Louisville Area Canoe and Kayak

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Launching Etiquitte

Most boat ramps are designed to be used by motorboats towed by a vehicle, and as a result the normal process used by motor boatists doesn't easily apply to paddlers. And an unfortunate fact is that many paddlers often overlook all of the rules of courtesy rather than just the ones that don't make sense for them to follow. Here are some guidelines to help everything run smoothly, and these apply both to putting in and taking out:

Louisville Community Boathouse Dock

Since there is no motor boat traffic, it is very common for kayakers to hog the dock by the Community Boathouse. This dock is used by rowers, and their procedure for launching is quite different than kayakers. They need the entire dock to be clear to launch, so if you're using the dock as a staging area you'll be blocking them from using it at all. It's also very common that a steady stream of kayakers will continually cut in front of rowers waiting at the top of the ramp. If you see rowers at the top, ask if they're waiting to launch, and if they are wait your turn, also stop other kayakers from cutting in front of them.