!Jones wrote:
The other issue that presented itself in the middle of it all was that
my stoker lacked the upper body strength to pull herself into the
boat. She's in good physical shape; however, handicaps make it
doubtful that she ever *will* do the push-up. For this reason, we
shall stay in calm water; however, we will need to develop a wet entry
technique and practice it. I'm thinking of some kind of a stirrup
where she could get her leg involved.

Read Shumann & Shriner's book Sea Kayak Rescue. They discuss several
type of re-entry techniques, some involving slings.

Also, I'll speculate that your partner's problem *may* have had to do
with trying to pull herself up onto the boat (think getting out of a
swimming pool) rather than keeping her body flat on the surface and
swimming across the deck.

You could also try putting her in first with the boat on its side and
doing a paddlefloat roll with you pulling down on the other side. Lots
of options. Try 'em and see what works for you.

Steve

--
Steve Cramer
Athens, GA