The reason I put on my sprayskirt first when under water is that it does keep out a LOT of water that is scooped in by the rotating open cockpit. An open cockpit roll is easier...as the boats waterline is much lower it seems to spin easier, but it takes on more water as the rotating cockpit scoops it up. I have practiced open cockpit rolls for hours, usually by the second tip, the boat is very sluggish to come around. When it does, I FIND that it is a pain in the butt to paddle (when full) in the pool much less in dangerous waves. A related fact to many boats - (When the cockpit contains a lot of water, boats with a foam center pillar between the legs will float perfectly sideways unassisted. Creating a force that is very hard to flip under or, for that matter, flip up the boat. The paddler must overcome the water supporting the pillar to either tip or right the boat. An easy way to alleviate this is to put on the skirt first and prevent the water from entering in the first place) Everyone knows the importance of floatbags - To displace water. That is exactly what the sprayskirt is doing. Which is why I put on the sprayskirt underwater... eliminating any more water from flooding the cockpit when I roll it. This saves me from lengthy pumping in times where I might need my manueverability and strength to move elsewhere. Phil Huck thekayaker_at_yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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