"Rick" wrote in
ink.net:


"jeffh129" wrote in message
om...
Ok, here is probably the dumbest "newbie" question of the year.
Yesterday I purchased a new Sundance 120 after three test paddles.
However each time I test paddled the yak, there was an employee there
to help me enter and exit the yak next to a pier.

So....now I have it home and am anxious to take it out soon. I assume
I won't be doing the pier entry and exit as I will be alone. How do I
get in and out of the darn thing? Do I float it out into a foot or so
of water? Then what? Same thing on exiting. How do I actually get in
and out? ( I TOLD you this would be dumb)

...stuff deleted

Getting in and out quickly is important. I will take minor issue with
another post on the subject below, but there are some things that need
to be addressed here. The first are the prevailing conditions. Surf,
wind, waves, current, and soup (white foamy water that is left after
waves break further out) all add to the challenge. For most conditions,
the following procedures can be applied with only minor modifications.
[snip]

In calmer conditions, you can use the procedure the other poster
described below, but with the following caveats:
You do not need to be parallel to the shore. In fact, I strongly
recommend against it unless there is a steep dropoff and no surf.
Starting from shore breached to the surf is not going to work very
well. You may have to use this method in some lakes and rivers, but in
surf, you are better off anchored to shore.

Since it was my article you were objecting to I'll respond. When I wrote
the suggested entry/exit procedure I didn't even consider the possibility
that he would be attempting it in anything but calm conditions. First, the
original poster indicated that he had just bought a Perception Sundance.
The Sundance is a 12' long, 29" wide recreational kayak, not the kind of
boat that someone should be paddling in the surf with breaking waves.
Secondly, the original author indicated that he had only been in a kayak a
couple of times with help from someone else to enter/exit the boat. He even
wrote that he would be taking his first lesson in a few weeks and just
wanted to play around in his new boat a little bit before taking the lesson.
Someone with no experience in a kayak really doesn't need to know methods
for entering/exiting a kayak in surf conditions because he has no business
going out into that kinds of conditions, especially alone. Finally, the
original poster specifically mentioned being able to enter/exit the boat
with out getting wet, which is why I suggested putting the kayak parallel to
shore. Placing the kayak perpendicular to shore requires wading out 6-10'
from shore so that he could straddle the boat (I hope he's fairly limber to
be straddling a 29" wide rec boat).