Always insist on having your fellow boaters install air bags (flotation). If they come out of their boat, the boat will hold far less water and is easier to manipulate. If possible, try twisting the boat so the cockpit (or open portion) is upside down or facing downstream. This will take a great deal of water pressure off the boat. Where it is feasible, work with the existing current. On end to end pins, one end may be easier to pull or push. Small movements can unbalance this type of pin and allow the boat to release and head downstream. When stuck in a sieve and some vertical pins, you may need to back out the same way you entered the pin. Once the lower end is free, you may be able to lift it over the obstruction and let gravity and current assist you.

• Vertical Pin: Here is an example of a vertical pin and rescue: Vertical Pin & Rescue.
• Center Broach Pin: This is basically getting stuck sideways on a rock, tree, or stump. Diagram 5.15 in this book shows an example: Center Broach & End to End Pins.
• End to End Pin: Basically both ends of the boat get hung on separate rocks and the center is free but pressed downstream by the water current. The diagram from the book in the center broach pin also has this one.
• Pinch Pin: This is a very nasty (but rare) pin. Basically the front of a pointy kayak gets caught in some type of rock crack. The boat then is folded downstream and held in place by the bend on the boat.
• Flat Pin: Flat pins are a relatively new phenomena. In years past, we paddled displacement hull kayaks (rounded on the bottom). This type of hull is rather tippy on a flat surface. Many modern kayaks (and C1's) have planning hulls (basically flat on the bottom). Combine a planning hull with some soft plastic and flat land a boof - presto, your are stuck. You can also get stuck plastered against a side wall of rock and the water current along with lots of friction will hold that boat quite well.

There are lots of ways to pin a boat (or body). Any hard obstruction that stops your boat can quickly turn into a pin. If you run sideways into a boulder, learn to lean into it so the river current can pass underneath your boat and sweep you around the boulder. If you lean back upstream, you will definitely flip, probably come out of your boat which will quickly fill with water and wallpaper the boat to the rock. The force of water going downstream is often very strong. Once the ends fill with water, the boat will probably need some assistance to free it. Dropping off a tall ledge or falls, the front of a boat may get trapped under a rock. The back of the boat is often held in place by a crease in the drop or and indention. Water and gravity from the falls helps to press the boat into a stable pin position. This is an example of a vertical pin. Novice boaters often get turned sideways and in shallow rapids both ends of their boat get hung up. There are other ways to pin a boat but these are the most common. In general, pins are caused by obstructions (an immovable force), strong water current and gravity to hold you against that obstruction, and often friction between the boat and rock that makes it hard to dislodge.