to do it alone, you really need the "magic stick" they ship with. This is just a wooden stick with the ends shaped to hold the gunwales and the right width to hold the boat open. To use it, you just fit one end of the stick into the far gunwale and push while pulling back on the near gunwale. Once open, fit the near end of the stick into the near gunwale and it holds the boat open while you get the center seat in.