A kayak on the move is a sleek and graceful thing. Grace is harder to achieve, though, while getting into your boat to launch it and while getting out of it to land it. 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.
LAUNCHING FROM SHORE:
1. Carry the boat to your put-in point and set it down in shallow water, perpendicular to the shoreline. The bow should face away from the shore and the stern should be close to the shore (but fully afloat).
2. Put one of your paddle blades under the deck line in front of the cockpit. (The shaft can stick out sideways like an outrigger.)
3. Stand over the kayak, straddling the cockpit.
4. Grab the cockpit and set your butt down on the cockpit seat, then lift your legs and slide your feet into the cockpit.
5. Scoot your butt firmly back into the seat and settle both feet comfortably onto the foot pegs.
6. Grab your paddle and use it to move your kayak past incoming waves and boat wakes. Then attach your spray skirt if you have one.
LANDING AND EXITING ON SHORE:
1. Paddle straight into shore, but stop before your bow gets beached. Stop when you’ve reached water that’s shallow enough for you to easily stand in.
2. Put one of your paddle blades under the deck line in front of the cockpit. (The shaft can stick out sideways like an outrigger.)
3. Remove your spray skirt if you have one, then grab each side of the cockpit next to your hips.
4. Lift your knees and pull your feet close to your butt.
5. Lift one foot out of the boat and place it down in the shallow water next to the cockpit.
6. Balancing on your planted foot, stand up slowly; then step out of the boat with your other foot.
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