Thank you. 
I do love kayaking and while I haven’t done it in the last year, I was happy to get back to it this past weekend. I won’t let a little thing like this stop me. I’ll just be better prepare for it next time. I honestly didn’t care if I looked like a beached whale getting out the way I did. I had a good laugh at myself. One thing about turning 40 was I realized how less I care about what people think.
Thanks again for your advice.
I actually have a paddle that we don’t use because it is too short and I honestly hate it, so if it bends, I won’t care.
Agreed. My hubs suggested I jump out and swim to the dock, but I don’t know that there is a ladder. I’m sure my scooting technique was a sight, but I got out and had a good laugh at myself.
I’m with tdaniel, but I usually won’t ask for help. I tell anyone who offers that I appreciate the offer, but I have to do it by myself so I know I can do it when nobody is around to help. Lots of good advice and you’ll figure it out, but I don’t worry about what people think of effort. I can’t lift myself the way I used to because of a shoulder injury, so I rotate around in the cockpit, extend my arms and put my hands on the rear deck, then bring my legs forward to the seat and stand. A friend told me that looks goofy. I just said you once told me that before you saw me doing that manuever, but at least it works.
LOL… you might want to edit… Good laugh though. Good pic too.
I have used two pad eyes spaced one in front of the cockpit and the other in just in back of the cockpit on the yak and a couple of corresponding cleats on the dock. Snug up the lines the best you can
The other alternative is to get out on a swim ladder. This I find is the easiest and you can also snug lines from in front of the cockpit and in back of the cockpit to a point high on the ladder. The lines should be snug. Keep your weight toward the dock and stand up or get out on the ladder.
Our floating dock deck is a foot above the top of my boat.
yep, getting out of a kayak or canoe can be “interesting”. I’ve had the pleasure of coming to sure after a long paddle and having a leg not understand the new, vertical, requirement. And then there is, of course, the classic beach roll. No dignity there. I try to agree with tdaniel about dignity being over rated but there are times when I have to remember to laugh at my self. It may be useful to remember that most paddlers fully understand the problems with exiting a kayak while non-paddling spectators don’t count at all as you have been out paddling & they haven’t.
Something to think about with body mechanics is where your center of gravity (CG) is in relation to your feet. I suspect that when you were initially trying to stand up your CG was well behind your feet. If you can get your CG over your feet, getting up can be easier. Think about this as you experiment.
Oh, also, if you are using a paddle in those notches spread your arms wide so that your hands are as close to the plastic wall as possible to reduce the load on the paddle.
One of the very few good things about getting older is that you start not to care as much about what others think.
things got pretty ugly before I got the hip replacements. Getting out of the boat at the end of a paddle wasn’t pretty. Friends were good to help out by providing a shoulder or an arm to grab onto and would even carry my boat for me. I’m much more independent now. My theory is we can all bring different things to the table. Physicality is just one aspect. I still get pretty wet getting out of a boat. I don’t really care because at that point I know dry clothes are soon to follow.
We happen to have Wave Armor floating docks with this kayak assist but something similar could be made for a wooden dock. While it looks like a great solution it does take some practice to use it. This is my wife coming in to try it for the first time. Out of respect and the hopes of my marriage continuing in to the future I will refrain from posting the video of her slipping in to the water. Like I said, it takes a few times to get a technique : )
We have a dock system shared by six users so when all participated this was what we went with. Its proven handy for everyone from kids to fishermen to us oldsters
I’m 40 and in ok shape, and if I have to get out at a dock i flop like a fish trying to grow lungs. I’ve done it with inflatable (and deflating, woo!) kayak, plastic kayak, and big touring canoe. I’m not a fan of docks, but that’s what the local pond and my in-laws cabin have.
One of the joys of being not young is I don’t care nearly as much what other people think of my flopping around. It’s a journey to get there, esp with the teenager rolling her eyes at me.
40 not being young? 
That’s what I told my kid. I was laughing so hard that I didn’t even notice the pimple faced kid that was trying to hold it in. 
I think we all had a good laugh and I’m just happy I didn’t fall back into the river. I figure I’m better prepared for next time and I’ll make sure to have a plan of exit, even if I do look like a manatee that just beached herself. I’m not going to let a hideous exit get in the way of doing what I love. 
Oops on my dock word 
thanks.
Shot turns to sh_t when I type it all the time. I just did it carefully and slowly and it did it again.
It is not so easy to get in a kayak from a dock. I would take it ashore if possible and launch parallel to shore in shallow water. Getting in a kayak does not get any easier as we age.
I find that laughing at myself (usually) takes the tension right out of the awkward situations.
As I get older I find I am laughing at myself more and more.
Haven’t noticed posts from you in recent weeks Doggy Paddler. Maybe I’ve been asleep.
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I wanted to put a Ezdock at my daughter’s waterfront. The environmental agency said “No can do! It blocks sunlight from the seaweed.”
So many power boats go out and congregate at various hangouts. It seems funny. My kayak isn’t big enough for a charcoal grill and doesn’t have space to lounge, so I paddle around the bay instead, see it 3 mph at a time. I’m afraid I’ll miss something at 4 mph.
Yes I think there is a phone gnome whose sole job is to embarrass us.
Something else that may help. Tie a rope somewhere to the front of your kayak and tie a couple knots near the end nearest you. Use it to help pull yourself up to get your center of gravity where it needs to be.
