Spending the day paddling around your preferred body of water in an inflatable kayak is loads of fun. But before you can get to the fun, you have to actually get on the boat. And if you don’t execute your entry nearly perfectly, your day of paddling could start with a splash.
The entire goal of entering your kayak is to position your posterior quickly, safely and dry-(ly) on the seat of your boat. This is rarely executed elegantly, but can done effectively.
In general, getting in and out of an inflatable kayak requires:
- Stabilizing the boat,
- Positioning your feet and legs inside the cockpit of the boat,
- Transferring your entire weight onto the seat of the boat quickly and intentionally,
- Sliding and repositioning your legs on top of/or inside the kayak.
Table of Contents
Getting in your inflatable kayak from shore
The nature of the place where you intend to board your kayak, as well as the type of kayak you are paddling, will determine the moves you make to actually get in the boat.
Many, but not all, inflatable kayaks are of the sit-on-top variety.
How to get in a sit-on-top kayak. If you are planning to enter a sit-on-top inflatable kayak from shore, the easiest way to start is to wade out into water that has sufficient depth to float your kayak while you are sitting in it. So yes, you will get a little bit wet.
- Once in water that is just the right depth, make sure that your kayak bow is facing out to open water, with your boat perpendicular to the shore as well as any waves that might be approaching. (If you are attempting to board your boat in significant waves, it is easier to wait for a lull in the wave sets in order to do so. Alternatively, try and find a stretch of beach that is more sheltered from the waves.)
- Straddle your kayak just behind the cockpit. If you have short legs, are in high water and own a wide boat, then this step might be challenging. Nevertheless, press on.
- Place your paddle behind your back and perpendicular to your kayak. Positioning your hands shoulder width apart on the shaft and leaning back will provide stability to your boat.
**If you are paddling an inflatable fishing kayak with a high-backed seat, then it may be easier to stabilize your boat by simply holding each side with your hands. Place your paddle inside the boat!**
- Swiftly let your posterior drop into the seat of the boat. This will leave your legs and feet up in the air.
- Gather your legs and feet into the boat.
- Adjust your legs as necessary to accommodate the contours of your kayak.
- Paddle away!
How to get in a sit-in kayak. If your plan is to enter a sit-in kayak from shore, it is best to position the boat right at the edge of the waterline with the hull of the boat half in and half out of the water.
- Ensure that your kayak is facing open water and positioned perpendicular to the shoreline.
- Straddle your kayak just behind the cockpit.
- Place your paddle behind your back and perpendicular to your kayak for stability.
- Insert legs, one at a time, while leaning on paddle for support.
- Slide your bum confidently into your seat.
- Re-adjust your legs to accommodate contours and foam pads.
- Either have a friend push your boat into deeper water <or> use your hands to walk your kayak into deeper water until such time as you are floating and able to paddle.
**PRO-TIP: If you use a kayak rudder, remember to keep it un-engaged until you are in significantly deeper water. Check out the article I wrote on how to use a kayak rudder here.**
Getting in your kayak from an irregular shore
If getting in your kayak from a ‘beachy’ shore is challenging, then boarding your kayak from an irregular shore is a downright nuisance.
When I use the term irregular shore, in this case I am referring to shores that are characterized by large, stationary rock formations and an overall absence of a consistent, sandy beachline.
There are two principal methods of boarding your kayak from an irregular shore.
Use the ‘toboggan technique’. This is not the technical name of the technique. I completely made it up (the name, not the technique).
- Position your kayak on land, at the top of a very short, downhill slope, with no obstacles between you and the water.
- Stabilize and then enter your boat. This shouldn’t be terribly difficult on land.
- Using your hands, push your kayak down the slope and into the water. Be sure to position your paddle such that it doesn’t get hung up between two trees or rocks on the way down.
You’ll have to do some pre-entry reconnaissance to make sure that your entry slope is sufficiently shallow and that the water is deep enough to float your kayak. Obviously, you want to avoid a situation where the tip of your kayak acts more like a high jump pole, catapulting you over the front of your boat and into water that is too shallow to land in.
Also consider the wear that the bottom of your kayak will experience. If the path is too risky for an inflatable kayak, best to find another entry point that won’t require a major repair down the line.
<OR>
Use the dock-entry method. Using this technique to get on your kayak, you simply treat the rocks as an irregular, slippery, mossy dock.
- Position your kayak so that it is parallel to the rocks upon which you are standing.
- Position your own body on the rocks beside your boat.
- Place your paddle perpendicularly across the back of your kayak, just behind the cockpit. Half of your shaft should be held against the boat. The other half should be held against the rocks. Leaning on the shaft will provide stability as the boat is now linked to the rocks.
- Holding your paddle underneath-to-slightly-behind you for stability, squat down – placing your feet, one at a time, into the kayak.
