I apologize if there’s an obvious “how to” explanation for this. Feel free to just point me in the right direction (but note that I can’t access youtube from work.)
I did a short paddle last night on a slow river in a somewhat urban setting where the put-in was a concrete embankment, maybe 6" above the water line. It was actually at the end of a concrete ramp and, normally, I think it’s below the waterline but with water levels being so low this year, there’s a concrete drop at the end of the ramp.
I had no trouble getting in and gave no thought about how I was going to get out… but, boy, did I have trouble getting out! It wasn’t impossible but it was definitely awkward. I didn’t have any problems getting the kayak itself in/out once I was out of it; just getting myself out of the kayak onto the embankment. There was no one around to hold the boat for me.
So, what’s the best technique for getting out of a kayak at a dock or embankment when you’re solo?
Dock, easy. Embankment, not quite so
On a dock, there’s usually something to grab hold of. I would put all my weight on my arms, while holding onto something on the dock. Then pull and stand up in the kayak. Since my weight is on my arms, it doesn’t matter if the boat moves a bit…
On any random embankment, it’s a lot harder if there’s nothing to grab hold of. The boat wants to slide outward… and I’m in danger of falling into the water…
Yeah, it wasn’t pretty
>> The boat wants to slide outward... and I'm in danger of falling into the water...
Yes, exactly! In my case, it was high enough that I felt I needed to get my feet under me in the kayak, in a sort of squat... not much I could do but try to crawl my way out. It took a few rocky attempts. It wasn't pretty and probably pretty comical to anyone watching.
getting out
A kayak is quite stable with your butt in the seat and your legs hanging over the side of the cockpit. To get to that position, remove your legs one at a time from under the front deck. To do that, move one knee toward yourself until it is sticking up out of the cockpit. Then bend your leg so your heel comes toward you over the center line of the cockpit. Lift your foot out and move it to the side. Repeat with other leg. Then with your hands on the back of the cockpit rim stand up. Swing one leg over the back of the boat and you are done.
Use your paddle
Put your paddle behind your back, half of it resting on your kayak and the other half resting on the concrete (your kayak should be right up against the edge). Then put one hand on each part of the paddle - one hand on the half of the paddle on the concrete, and the other hand on the paddle on your kayak behind your back - and lift yourself out. Your paddle will steady you and the boat, and will hold it in place.
won’t work
Not if the dock is several inches higher than the top deck of the boat!
Not picturing this…
No problem getting my legs outside of the cockpit but you lose me at “Then with your hands on the back of the cockpit rim stand up.” Stand up on what? Where are my legs at the point?
The key
is to find something to grab hold of to stop your body from sliding outward with the kayak, even if it’s just a crack on the concrete. It doesn’t take much.
Slide onto the back deck first
Get yourself balanced there, grab a helpful piece of the dock then stand, shift or otherwise maneuver the majority of your torso onto the dock. You should be able to get enough balance to stand up in the boat, as in feet in the cockpit just in front of the seat, just long enough to slide your torso over the deck of the dock.
The height is likely the problem, yes? Some of these comments are coming from guys who don't feel quite as much like kids at the grownup table when they pull into a high dock as shorter folk.
I tried that
That was actually the first thing I tried. With the embankment higher than the boat rim, if my arms are in back of me holding the paddle and my feet are still in the kayak, there’s no way to get my butt all the way onto the concrete; my limbs are simply not long enough. (Note that I’m only 5’2".) And as soon as I took the inside foot out and put it on the concrete, the boat started to push away from the embankment… leaving me in the oh-so-fun position of being a sideways and upside down human bridge with the supports getting wider…
I also tried with the paddle in front of me, put my weight on my hands to get into a squat inside the boat. But as soon as I tried to lift a foot out, the balance got precarious.
In the end, with the paddle in front, I sort of belly-slopped onto the embankment and crawled on just in time to keep the boat from drifting away. I should have had a line/tether on the boat. This isn’t a technique I care to repeat…
Dock vs embankment
At a dock, there’s usually space under the dock and I can slide at least a few inches of the boat underneath the dock. Then, even if the dock is higher than the boat, I can keep my weight centered on the boat enough to get my feet underneath me and get up on the dock.
The problem with the embankment is that, at some point, I have to shift my weight sideways where it’s no longer centered on the boat. It’s a lot like a self-rescue.
how deep
Is the water deep at the end of this ramp? If it’s only a foot deep or so, it would be easiest to just stand up in the water, I’d say.
However, if that’s not an option, try this -
Boat next to dock/ramp/ledge, put hands on either side of the boat behind your hips on the back deck.
With even pressure on hands, lift butt out of seat to sit on back deck. You should be stable this way. Then place the hand closest to the ramp on the edge of the ramp, and your other hand on the CENTER of the back deck behind you. Feet centered in floor of cockpit. Lift your butt to the edge of the ramp. Feet are still in boat, butt is on the ramp.
Cleat
Usually, if it’s a dock it will have a cleat to tie up your boat. I tie my boat up to that and use it to grab onto and lever myself up out of my seat at a low squat, shift my butt up onto the dock, then my legs. This works in the situation you describe. But that assumes something like a cleat to tie or grab onto.
