On insulating liners for dry tops/drysuits: I've tried the Polartec, Patagucci Capilene, and polypro groups of materials. When they are wet, they're pretty chilly, and take their sweet time drying, unless you're in Baja. They are fine for land activities, like skiing, hiking, etc. The hot ticket IMHO and those of locals, are the liner fabrics made/sold by Colorado Kayak/Stohlquist near here in Nathrop, Colorado. I've used this stuff year-round here in the Rockies, in the Northwest, Baja etc. There are two weights, Phase III- a 9 oz pique, and a 12oz ADF pile. My favorite is the 12 oz. ADF pile in the Basic Paddling Sweater. You can soak this stuff, wring it, sling it around and put it back on warm. I've even worn it under a leaky dry top for whitewater, and found it quite warm when wet. It is very good at moving water out. It comes in tops/bottoms and drysuit liners. I'm not in the employ of the Stohlquist folks. 800-535-3565 http://www.stohlquist.com/pile.html On rolling loaded boats: As the boat gets heavier, you have to start it turning more gradually, due to the greater mass of the boat. It takes less of a hip "snap" as with WW or empty boats, and more of an accelerating motion. In Baja I've carried up to 11 gals of water, and had no trouble rolling a boat the first day out. In fact, with water bags near the keel of a boat, when the boat is inverted, I think it is somewhat unstable with the water weight (now on top). So once you get that much water turning it seems to want to keep turning, and help get you up. This may even be more tolerant of mistakes, like lifting the head, but don't bet on it! Maligiaq Padilla told me to scull the paddle back after the sweep, to keep the blade from sinking. In foamy, aerated WW, that is a good strategy as well, and you often need to keep sculling when boils want to suck the paddle down. If you're practicing in a pool this winter here's something to try, after developing a decent basic roll, that's along the same lines. (A ww boat is a little easier to manage in a pool without taking up the whole place.) Flip over. Have one or two people bear hug the inverted boat on the now top(keel). (careful with the paddle) Then setup and roll with a strong hip action. You'll be up and they'll be down. A guy from a swiftwater rescue team showed me this- said it was part of their test. Regards, Jay G Alma, CO "You can’t just let nature run wild." Walter Hickel- Governor of Alaska, 12/16/92 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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