Sisler, Clyde wrote: > > > it clings to one's leg bottom. Probably cluster some of the dry suit > > material somewhere below the knee and make a cut, I suppose, for each > > pant leg. It would ruin an expensive suit but saving your life would be > > worth it. > > > If you made a cut down around the ankle and took another swim, would > garvity hold water entering the cut down around the ankle or would it rise > to fill the dry suit? The purpose of taking such a drastic action as cutting into your dry suit is to make certain that you won't have water flooding the suit's pants legs. The cut assures you that, as you try to climb back on or into your kayak, water will drain out rather than remain in the legs portion to hinder your movements. I have no idea how much water would re-enter through the slit you have made if you are swimming again. Probably not all that much as water pressure against the leg would make the dry suit material cling to you. While on the subject again, I didn't say anything about water that would get into the sleeves. Some would depending on how water has gotten into your dry suit (either through an open zipper or a neck ring holding out the latex from you neck). If you got a lot of water into your jacket sleeves and it could not drain out through the wrists because of the latex gaskets there, you might be in a real pickle. As you try to raise your arm out of the water, your tight PFD would slow the movement of the water from the sleeves to the rest of the suit. Although I don't know this personally, I do recall some discussions about 8 years ago involving someone with a dry top who somehow got water in through the neck. It filled his sleeves and the PFD acted as I described above making it difficult for him to raise his arms in a self-rescue. Again, I want to re-focus back on the point here: a dry suit is only as good as its insulation and only so long as it is completely sealed. If the dry suit doesn't have adequate insulation it won't work. If for whatever reason (torn material, neck rings, open zipper) water gets in, your flooded dry suit becomes a death suit not only because of hypothermia but also perhaps more importantly because of the hinderance a water-filled dry suit would present to getting back up into your boat. I raise it because dry suits are seen as a panacea. They are BUT with warm weather, people may be tempted (with tragic results as we have seen in Lake Erie) to keep the zipper partly open or to not have adequate layering underneath. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Dec 07 1998 - 06:48:38 PST
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