[Paddlewise] wet

A couple of folks back-channeled me about sprayskirts n' such. The
Brooks website for Brooks Wetsuits, who have a good line of skirts and
other items -- as well as the "Tuiliq" made famous by an article in SK
Magazine -- is at:

<http://www.universe.com/brooks/>

If you go in to the site and click on paddling gear and get a
picture-list of skirts, make sure you click on a secondary button for
"touring skirts" to get the full range available on their site. However,
I was in a store today looking at their latest gear in person, and the
web site doesn't seem to indicate all the options. (I have no finical
connection with Brooks: I'm simply relaying info for people thinking
about a new skirt, etc. Brooks, only in Canada, eh!)

Their regular touring skirts seem similar to the standard fare available
everywhere, given that the bungie cord for fitting around the cockpit
runs inside the hemmed "tube". This will bunch-up in places and possibly
allow a bit of leakage, which is normal for this genre of skirt
technology. This type of skirt can also blow-off the cockpit in big
waves.

What their web site didn't seem to mention is some of the touring models
come with a rubber rand, rather than the bungie cord, and gives a really
nice seal. It is kind of like an extruded piece of rubber factory sealed
to the neoprene. It is kind of like, but not quite like the Perception
Harmony skirts, which have a bonded on rubber rand that is not as well
defined for clinching around the coaming (but in my opinion, built much
better...the overall quality of the Perception, that is).

I still like the Phoenix and the Snap Dragon, which have the
super-heavy-duty bungie cord sew around the perimeter for ultimate
securing to the coaming. BTW, I had my Phoenix skirt custom made with a
latex rand bonded over the outer inside edge (usually they do this on
the outside for durability with boat-over-boat rescues). This gives even
more security and water-tightness protection, as the latex seals and
grips the coaming very well, but at the cost of being very difficult to
take off. I had to do a lot of talking at the time to get them to agree
to make one in such a configuration, as someone died using this set up
some time ago.

The other brooks product, the zippered touring skirt, from what I could
tell by tactile means, shows some promise. It appears to be well made,
with a fully waterproof zipper that easily slides up and down. I'm not
sure how stiff it would feel against one's belly (the zipper faces
outward, but may present the abdominal area with a feeling of resistance
where it takes a natural bend up to the top of the skirt). It opens
fully enough to allow entry and exit without having to undo the skirt
off the coaming. One could easily access stuff from the cockpit
(waterbottle, jacket).

>From what I could get out of the dealer, the zippered model only comes
with the regular hemmed bungie, but one could knot the bungie a bit
tighter I suppose. Brooks is pretty good about custom stuff, so perhaps
they would put the zipper in their better randed skirt. In either case,
what interests me is the potential of a zippered skirt for reentry and
roll and/or cowboy self-rescues. Reattachment of my current skirt is the
biggest impediment to effective R&R's right now, in terms of full
completion of the rescue. I can hear that cash register going ka-ching
already! :-)

BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd





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