# Sliding-Seat Dock Exchange

Part of the Rowing Merit Badge Digital Resource Guide: [Introduction & Overview](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/rowing/guide/index.md)

*5. Sliding-Seat Skills*

> **5b.** In a sliding-seat rowboat, come alongside a pier and, with your buddy assisting you, get out onto the pier. Help your buddy into the boat. Reverse roles with your buddy and repeat the procedure.

A sliding-seat rowboat is usually lighter, narrower, and less forgiving than a camp rowboat. That means pier work has to be calm and deliberate. This requirement is about safe exchange, not speed. If it looks rushed, it is probably wrong.

## Approach the Pier Under Control

Come alongside slowly enough that you can stop exactly where you want. Plan for wind and current. In a sliding-seat craft, small bumps and side pressure matter more, so protect the hull and keep the boat stable before anyone starts moving.

## Get Out Onto the Pier Safely

Your buddy assists because this is a teamwork skill. Communicate before you move. Decide which hand stays on the boat, where the first foot goes, and when the second person should stabilize the shell.

Keep your center of gravity low. A fast, upright step can roll the boat or push it away from the pier.

## Help Your Buddy Into the Boat

Helping someone board is not just being polite. It is part of boat control. Give clear instructions. Keep the shell close enough to the pier to avoid a jump. Have your buddy move one step at a time and settle into the boat before any other motion happens.

**Pier Exchange Basics** — How to keep a sliding-seat boat calm during boarding

- [ ] **Approach slowly and parallel to the pier.**
- [ ] **Communicate before anyone moves.**
- [ ] **Keep one stable point of contact at all times.**
- [ ] **Move low and smoothly, never with a hop.**
- [ ] **Wait until the boat settles before the next step.**

## Reverse Roles and Repeat

The repeat matters because it proves both Scouts understand the process. It is easy to look steady once when someone else is doing the hard part. Reversing roles shows that each person can board, disembark, and assist safely.

This is also a good lesson in empathy. Once you help another person into a delicate boat, you understand how clear instructions and patient timing make the experience safer for everyone.

> **Tip**
>
> Talk through the move before you do it. A five-second plan prevents many pier-side mistakes.

> **Be Prepared! The shell starts drifting away from the pier during boarding**
>
> - **Stop the movement immediately.** Do not keep climbing in while the boat is separating.
> - **Re-stabilize first.** Bring the shell back under control before trying again.
> - **Reset the instructions.** Confusion usually means the next attempt should be slower.
> - **Treat the reset as good judgment, not failure.** Safe boat handling includes knowing when to restart.

![A Scout stepping carefully from a sliding-seat rowboat to a dock while a buddy stabilizes the shell](https://ik.imagekit.io/doulacoop/tr:w-800/mbu-assets/merit-badges/rowing/guide/sliding-seat-pier-exit?v=62b64d08)

This option teaches an important truth about rowing shells: low-speed control and careful teamwork matter just as much as powerful strokes. Next, the guide moves into rescue work, starting with how to recover from a swamped boat.

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- Previous: [Passenger Handling & Sculling](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/rowing/guide/req5a/index.md)
- Next: [Swamped Boat Recovery](https://merit-badge.university/merit-badges/rowing/guide/req6/index.md)