How to climb in?

Jan 25, 2011
2,391
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
And once your yaks are floating, how do you get yourself into them assuming no walkthrough transom...we are looking at couple of Advanced Elements inflatables and maybe getting in from the dink....
 

druid

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Apr 22, 2009
837
Ontario 32 Pender Harbour
You could always do a "seal entry": get in it on deck, then slide into the water "SPLASH"! Then getting back out might be a problem... ;)
I guess you could look at the various "rescue" methods (basically how to get in from the water) and adapt one to getting in off a ladder. But basically I'd go down the ladder, get in while holding myself up on the ladder, then once you're in let go of the ladder. Sounds easy... ;)
druid
 

RussC

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Sep 11, 2015
1,578
Merit 22- Oregon lakes
Depends on where your getting in the kayak from and how your boat ladder is configured, but the method we used in whitewater kayaking was to lay your paddle across the kayak, just behind the seat, with one end supported by the bank, your ladder, the dinghy, or whatever else might be solid and handy. when you place your weight on the paddle shaft between the kayak and support, the kayak under it will be quite stable and allow you to get seated. a little practice near shore would be advised, but it's really pretty easy.

edit:
OOps. sorry if I stepped on the guest speaker. I just noticed this is from his column.

Russ
 
Feb 1, 2016
15
Long Beach, CA
Question: Best way to get into a kayak without a convenient boarding platform.
A really good question that most carry-along kayakers have faced, one time or another. The first thing I do is to lash the paddle to the kayak. Then float and secure it, bow and stern, to the boat, under the boarding ladder. There's nothing worse than feeling your kayak slip away from you, and be left dangling from the ladder. A flat fender between the boat and kayak helps too. When you descend down the boarding ladder, it's a good idea to first center a foot on the kayak, before letting go of the ladder. Putting some weight on the kayak first seems to stabilize it so that you can lower your center of gravity gradually onto the seat without "upsetting the apple cart", so to speak.
 
Apr 21, 2014
11
Catalina 30 Alameda
How to get into a kayak from a swim ladder...very carefully!
Sportstracker has it right, tightly secure fore and aft (but make sure you can reach the knots while sitting in the kayak!) I usually stick the paddle through the aft rail so I can reach up and grab it. Keep most of your weight on the ladder until you can put a foot down in the center of the boat and "climb down" into the seat. Be sure to throw gear into the boat first, the idea is to minimize having to shift weight to grab stuff. Get in, sit down, untie lines and go...
- Getting back out is actually easier because you just get a solid grip with both arms and lift your weight straight up off the boat (Sounds easy right!)
- Practice on a warm day, in a bathing suit! This method gets harder relative to a sailor's age, wave height and #beers consumed! Don't mess with a kayak from a Catalina with a swim ladder unless you're pretty spry and a good swimmer!
 
Jun 4, 2004
33
-catalina -22 fresno, calif.
find someone with a swimming pool to practice in. go to youtube look at some videos. it is a little tricky trying to get in or on