If shallow enough you can use some paddles as a pole to balance against, ramming your boat up against the dock with your pole/paddle on the outside.
If it’s too deep or your paddle isn’t strong enough, I’m completely out of options! Dock elsewhere or dump yourself in a wet exit and get out that way in an emergency.
I know that this sounds do-able
And it probably is for someone with longer limbs and torso but it just isn’t for someone who is 5’2" (and I was even a gymnast way back when…) My arm/leg/torso lengths aren’t long enough to do what you’re describing. For instance, with my feet in the boat, my butt wouldn’t reach the embankment next to the boat. Same goes for my arms; if I put my hands on the embankment, I cannot put my bodyweight on my arms with my butt still in the seat.
Now, my kayak is 25" wide which isn’t all that narrow and it might be easier with a narrower boat, but maybe tippier as well.
May be no good solutions
Yeah, no cleat since it wasn’t intended to be a dock. It’s actually the end of a concrete ramp with very low water conditions.
And deep. Pretty murky there but I would assume over my head since it’s right at the dam.
I couldn’t figure out a graceful way either but did manage to get out. I was hoping there might be a method I hadn’t considered.
get UP in the boat, yep!
"Boat next to dock/ramp/ledge, put hands on either side of the boat behind your hips on the back deck.
With even pressure on hands, lift butt out of seat to sit on back deck. You should be stable this way.
...
Then place the hand closest to the ramp on the edge of the ramp, and your other hand on the CENTER of the back deck behind you. Feet centered in floor of cockpit. Lift your butt to the edge of the ramp. Feet are still in boat, butt is on the ramp. "
Yep! That should work.
Actually, once you're sitting on the rear deck, your options increased considerably. You can also turn your body to face the dock and put both hands on it to pull yourself out of the boat too.
On docks higher than that (2-3' above water), I use a variation of the above technique (1st part). After getting my butt on the rear deck, I simply stand up!
Putting one hand on the dock as a reference point (just a reference point, NOT as a balance point, or I'd simply pushed the boat away from the dock), it's amazing how easy one can STAND in the cockpit. Here, being short is an ADVANTAGE!
Once I'm taller than the dock, it's pretty easy to put both hands on the dock and get out (like getting out of a swimming pool).
Reading all these very good
suggestions, it starts to sound complicated.
And yet, I can easily get out of my little rec SINK to a dock that is 4 ft above water level, 6" above water level and anywhere in between.
I’m only an inch taller than you.
Get out there and take your time, and you’ll figure out the easiest way for you to do it. It’s always a good idea to have a line attached to your boat with the other end in your hand, especially if you’re doing this in current, so your boat won’t go sailing away without you.
I think you all need to just try it
>> Yep! That should work.
Like I said, it sounds like it would. And if I were a foot taller, I’m sure I could. 
As it is, if I sit on my back deck, it’s a bit of a stretch to get my feet flat on the floor of the cockpit in front of the seat. Honest. From that position, I cannot lean further back to get my weight on my hands/arms behind me. The best I can do is move directly sideways which, as you know, will tip or push the boat away from the embankment.
Also, sitting in my seat with one hand on the rim and the other hand on the concrete, my hands are too far apart to get enough leverage to actually lift my butt above the rim of the boat. My arms/torso are too short.
I know I’m being difficult but I really did try all these things and the bottom line is that I think I’m too short to be able to do this without some sort of aid – like using a paddle float for a self-rescue. Just trying to figure out that “aid”.
So, when you’re at the dock…
Does your boat slide under the dock a bit, so that you can stand up in the center of your boat and hoist your self (straight) *up* on the dock? That I could see doing pretty easily, even if the dock is several feet above the water. It really was the sideways-and-up onto a solid concrete embankment that was MUCH harder than I thought it would be.
That said, I was nervous about pushing the boat away from the bank and having it drift away. So, maybe if I had the security of a line in my hand, maybe it would have been a lot easier to get on the bank without worrying about where my boat was going. OK... looks like I'm going to have to try it again... If it goes just as badly, I'll be sure to come back and whine some more! :p
You need to try it yourself!
"Like I said, it sounds like it would. And if I were a foot taller, I’m sure I could. "
I’m only a couple inch (not a foot) taller than you! And yes, it WILL work, if it takes a bit of trust (and maybe a bit of practice)
Couple points you’re missing:
“Also, sitting in my seat with one hand on the rim and the other hand on the concrete…”
No, not that.
You put BOTH hands on the cockpit rim! And hoist your butt out of the seat…
"As it is, if I sit on my back deck, it’s a bit of a stretch to get my feet flat on the floor of the cockpit in front of the seat. "
I’m only an inch or two taller and I could sit on the back deck and my feet reach the cockpit. If you need to, just stand up on the seat will work just the same too.
But, if for some reason your boat is configure such you can’t do either, then just hoist your body up from the seat and retract your feet into a squatting position, without bothering with the “sitting on rear deck” part!
Now you can stand up.