: Thanks Bill - Good call, I'm planning on taking it out without the
: skirt for a few weeks while the weather is still decent, just to
: get used to the boat. I've been paddling for about ten years or
: so, but this is my first SOF. I'm planning on a warm lake paddle
: with a good partner.

Hi Eric,

Make sure you've got floatbags first, then roll it in shallow water to get used to getting out of the short cockpit, different with a SOF, lots of stuff to hang onto your feet as you get out and a short cockpit that you have to take off, like a pair of pants. (grasp the coaming and pull/push your feet out).

Then, since I also have a Sea Ranger, again in shallow water, test the stability while bracing the paddle against the bottom. The SR is quite tippy in initial stability with fairly amazing secondary stability, once you realize that tipping it over isn't going to happen, you can relax and learn to trust the boat :)

Bill H.