: I feel funny asking this but I have never seen anyone get into a kayak. I
: don't see kayak's around my part on Indiana. I watch a kayak TV program
: and have never seen anyone get into a kayak. I did see a guy already in a
: kayak setting in shallow water on the sand bottom and he put his hands
: down into the water to lift the kayak off the bottom and to push his self
: into deeper water. My kayak is 28" wide with a big cockpit and it is
: hard enough to get in with out tipping. I get in calf deep water, put one
: foot in and quickly fall to the bottom before I start shaking like a man
: on a tight wire. I can hear the laughter, but I have been wanting to ask
: this for months.

: John

I think is was Ken Fink who taught me this method to enter and exit a sea kayak, about "92".

Place your paddle blade/shaft ON the back of the cockpit coaming with the other end of the paddle in shallow water or on the shore. If you're entering from the right side of the boat, clamp the blade to the far side of the coaming with your left hand, turn and face the bow (so your backside is to the paddle shaft) and SIT on the paddle shaft on the right side of the coaming and place your right hand on the paddle shaft on your right side, with your feet on the shallows bottom.

This LOCKS the boat in a stable position because the paddle is clamped on the outboard side of the cockpit coaming and your body weight pins down the inboard cockpit edge with the whole boat pivoting off the tip of the paddle on shore/shallows.

Some people try to do this with the paddle blade on the deck behind the cockpit. The deck is peaked, there is no place to clamp the outboard blade down with your hand and this would only provide a one point contact, so the kayak will continue to roll with waves

With the two points contact on the cockpit coaming and the third point on shore/shallows the boat will ride incoming waves and not roll, but pivot on the shore/shallows point. Your boat will also not be washed inshore by waves because the shore/shallows paddle tip will be anchored to the bottom if you keep your body weight on it.

The key to this stability is to SIT RIGHT ON THE PADDLE SHAFT OVER THE INBOARD COAMING EDGE keeping your body weight right on the inboard edge of the kayak so the paddle is pinned to the outside coaming and shore/shallows points.

Once you've established this position you can put one foot in the cockpit and then the other (not changing your butt position on the paddle shaft) and then slide right into the cockpit.

To exit the kayak just reverse the process.

This works in pretty good waves and also works with your boat in deep water when you have a rock/dock close to water level. Obviously if you're entering off a rock or dock you will keep your feet on shore during entry/exit.

All the best,

Rob Macks
Laughing Loon CC&K
www.LaughingLoon.com