My pleasure!

Good words of wisdom! Appreciate it! It points out - consider practicing in conditions once you have in the quiet conditions. And, make sure you have a measure of extra proficiency in lesser or no conditions. Another factor, the paddle float will give you additional strength when the paddler may lack strength or encounters more challenging conditions.

That's why it's nice to have some options. With some practice, you'll likely find one way that works best for you, then keep it practiced for when some day you might need it. Without the paddle float, the re-entry & roll technique requires a good amount of proficiency in rolling to begin with

The heel hook with paddle float requires very little upper body strength, though some people find flexibility a limiting factor

The cowboy re-entry from the stern is easy on the back. It starts at 5:05. Keep your weight low and use a good leg kick to propel yourself onto the rear deck. As you get better at the technique you can start closer to the cockpit, but starting way back on the stern where it has little volume makes it easy to get on deck.

​@@timomomomo969thanks. I have compressed something in my mid-back trying to get on the kayak, it still hurts when I stand upright. Tried the cowboy technique but just can't get on the rear from the side. As soon as I managed to crawl on board from dead behind, I flipped, probably because there is no stability whatsoever there due to pointy stern. It's a 10 ft kayak with rear bulkhead.

@@maricallo6143 A bad back makes everything more difficult. If you can find a way to get on deck, then you can use your paddle with float as an outrigger. But as a fellow chronic back injury sufferer my recommendation would be to get your back as healthy as you can first. I would seek treatment and a PT. But for some simple relief, google "Dr. Cox exercises for the lower back". These helped me get from zero back to a place where I was healthy enough to start working more seriously thru PT on my back. If nothing else the exercises may give you some temporary relief, they often calm things down for my back. I herniated my L4 and L5 badly enough to have a doctor recommend surgery. I resisted and took the long road thru PT. Took about 4 years to get close to my old self, and the benefits to my core from paddling got me the rest of the way. Wishing you good health.

Right, they call it a "Stirrup" - You use about a 10-12 foot moderately heavy rope or webbing, put it over the paddle on the distant side of the kayak, wrap it under the kayak, then wrap it over your side a number of times till the loop hanging down is the right length for your foot to use it as a step. When you step on it, it should pull on both sides equally.

if you cut a 20cm length off your garden hose and thread the rope through that you might find it is much easier to stand on - the loop stays open and the hose doesnt feel like its cutting into your foot like the rope can. You can leave the hose on the rope and have a permanent loop on one end of a 2m length of rope also or have a hose loop on each end. Its easier on you and the cost is minimal.

Hi Damian, I used a 3/4" PVC 90 degree elbow and trimmed it down to about 5" or so. The electrical PVC is very rigid and the 90 has a nice contoured shape to it. I first looked at using rope but I think I might just use a long cam strap because they don't stretch, are cheap and then use a carabiner for the other end. That way, I can use it for a stand up strap or a recovery strap. Cam straps can be gotten as long as 16'. @@yt.damian

​@yt.damian yes, or at least a length only long enough to hold an open loop for your foot open (unless thats what you meant!). One disadvantage, without something like that, is its very easy for the loop to go over your foot as you get in. Now a little tangle problem. Having said that, I have a friend who was quite heavy and this method was most successful for her. Even more successful than an assisted rescue. Another friend has the stirrup rope attached on the inside of her cockpit, behind the seat. She leaves it attached, and while in the water, pulls it out, loops over the paddle (once or twice), then under the kayak then over the paddle on the other side. She placed a short length of pvc to create an open step. Also made the loop smaller so her foot won't slide through it.

Good question! I do. However, I have broken a paddle in the past. Whatever the paddle, as cheaper paddles likely break even easier, I'm careful to keep my hand, very close to the kayak. In my experience, the hand force on the paddle is more than the foot.

I doubt you could break a carbon paddle in these recoveries, they are incredibly strong and resilient. If you were to put too much force onto a shaft during a float recovery... you would just sink the float. I have broken a carbon paddle before... this was due to doing 'wavewheels' over the crest of approaching waves... repeatedly, for years. This entails planting your paddle in the face of a breaking wave and throwing all of your weight and momentum into the shaft, cartwheeling your kayak into the air over the wave.... lot's and lot's of force!

I've only used inflatable, as they take up less space with storage. I have attached bungies underneath the deck to hold a pump & a rolled up paddle float.

@@nealschroeter9702 good idea 👍 thanks