Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

Hi all I'm a park planner for the Parks Dept of Columbia, MO. The city
is in the process of developing a 110 acre park that includes a 10
acre lake. We're designing in several kayak/boating features. One is a
"kayak lesson" area, basically a submerged concrete pad for the
instructor to stand in the water next to the student.

Another feature we want to include though is a put-in for
non-motorized boats. The put-in will not be accessible by vehicles so
all boats using it will be carried in. We're talking kayaks, canoes
and small jon boats.

So...

What make a good put-in? As of right now we're thinking a simple
concrete ramp approx. 8-10 feet wide, extending 3-4 below the
waterline with a "rubber surface" that extends to the waterline. The
water level in the lake is remarkably stable and wave action doesn't
appear to be a major factor.

Any critiques, hints, ideas comments would be welcome.

Thanks,
Toney Lowery
Senior Park Planner
Columbia Parks and Recreation www.GoColumbiaMo.com
573 874-7537

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

I would be wary of the rubber surface due to algae growth making it
slippery.
A rough (as opposed to a floor smooth) 8-10 foot wide concrete ramp should
work just fine.

"Toney Lowery" wrote in message
om...
Hi all I'm a park planner for the Parks Dept of Columbia, MO. The city
is in the process of developing a 110 acre park that includes a 10
acre lake. We're designing in several kayak/boating features. One is a
"kayak lesson" area, basically a submerged concrete pad for the
instructor to stand in the water next to the student.

Another feature we want to include though is a put-in for
non-motorized boats. The put-in will not be accessible by vehicles so
all boats using it will be carried in. We're talking kayaks, canoes
and small jon boats.

So...

What make a good put-in? As of right now we're thinking a simple
concrete ramp approx. 8-10 feet wide, extending 3-4 below the
waterline with a "rubber surface" that extends to the waterline. The
water level in the lake is remarkably stable and wave action doesn't
appear to be a major factor.

Any critiques, hints, ideas comments would be welcome.

Thanks,
Toney Lowery
Senior Park Planner
Columbia Parks and Recreation www.GoColumbiaMo.com
573 874-7537

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 07:25:25 -0700, "BB" wrote:

I would be wary of the rubber surface due to algae growth making it
slippery.
A rough (as opposed to a floor smooth) 8-10 foot wide concrete ramp should
work just fine.


City of Pittsburgh does something similar with at least one of their
landings... concrete ramp, textured. However, on the above water
segment, there is some old carpeting that provides some padding and
hull protection for fiberglass boats.

Down at Three Rivers Rowing Association, they actually have some small
floating docks extending off of their concrete ramp. There is a
rubber rub-rail on the outside of the docks. However, this
organization supports both rowing shells (up to 8's) as well as
fla****er kayaks, and some WW or SK boat involvement. It is a good
set-up also.

Ted Marz

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

Provide a kayak launch slide; a funnel-shaped affair with a broad fan area
sloped slightly toward a ~30 deg. sloped chute into the water. Maybe that
algae-covered rubber would work fine for its surface ; ). Grass works great
as well, and would be very inexpensive for the whole affair. If you want to
make it more interesting, have the chute end 2' above the water surface.
Even novice kayakers enjoy seal-launches and they are the easiest way to get
a kayak to water. The fan-shaped boarding area could be ~20' radius @ ~5
deg. slope, allowing up to 10 kayakers to get into their boats and fasten
their skirts, then take turns in quick succession pushing off down the ramp
to the water. Now that I envision this thing, I think grass would be
heavenly. Good luck with your project.

Padeen

"Toney Lowery" wrote in message
om...
Hi all I'm a park planner for the Parks Dept of Columbia, MO. The city
is in the process of developing a 110 acre park that includes a 10
acre lake. We're designing in several kayak/boating features. One is a
"kayak lesson" area, basically a submerged concrete pad for the
instructor to stand in the water next to the student.

Another feature we want to include though is a put-in for
non-motorized boats. The put-in will not be accessible by vehicles so
all boats using it will be carried in. We're talking kayaks, canoes
and small jon boats.

So...

What make a good put-in? As of right now we're thinking a simple
concrete ramp approx. 8-10 feet wide, extending 3-4 below the
waterline with a "rubber surface" that extends to the waterline. The
water level in the lake is remarkably stable and wave action doesn't
appear to be a major factor.

Any critiques, hints, ideas comments would be welcome.

Thanks,
Toney Lowery
Senior Park Planner
Columbia Parks and Recreation www.GoColumbiaMo.com
573 874-7537

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

I would keep the slope on the put-in very gradual, say 10-15%, and I
wouldn't use any surfacing other than a fill with clean sand. Any thing
else gets algae coated and slippery.


