was a steep creek pioneer with numerous first descents in this area including 686 fpm Quarry Run in 1977 and 500 fpm, Elsey Run in 1979, and (~370 fpm) Red Run around the same time. I was an early kayak designer creating the first American ‘short’ commercially produced kayak (in glass) – the “Slice” in 1981 (3 meters long).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I was also the first person to do flatwater cartwheels in a kayak in the “Baby Arc” in January 1981. I was also one of the pioneers of squirt boating and have designed around 50 squirt boats- many which never got out of prototyping stage. I’ve designed around 80 boats in total. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was US National Squirt champion in 1993 and also was part of the ‘talent’ on the Emmy award winning filmed expedition on the first descent of the Santo Domingo in southern Mexico in 1993. I also was master paddle builder Keith Backlund’s first apprentice in 1975 and have designed a number of blade shapes including the original Slasher. I’m also the world’s premier squirt boat designer and was a pioneer of the Mystery Move. I also helped introduce and develop the sport of squirt boating in Japan and have visited there 20 times over the years. Basically I helped bridge the sport from the second to the third dimension of performance in the 80’s. I also helped design a lot of cool recreational and fishing kayaks for Emotion Kayaks in recent years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I guess the accomplishment I’m proudest of is creating and developing the Jimirim skirt system – the driest kayak sealing system in the world. I’ve put more than 600 hrs. of work into developing it since creating it in 1991. It’s used exclusively on my squirt boat designs because squirt boats need the highest level of waterproofing. Their cockpits are constantly underwater and if you get more than 2 cups of water in your boat it begins to debilitate performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n