Boats & Canoes · 7 min
Terms, trim, and getting in and out
Why this matters
The exam names terminology and entering and leaving craft as separate topics for a reason: most small-boat incidents happen in the first and last thirty seconds, at the shore, in shallow water, when everyone has relaxed.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to
- Use the standard small-craft vocabulary correctly
- Load and trim a canoe or small boat
- Board and disembark a party safely
The vocabulary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bow / stern | Front / back |
| Port / starboard | Left / right, facing forward |
| Beam | Width at the widest point. Wide beam means initial stability |
| Freeboard | Height from waterline to gunwale. Overloading eats freeboard and freeboard is what keeps water out |
| Gunwale (say "gunnel") | The upper edge of the side |
| Thwart | The crosswise brace in a canoe. A brace, not a seat |
| Keel | The centreline running fore and aft along the bottom |
| Draft | Depth of water the loaded boat needs |
| Trim | How the boat sits fore and aft. Bow-heavy handles badly in wind |
| List | Leaning to one side |
| Painter | The line at bow or stern for tying up and lining |
| Capacity plate | The maximum persons, weight and horsepower for the boat. It is a legal limit, not a suggestion |
| Underway | Not made fast to shore, not anchored, not aground |
| Windward / leeward | Toward the wind / away from it |
Loading and trim
- Load low and centred. Weight high raises the centre of gravity and is what turns a wobble into a swim
- Aim for level trim, or very slightly stern-heavy. A bow-light canoe blows sideways in wind and becomes exhausting to steer
- Respect the capacity plate, and reduce below it for rough water, cold water or inexperienced paddlers
- Tie gear in on moving water, where a loose pack becomes a hazard, and keep it out of the way of feet in a rescue
- Keep the load balanced side to side. A persistent list is a loading problem, not a paddling one
Getting in and out
- Bring the boat parallel to the dock or shore, floating, not grounded at one end
- One person steadies the boat, ideally by holding both gunwales, from the dock or standing in the water
- The person boarding keeps three points of contact, hands on the gunwales
- Step into the centreline, never onto the gunwale or the seat, and keep the weight low
- Stay low and crouched while moving. In a canoe you move by shuffling with a hand on each gunwale, never standing
- Board from the stern forward, so the person steadying is the last in, and reverse it getting out
The old formula is still the best brief you can give a client: keep your weight low and in the centre, and keep three points of contact. Say it once at the landing and repeat it every time somebody moves.
From the field
A client stands up in a canoe to swap seats mid-lake. You do not lecture from thirty feet away; you get the boat alongside, hold both gunwales yourself, and have them shuffle. Then, on shore, you explain why. Corrections given from a distance across water tend to produce the swim they were meant to prevent.
This lesson is part of the NYS Licensed Guide Exam course. Open it in the course to answer the retrieval checks that go with it, track what you have read, and quiz the whole unit. Lessons, quizzes and the glossary are free.