"Toney Lowery" wrote in message
om...
Hi all I'm a park planner for the Parks Dept of Columbia, MO. The city
is in the process of developing a 110 acre park that includes a 10
acre lake. We're designing in several kayak/boating features. One is a
"kayak lesson" area, basically a submerged concrete pad for the
instructor to stand in the water next to the student.

Another feature we want to include though is a put-in for
non-motorized boats. The put-in will not be accessible by vehicles so
all boats using it will be carried in. We're talking kayaks, canoes
and small jon boats.

So...

What make a good put-in? As of right now we're thinking a simple
concrete ramp approx. 8-10 feet wide, extending 3-4 below the
waterline with a "rubber surface" that extends to the waterline. The
water level in the lake is remarkably stable and wave action doesn't
appear to be a major factor.

Any critiques, hints, ideas comments would be welcome.

Thanks,
Toney Lowery
Senior Park Planner
Columbia Parks and Recreation www.GoColumbiaMo.com
573 874-7537

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

The submerged concrete pad will most likely also eventually get
covered with algee and get very slipery. You might be better off just
sinking a few blocks of rip-rap.

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

Sounds like a great thing! I have to say, it's unusual to see parks
folks actively designing to accomodate self-powered craft.

The ramp angle is a factor. It doesn't have to be terribly steep
for a tired beginner to tip over backwards trying to carry their
boat up after a lesson ;-) A mild angle is a good thing.

Another thing you may want to consider is to post no swimming signs,
and if there's a swimming beach nearby, note on signage there that
the area near the ramp is off-limits. We used to hold kayak rolling
sessions near a ramp such as you describe, in a pond that also had a
popular swimming beach. We thought that we were being good cits by
confining our activities to the boat ramp, but over and over again,
we would have to contend with swimmers who insisted on swimming near
the boat ramp. Swimmers tend to assume that boaters always see
them, know where they are, and can avoid them -- a very bad
assumption, particularly when the swimmer is periodically submerging
and the kayak is rolling. We would avoid them as best we could, but
polite suggestions that the ramp wasn't a safe place to swim were
generally greeted with curses and you-people rants. We never said
anything to the rangers. Despite the fact that it was obviously a
boat ramp, they took a very dim attitude towards the presence of
boats on THEIR pond -- non-motorized ones, that is; motorized ones
were just fine -- and if we'd said anything, they would have given
us the boot.

--
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

Sand or pea gravel. Sand is probably the friendliest non-slip medium
you can find - soft enough not to scratch the bejeebus out of kevlar and
carbon boats, and easy on feet trying to get in and out of the boat.
Ideally, you might even have two 'steepnesses' - one for canoes and
other floating launch boats, and the other for seal launching from the
shore. Great to see someone considering something other than a 2'high
dock:-)

Toney Lowery wrote:
Hi all I'm a park planner for the Parks Dept of Columbia, MO. The city
is in the process of developing a 110 acre park that includes a 10
acre lake. We're designing in several kayak/boating features. One is a
"kayak lesson" area, basically a submerged concrete pad for the
instructor to stand in the water next to the student.

Another feature we want to include though is a put-in for
non-motorized boats. The put-in will not be accessible by vehicles so
all boats using it will be carried in. We're talking kayaks, canoes
and small jon boats.

So...

What make a good put-in? As of right now we're thinking a simple
concrete ramp approx. 8-10 feet wide, extending 3-4 below the
waterline with a "rubber surface" that extends to the waterline. The
water level in the lake is remarkably stable and wave action doesn't
appear to be a major factor.

Any critiques, hints, ideas comments would be welcome.

Thanks,
Toney Lowery
Senior Park Planner
Columbia Parks and Recreation www.GoColumbiaMo.com
573 874-7537

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

You might want to take a look at http://www.hrwa.org/articles/annsville_creek.html
for some idea of what has been done elsewhere.

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

for a wet entry I don't think anything beats sand.
for a dry entry I'd go with a floating dock with little clearance,
you should be able to slide your hips out of the boat onto the dock.

ideally a boat should never contact anything but water. the proper way to
enter a canoe or kayak is with the boat afloat parallel to the shore. you
need enough depth of water at the shorline to do it. that requires a
steeper gradient than has been suggested in other responses posted here.