- Still holding the paddle for stability, lower your bottom quickly and intentionally into your seat.
- Adjust your legs as necessary.
The more quickly and decisively you sit down, the more successful your entry attempt will be.
If you are paddling a tandem kayak, check out how to get in one of those (with your paddle-buddy) here.
Getting in your inflatable kayak from a dock
If you are experienced, the driest way to enter your kayak is usually from a dock.
- If you have friends or family members on the dock (or in the water for that matter), recruit someone to help stabilize your kayak. Boarding a kayak is much easier with a little help.
- Identify the lowest point on the dock. If you are boarding from a floating dock, then it shouldn’t be too difficult to a spot that sits low in the water next to the kayak. If your dock is fixed, then you might have to search for a friendly entry point.
- Position the kayak parallel to the dock.
- If you are alone, either grab the outer kayak wall for, or place your paddle shaft on the back of the boat for stability.
- Place your feet, one at a time, into the boat.
- When you feel stable, quickly lower your bottom into the kayak seat.
- Adjust your legs as necessary.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, than a video is worth many more. Katie from REI.com shows you how to do it here.
Getting in after falling out
It happens to all of us. At some point a gust of wind or a rogue wave makes us lose our balance and topple into the water. Sometimes, this water is deep. Regardless of the water’s depth, you still need to get back into your boat. Here’s how:
- Make sure your paddle is close and not at risk of floating away.
- Flip your kayak over. If you have fallen out of your boat, then it is likely upside down.
If you listen closely, you’ll be able to hear it taking on water. Don’t listen for long, time is of the essence. Climb/reach over the bottom of your kayak (which is now facing the sky), grab the far edge, then, while holding the edge, fall back. As you fall back, your boat will flip over.
- Secure your paddle under the outer bungee cords (if you have them).
- While floating in the water align your body with the middle of the cockpit.
- Grab the top of the near wall with one hand and the far wall with the other. (Hopefully your kayak has handles to grip.)
- With a strong kick and surge of upper body strength, propel your body perpendicularly across your kayak. You want to land with your belly button in the middle of the cockpit.
- Gently roll and twist in order to position your bottom back in the kayak seat.
- Reposition your legs as necessary.
- If you are paddling a sit-on-top kayak, then the water will drain out the scupper holes, if they weren’t plugged. And if they were plugged, then remove the scupper plugs.
- If you are paddling a sit-in kayak, then you’ll likely need to make use of your bilge pump to expel the unwanted water sloshing around inside your boat.
- Once the excess water has been emptied from your kayak, you’ll be good to go.
Getting out of your inflatable kayak (on purpose)
When you are done paddling for the day, the time will come to exit your kayak. All of the techniques that I have illustrated above can be reversed to exit your boat. However, there are a few points to keep in mind.
Keep control through a surf zone.If you are exiting on a beach but need to navigate a surf zone to get there, remember to keep control through the zone. Try to either time your approach between wave sets <or> try to approach the beach on the back of a larger wave.
In order to keep control, avoid accelerating off of the face of a wave.
Tread lightly on an irregular rock shore.Rocks that are close to the water surface often collect moss and algae. This makes them extremely slippery. Be careful when navigating these rocks. Alternatively, try to locate an exit point on flat rocks, or at least less-slippery ones.
Hold onto your boat when exiting at a dock. The last move some kayakers make when exiting their boat at a dock is to push off with their feet. This can quickly send a boat back into the middle of the lake. Either keep one foot secured against the boat as you exit <or> keep a boat leash in your hand so that, if your kayak tries to escape, you can pull it back with ease.
Getting out on purpose (but under duress)
Practice the wet exit. Most kayak exits are on purpose. Some aren’t. If you are paddling in a sit-in kayak with a spray skirt and tip over, your next move will be to either right yourself, or perform a wet exit. If your decision is to exit, remember to:
- Make sure the spray skirt loop is situated outside the skirt before you embark on your adventure.
- Lift and push the loop away from you, then pull the entire skirt off the top of the cockpit.
- Curl your legs underneath you, then push the kayak away from your body.
- Come up for a well-deserved gulp of delicious oxygen. (Don’t forget this step.)
Brad from REI.com shows you how to do a wet exit in the video here.
Hopefully you don’t find yourself in this situation, unless it is intentional.
Parting thoughts
Getting in and out of your inflatable kayak is rarely elegant. But with a little knowledge and thought, it can be accomplished effectively.
Remember to alter your technique according to your particular style of kayak as well as the point of entry into the water.
Most importantly, when it comes time to lower your bottom into the kayak, do so quickly and intentionally!
If you are not only done kayaking for the day, but for the season as well, don’t forget to dry your kayak properly. Read my article about drying out your inflatable kayak here.