lol....same thing happened to me. It was a snug fit but I could do it at
the test paddle the shop put on. Rented it and at home (it was a flat
bottom river yak) I could get in. I got to the water and thought "How
the heck am I gonna do this?"
Plan on getting a little wet. A had a shallow sandy area that I could
launch from so it wasn't too bad.
One of benefit of a sit on top. But that's a whole other discussion.