Before the meeting: 

1. Locate an area to canoe. 
2. Review Scouting America Health and Medical Form for each Cub Scout. 
3. Secure Qualified Supervision by an adult, 21 or older, who is trained in Scouting America Safety Afloat. Leadership is provided in ratios of one trained adult per 5 Cub Scouts. At least one leader must be trained in first aid that includes CPR. Any swimming done in conjunction with the activity must be within Scouting America Safe Swim Defense standards. 

During the meeting: 

1. Explain to Cub Scouts that they will be learning and practicing how to enter and exit a canoe. 
2. Ask Cub Scouts to buddy up. 
3. Assemble Cub Scouts onshore, distribute life jackets and paddles. Everyone puts on their life jacket and place paddles inside the canoe. 
4. To enter the canoe: 
   • Put the canoe in the water with the stern (back of the boat) first. Make sure the canoe is fully in the water to avoid “bridging” where part of the boat is still on land and the other part in the water.  
   • Remind Cub Scouts that when entering, exiting or moving a canoe, always keep three points of contact by keeping both hands on the gunwales (sides of the canoe) and moving one foot at a time.  
   • Stay low by hunching your back and bending your knees; this will make it easier to keep your balance. Standing outside the canoe in the water, the bow (front) paddler steadies the bow with their knees while holding on to the bow deck plate.  
   • Next, the stern (back) paddler steps into the boat on the center line, facing the bow (front), then backs up to the stern and sits or kneels into their position, keeping three points of contact. 
   • Once in position, the stern paddler places their paddle in the water with the blade parallel to the canoe, up to the throat and holds the paddle shaft against the side of the canoe, locking their thumb of the shaft hand over the gunwale. This will reduce the side-to-side motion of the canoe as the bow (front) paddler gets in. The bow paddler places their paddle in the canoe and enters the canoe in the same way the stern (back) paddler did going to the center of the canoe. The stern (back) paddler is in their position, and the bow (front) paddler is in the center of the boat. The bow of the boat will float free of the shoreline. The stern (back) paddler back paddles away from the shoreline, and the bow (front) paddler moves forward to their paddling position. 
5. To exit the canoe: 
   • Slowly approach the shore.  Allow the canoe to reach the shore. 
   • The person in the bow hold onto the gunwales and steps out of the canoe. 
   • If the water is shallow enough for the person in the stern to step out, then the person who was in the bow holds the canoe’s bow sturdy as they did when entering the canoe as the person in the stern steps out. 
   • If needed pull the canoe up closer to shore but make sure that the canoe is not “bridging”.  

Tip: This requirement is done at the same time as requirements 7, 8, and 9.