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Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

That's a pretty neat set up there. There is a local park here with a
launch on the river that consists of a U shaped "harbor" consisting of
steps made from rail road cross ties, the steps are the height of the
X-ties and about twice as deep. The space between the X-tie at the
front of the step and the next step is filled with pea gravel. THe 5
or 6 different steps accomodate different river levels.

You can float your boat parallel to the steps and board or set the
boat on a step and do a sideways seal launch. The X-ties haven't
gotten slippery and are pretty friendly to hulls.

Scott

(Bob May) wrote in message . com...
You might want to take a look at http://www.hrwa.org/articles/annsville_creek.html
for some idea of what has been done elsewhere.

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

Scott Broam ) writes:

.. The space between the X-tie at the
front of the step and the next step is filled with pea gravel.

the only thing I have against sand is it gets in teh boat - but it is cheap
I've read that crushed lava is nice.

... THe 5
or 6 different steps accomodate different river levels.

like a floating dock always dry, but cheaper and easier to maintain.

there's a local park which has blocks of limestone for a terraced
river bank. its good for launching. no maintenance. there is lots of
limestone in the area and a cheap supply from construction sites.

we also have those wire chain link cages full of broken rock along
riverbanks to stop erosion. they make good launch sites.

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Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

Maybe that depends on whether you mostly paddle flat water. My kayak always
followed me faithfully slithering along the ground across farmer's fields or
climbing cliffs to get out of unexpectedly high water in narrow canyons.
Also there's hardly anything more fun than water reentry sliding off a high
rock. Once my kayak and I with friends slid through the snow down the face
of a large earthen dam before an unusual CA winter trip. Paddling in snow is
best left to easterners desperate for a winter trip. In CA and OR we paddle
"warm" coastal rivers in the winter. That is NO ice there. Just high,
somewhat cooler, water.

John Adams

"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...
for a wet entry I don't think anything beats sand.
for a dry entry I'd go with a floating dock with little clearance,
you should be able to slide your hips out of the boat onto the dock.

ideally a boat should never contact anything but water. the proper way to
enter a canoe or kayak is with the boat afloat parallel to the shore. you
need enough depth of water at the shorline to do it. that requires a
steeper gradient than has been suggested in other responses posted here.

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network
homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
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Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

Sand and gravel migrate both down into the river/lake and into the boat.
I'll take grass any day, and it is self-healing.

Padeen


"Marsh Jones" wrote in message
...
Sand or pea gravel. Sand is probably the friendliest non-slip medium
you can find - soft enough not to scratch the bejeebus out of kevlar and
carbon boats, and easy on feet trying to get in and out of the boat.
Ideally, you might even have two 'steepnesses' - one for canoes and
other floating launch boats, and the other for seal launching from the
shore. Great to see someone considering something other than a 2'high
dock:-)

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

"William R. Watt" wrote in message

the proper way to
enter a canoe or kayak is with the boat afloat parallel to the shore.

I'll have to remember that the next time I'm launching into 4 feet of surf,
or onto a fast moving whitewater river.

Geoff

Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

"padeen" ) writes:
Sand and gravel migrate both down into the river/lake and into the boat.
I'll take grass any day, and it is self-healing.

grass is nice but it wears out fast. it could be planted in sand. the
query was about a public park training facility.

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Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

"Toney Lowery" wrote in message
om

Hi all I'm a park planner for the Parks Dept of Columbia, MO. The city
is in the process of developing a 110 acre park that includes a 10
acre lake. We're designing in several kayak/boating features. One is a
"kayak lesson" area, basically a submerged concrete pad for the
instructor to stand in the water next to the student.

Another feature we want to include though is a put-in for
non-motorized boats. The put-in will not be accessible by vehicles so
all boats using it will be carried in. We're talking kayaks, canoes
and small jon boats.

welcome.

How refreshing - someone who asks rather than assumes - As someone who
works with disabled canoeists in the UK we have many difficulties in
access. We have many more problems getting people to/from and into
canoes than we have teaching and coaching. May I respectfully request
that you make contact with people working in this sector when planning/
designing - I am sure the input will be worthwhile for all abilities.

Frank Healy



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Kayak-canoe ramp designs
 

After an hour and a half in my kayak I'm usually terribly handicapped; have
to crawl from my boat and up the beach to the shuttle car. Grass is much
easier on the knees than gravel.
Padeen


How refreshing - someone who asks rather than assumes - As someone who
works with disabled canoeists in the UK we have many difficulties in
access. We have many more problems getting people to/from and into
canoes than we have teaching and coaching. May I respectfully request
that you make contact with people working in this sector when planning/
designing - I am sure the input will be worthwhile for all abilities.

Frank Healy