Seal landing

[edit] Seal Landing

A technique of landing a kayak by paddling at good speed and letting the kayak ride up on to land (ice, rock...). This is used where it is safe and convenient to do or in cases where a conventional landing would be dangerous.

Those who frequently winter paddle in icy waters will carry ice picks (sharpened screwdrivers, sharp nail in a wooden handle etc) tethered to the deck. When seal landing on an ice floe or ice covered beach, the paddle is dropped and the ice picks are used to propel the kayak over the ice (in the manner akin to a skier double poling).

[edit] Seal Launch

A technique where a paddler gets into the kayak on land, fastens the skirt and then launches into the water. This is a safe way to launch into surf. If you are solo or the last to launch, the normal method is to knuckle-walk to the water - put your fists on the sand and lift/slide the kayak toward the water. Try to time it with the waves so that the incoming surf floats the kayak as much as possible. Some who use skeg kayaks advocate seal launching backwards so that sand and gravel are less likely to jam the skegbox.

Also used by whitewater paddlers when they find themselves in an area where getting into the kayak on the water is particularly difficult. In that case, they would seal launch into the water. While crazy looking, seal launching off of a rock several feet above water is often the only convenient way to get into the water.

[edit] Effect on kayak

Many paddlers, especially sea kayakers with composite kayaks, worry about the damage to the skin of the kayak from seal landings and launches.

Plastic kayaks can take a lot of abuse. The worst thing that can happen to those (usually) is a bit of a scratch in the plastic with a bit of plastic fiber forming. These hairy fibers can be cut or scraped off.

Composite kayaks may suffer a bit of scratching from seal launching/landing on rock. Sand will not significantly affect gelcoat. Wet gravel, as on a beach, has little effect, since the gravel tends to be rounded and lubricated by water. Dry rock will scratch the gelcoat, however, this can easily be fixed. Seal landing/launching on ice will not cause scratches normally.