Hey John: I disagree that wet and drysuit technology has advanced to the point that an enclosed cockpit is redundant for cold weather paddling. I find that a closed kayak cockpit or a spray covered canoe offers nice wind and spash protection, so I don't lose heat as quickly as when I am not in the boat. Yes, at some point this advantage could be replaced by wearing a heck of a lot of insulation under the suit, but I have found that if I bulk up too much I cannot move (Charlie Brown dressed for a blizzard -- never got out of the house because he couldn't move), and my efforts at moving get me perspiring profusely. All in all, it is hard to find a good balance between heat retention, heat dissapation, and flexibility. For myself, having a closed cockpit is part of the equation. Cheers, Richard --snp-- > The cold weather paddling does pose a problem but I believe that wet suit > and dry suit technology has advanced to the point where the enclosed > cockpit has become redundant. > > > Cheers, > John Winters > Redwing Designs > Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft > http://home.ican.net/~735769/ *************************************************************************** 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 Wed Feb 24 1999 - 06:09:01 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:04 PDT