While getting into a kayak, keep in mind that more people tip over at the dock – getting either in or out – more than at any other place on the water itself. When you launch a kayak, you’ll have two common scenarios:
- Shoreline launches, where you straddle the boat before you sit in it
- Dock launches, where you have to maintain your balance as you slide your feet and butt into the boat.
Before you do any launch, set your boat down in a safe place to do a prelaunch check. Be sure you have all your safety gear, that your PFD is snug, that your other essentials are stowed where you want them, that your foot pegs are adjusted correctly and that your rudder or skeg, if you have either one, is up.
Here are few of the suggestions which might be helpful while launching the kayak from a dock:
Water Entry points
Carry the boat to your to the dock and set it down in the water, parellel to the dock. If the dock allows, you could try to set it perpendicular – for a perpendicular launch, the bow should face away from the dock and the stern should be closer. Put one of your paddle blades under the deck line in front of the cockpit (the shaft can stick out sideways like an outrigger).
Untie
First thing I always like to do is look and make sure that I untie the boat, because once you do get into your cockpit, you want to make sure that you can paddle away and not look up and realize that you’re still tied to the dock.
Paddle Placement
The second thing is take your paddle and lay it alongside your kayak, so that once you do get in, you’ll be able to reach right on over and grab the paddle.
Sit Down
Next thing is to sit down onto the dock, put both of your feet into the front of the cockpit, facing forward. I teach people to take their outboard hand (or their far-reach hand) and grab the side of the cockpit. Face forward, keep your weight to the dock, pulling the boat towards the dock, and then reach over and take your seat right down in the cockpit.
Adjust & Push Off
Once you get inside, you can adjust your foot pegs. You can get yourself nice and comfortable. Reach on over, grab your paddle, and then gently push away from the dock, to get ready to start your actual tour of wherever you’re going.
Getting Out
When you get ready to come back in, there’s a couple of things that you’re always going to want to do as well. You never want to try to reach out to grab the dock. You always want to work your way right up to the dock before you reach out, because if you miss that dock by this much, you’re going to tip your boat over. You want to be able to reach the dock first.
Put your paddle back down onto the dock. Pull your outboard leg, or your farthest leg, out, up. Then bring yourself up, over, and onto the dock.
Go out there and enjoy!
