Maybe so
But I have seen quite a few kayakers launch from that area & this is the first time I have seen that happen however maybe my comment was wrong & he was doing what you said. Personally I would prefer to stay dry.
"Cuz it’s fun and feels good
– Last Updated: Mar-10-07 1:14 PM EST –
If the water is warm and I am secure in a skirt etc, I really like the feeling of a roll. It's fun as well as functional. And if you don't do it on a regular basis you risk losing it as well.
But he probably just felt like doing one for the fun of it. I am not getting this at all. Why should anyone not roll just because someone else may interpret it as showing off? Or are they supposed to move a certain distance away from anyone who may be watching to do it?
Actually whether it keeps you dry…
– Last Updated: Mar-10-07 1:08 PM EST –
Near as I can tell once that thing is on the boat you can't use a skirt. So there will be water eventually inside the boat and on your lap from dripping down the paddle.
I increasingly fail to see how this keeps you literally dry over the full course of a paddle. Tho' it might make for less wet launches and exits, and would provide more support for people who had bending and balance issues with the sitting down or getting up phase.
It just seems a pretty imperfect solution to add a device for just getting in and out that adds complications for the rest of it, like being able to add a skirt for dryness or warmth while paddling.
I forgot to mention
He was paddling a QCC!!
Driving is like paddling?
– Last Updated: Mar-10-07 2:50 PM EST –
at least the way you seem to be using the comparision it doesn't equate, at least to me.
Driving puts us in a hermetically sealed device that's designed to keep all of nature out.
Paddling a canoe or kayak puts us right there w. the open air and water. We're part of it, not sealed off from it.
I had no idea some folks here, on paddling.net of all places,were so delicate about getting water on them. ON the water means be ready to be IN the water.
My uncle Rocky, who lived and sailed on Barnegat Bay, would call them "nice little Nancies."
If getting in/out is taking…
… more than 1% of anyone’s paddling time I’d suggest they paddle more.
A better investment
for staying dry while launching & landing would be a pair of Chotas or something similar. Walk out, do a straddle entry, and paddle off with dry feet.
The inability to use a skirt with this thing seems like a safety hazard, not an improvement. It also looks like a potential knuckle-buster, and would interfere with assisted rescues.
Cars are on the road, the driver isn’t.
The boat is in the water, the paddler isn’t. That’s the connection.
So, you’re saying that now paddlers are judged by whether on not they get wet when they paddle as well as what boat and gear they use?
Maybe the “Nancies” are the ones that aren’t able to stay dry 
As for me, sometimes I stay dry, sometimes I swim. If I’m wearing my work clothes right after work, I’d rather stay dry. I have the skills to make that possible, not everyone does.
If the original poster wants to stay as dry as possible when getting in and out of their boat, why should you or anyone else object? They came here for advice, not ridicule.
You amuse me with many of your posts, but no need to ridicule folks that enjoy the sport/activity/recreation of paddling differently than you do.
Actually…
the kickstand does have a good use. A buddy of mine has one and uses it in his rec kayak for fishing… it is a quick place to put the paddle to make a few casts and also makes a great fly rod holder for trolling…something that theres not alot of good ones out there. For the most part unless it rains hard none of us use spray skirts so that is not a problem.
AT any rate I can see a market for this within the fishing community…especially for fishing small lakes and ponds like I do.
tries to duck the rocks being thrown
For the use you describe
It makes some sense. In fact it seems that a number of the really specialized fishing kayaks SOT’s are loaded with things like rod holders etc up top, likely complicating rescue if there is stuff in them but very useful for fishing. And there’s no rigging in a pumpkinseed boat to stick a paddle into.
But it seems that this thing appeals to people who are very hesitant about getting into a boat and may be better off learning to get in without its assistance, if nothing else to sort out whether they should really go out in the boat to start with. If someone with no physical limitations is unable to balance well enough to get into a basic rec boat using the normal approach, I’m having a hard time figuring out how they’ll do any better once underway.
Chotas suggestion That is how I go
Sometimes when I go after work, all I change are my shoes. Some light weight gauchos and a t-top with a dress shirt over work out well on days when I leave work and go meet the local group. I change my shoes into a pair of chota’s, off goes the dress shirt and on goes the PFD.
I was wearing a light weight summer dress swim suit cover up and chota’s last summer on Pine Lake near Doster Michigan. Some speed boat came way too close and soaked mefrom head to foot but I had my pump with me. The dress dried in ten minutes or less. My cell phone in its protective bag took twenty minutes to dry out.
The more I practice the dryer I stay, even though being dry isn’t my main goal. Having a nice paddle is the main thing.
Paddle leash.
Use a paddle leash.
Fishing
I could see the “kick stand” being useful for fishing from a narrow kayak.