Jwwann if you do record the canoe reentry I would like to see it. With my aluminum canoe when I grabbed the end just to hold on, let alone to climb in the end it would go down under water and wouldn't hold me even to rest. What happened I think is as the end started to submerge the other end started to raise and increase even more the weight on the submerging end. I only weighed 160 at the time in the early 70's and was in good condition. So I have to think my canoe didn't have enough floatation in the ends. The other thing is if a canoe picks up any water when one falls out then as you try the over the side reentry the water sloshes to that side along with the weight of the person to make the canoe tend to roll even more. My hats off to anyone that can re-enter a canoe solo.
Below is how a paddle float works on a kayak. The paddle is held in place with buggy cords.
