The deviant underbelly subculture of whitewater kayaking, squirt boating's deepest roots are set in West Virginia in the 1980s. Paddlers were splatting and cartwheeling decades before today's plastic freestyle boats. Leading the way was Jim Snyder — the godfather of squirt — whose radical boat designs and cubic approach to paddling have since been fundamental to squirting.
In the last 25 years, things have changed. Boats are smaller and better balanced, materials are lighter and stronger, and squirting's even come to Europe and been recognised alongside slalom and marathon paddling.
But some things are still the same. We're still a tiny subculture of whitewater paddling: some say the 'lunatic fringe'. We're still overlooked by the masses, and we're still privileged to enjoy a three-dimensional freedom on the river that eludes the masses.
Squirt boating's story is our story. We're the UK's only squirt boat manufacturer, and we're the world's only squirt specific manufacturer. We're one of three companies licenced to make Jim Snyder designs, and we also build a smattering of home-grown European designs.
We make all our boats in Ripley, Derbyshire, where they're hand-crafted by the meticulous David Savage. It's a short drive from local squirt spot Darley Abbey and not much further to the Holme Pierrepont whitewater course, with the 'Looping Pool' and 'Magic Roundabout. So we've always got a few options on getting out and getting sunk. And we're fired up to get new boats, and new designs, onto Europe's rivers!
