Hi,

I have been playing with my new Perception Eclipse 14.5
and I love it. I have been having no trouble getting in or
out of my new boat in shallow water by using a technique
I found on some web-sites.

But what about entry and exit in deeper water from a dock and lower landing.
My concerns are that in December I am planning on paddling through the
Everglades Wilderness Waterway were I will be camping on what they
call a chickee, ( a dock like structure out over the water.) I was wondering
what others who have paddled the wilderness waterway do when they have camped
from a chickee? (entry / exit technique).

Also loading and unloading gear from the kayak from the chickee platform?

Carl

I hope there is a large reply to this post, including shallow water entry/exit.

On 15-Oct-2003, (Carl Buehler) wrote:

But what about entry and exit in deeper water from a dock and lower landing.

If the dock is only up to about your armpit when sitting in the kayak, pull
alongside and put your arm on the dock. Lift yourself carefully up, balancing
with your arm, and get your backside onto the dock. The key is to keep as much
of your weight as possible on the dock and keep the weight in the kayak on the
centerline.

If it's higher than that, you do the same thing, it just gets a lot harder
if you can't get your arm on the top of the dock. I've entered a kayak from
a dock that was about five feet above the water once - water covered with
an inch of ice. It was tricky balancing - I held onto a piling for balance.

If there's a load of gear in the kayak, it will be more stable than if empty.
If there's more than one paddler, the first one in can hold the kayak for the
next.

Also loading and unloading gear from the kayak from the chickee platform?

If it's low, just tie the kayak alongside and reach down. Otherwise, consider
lifting the kayak onto the dock. Just grab the bow toggle and lift it up
to the platform. Sliding the hull on the edge of the platform may cause
damage. A wood platform shouldn't be a problem but concrete will scratch a
plastic kayak a bit and a composite, a lot. You can put a pad of some kind
on the edge - old piece of carpet, for example, if you're concerned.

Mike

How do you keep the kayak from moving out away from the dock and puting you in
a horizontal position?

There is no graceful way to exit a kayak to a dock that is higher then your
deck. Basically you try to flop your upper body onto the platform and let your
legs go limp like they're paralyzed or something. You try to stay as balanced
in the boat as possible, while attempting to put as much weight as possible on
the dock.
In the ocean you can try to use to swell to make things easier. You wait
until the swell comes in rasing your boat up towards the dock, then throw as
much of your weight as possible onto the dock and let the boat fall off of you
as the swell subsides. Unfortunately this will probably not work where your
going.
As for lifting your boat onto the dock (or chickee, as the case may be) if
there are two of you then I would tie a line to each end of the boat and lift
it onto the platform. If it is only you then you might want to pack the
heaviest items where they can be quickly unloaded before attempting to lift the
boat onto the platform.
I wish I had some magical technique I could share with you for entering and
exiting a kayak from a platform, but the truth is that this is a clumsy
procedure which requires some dexterity. However it's not really all that
difficult to master, so don't lie awake at night worrying about it. Just be
sure that there is no one around with a camera at the time :-)

Good luck,

Scott
So.Cal.

"Lat705" wrote...
How do you keep the kayak from moving out away from the dock and puting you in
a horizontal position?

I've exited and re-entered my kayak from docks a couple feet above the deck.
It's never easy, but with practice you can at least stay dry consistently...

If there is another person around, having 1 or 2 hands on the bow & stern can
help a lot -- even a slight stabilizing force helps a lot. If not, tie the bow
line to the dock, which will at least help steady one end.

Finally, keep your weight on your arms/shoulders on the dock as long as
possible. Use your feet/legs to steady the boat and adjust your balance. When
you're relatively stable, lower yourself into the seat as you let your feet
slide forward.

"Michael Daly" wrote in message . cable.rogers.com...
On 15-Oct-2003, (Carl Buehler) wrote:

But what about entry and exit in deeper water from a dock and lower landing.

If the dock is only up to about your armpit when sitting in the kayak, pull
alongside and put your arm on the dock. Lift yourself carefully up, balancing
with your arm, and get your backside onto the dock. The key is to keep as much
of your weight as possible on the dock and keep the weight in the kayak on the
centerline.

If it's higher than that, you do the same thing, it just gets a lot harder
if you can't get your arm on the top of the dock. I've entered a kayak from
a dock that was about five feet above the water once - water covered with
an inch of ice. It was tricky balancing - I held onto a piling for balance.

If there's a load of gear in the kayak, it will be more stable than if empty.
If there's more than one paddler, the first one in can hold the kayak for the
next.

Also loading and unloading gear from the kayak from the chickee platform?

If it's low, just tie the kayak alongside and reach down. Otherwise, consider
lifting the kayak onto the dock. Just grab the bow toggle and lift it up
to the platform. Sliding the hull on the edge of the platform may cause
damage. A wood platform shouldn't be a problem but concrete will scratch a
plastic kayak a bit and a composite, a lot. You can put a pad of some kind
on the edge - old piece of carpet, for example, if you're concerned.

Mike

We get in and out of boats from kayaks , seems like the same group of
issues.
It seems to come down to ballance and some upper body strength. If the
boat or platform is a little higher than you can easily reach it may
be an idea to tie a painter or loop your tow rope through the bow
toggle. When you are on the wharf, platform or boat the rope can be
used to lift your kayak aboard and unload it on the deck.

This is one of those things you are going to have to do and practice.
Explaining it would be tedious , just ballance and hang on.
That bow line thought may make life a little easier. It has helped me
a lot.

Try this if the surface you want to get on to is shoulder high or above
that.

Find a piling or other vertical support below the pier surface. Double a
length of line and make a rolling hitch on the vertical support as high as
you can reach. If there is a bollard, cleat, etc on the dock surface that
you can reach while seated, use that.

Then, take the two bitter ends and lead them fore and aft respectively
making them off to deck fittings or grab-lines on the outboard side of the
kayak.

If the kayak moving horizontally is a problem, take another piece of line
and run it from your inboard (dockside) grab-line around the piling/support
and back to your grabline.

These two methods used singley or in combination provide a more stable
platform for entering and exiting. Judiscious use of slip hitches enable you
to easily untie and recover the steadying lines.

A few of the chickees have ladders, which helps a little with the exit/entry.
To echo Scott, there is no graceful way to do this. Timing arrival/departure at
high tide will help. Some of the chickees that are backed into mangroves are in
shallow enough water that you stand beside your boat and toss your gear up onto
the platform. Otherwise it's hang upside down and reach (hatches help). Ditto
on the comment about cameras- it's not pretty.

Good luck on your trip!

Hello Dave and others,

Thanks to everyone's information. I was considering using a rope
by pulling it under the kayak and running it through a looped end
basiclly making a sling or choke. This could be placed about mid-ship
(cockpit area) and choked about the center line of the boat. Than tie
off to the platform. It might not be pretty, but I think it would
keep the kayak from capsizing. than you could center your weight enough
to use your arm stregth to pull yourself up onto the platform?

Not sure, but still thinking up ideas and listning to suggestions.

Carl


ojunk (Dave) wrote in message ...
A few of the chickees have ladders, which helps a little with the exit/entry.
To echo Scott, there is no graceful way to do this. Timing arrival/departure at
high tide will help. Some of the chickees that are backed into mangroves are in
shallow enough water that you stand beside your boat and toss your gear up onto
the platform. Otherwise it's hang upside down and reach (hatches help). Ditto
on the comment about cameras- it's not pretty.

Good luck on your trip!