What is a sea sock? *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Tom, Hi. It was good meeting you over the weekend. A sea sock is like a large condom that you place around the coaming of your kayak and whose material forms a pocket or sock in which you sit. It extends well forward under the deck and should accomodate even the tallest paddler. Its purpose is to keep water from filling the cockpit. Also dirt. A sea sock works well for folding kayaks that, by their very nature, lack bulkheads. A sea sock limits the amount of water that needs to be pumped out in the event of a capsize and keeps sand and gravel from getting to the inside of the boat where it may rub at the deck and hull. Feathercraft provides sea socks with all their models as standard equipment. I never use one and therefore I did not have one on my boat when we were paddling at West Point. If I had, you would not have been asking this question. I don't use one because I like to get at gear inside the boat and the sea sock complicates such access. I am not sure you could get one to work well on your plastic kayak. The cockpit coaming is probably too rounded to be able to accept both a sea sock and your spray skirt. Fiberglass boats have sharper edged coamings and deeper grooves than do plastic boats and the combo of sea sock and skirt tends to stay on better in them. This is also true of the Feathercrafts folding kayaks all of which have fiberglass coamings absolutely like those on fiberglass boats with the exception of the inset groove to which part of the folding kayak skin goes. Several companies sell sea socks on the after market. SEDA comes immediately to mind but I am sure there are others. best, ralph Tom wrote: > > What is a sea sock? > > *************************************************************************** > 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/ > *************************************************************************** -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 - 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/ ***************************************************************************
Hi all, Here's a quick (regurgitated if you are on the CPA ListServe) answer: Tom wrote: > > What is a sea sock? Imagine having a mold made of the inside of your cockpit, from the bow bulkhead back to the stern bulkhead and out to the cockpit coaming (rim). Reproduce this mold in heavy gauge waterproof nylon and attach it around the cockpit coaming as you would a sprayskirt and you have yourself a sea sock. In effect, it creates bulkheads for a boat which has none, making for a much easier dumping of the water from the boat. The sea sock fits under the sprayskirt around the cockpit coaming, thus giving a kind of "double seal". It does not slide out when the water is dumped, but may get hung up temporarily around the feet during a fast beach exit, depending how "gummy" your footwear is. The only real down sides to using a sea sock are that it tends to get very hot and "clingy" during hot weather paddling, and it does let in up to a cup of water per hour of rolling or storm paddling (none if the sprayskirt never touches the water). I always back up the sea sock with inflated float bags, bow and stern, for an extra measure of safety. In addition to us folding boaters whose boats have no bulkheads to prevent many heavy gallons of water from entering the ends of the boat, the sea socks are also used by some kayak racers, surf kayakers, and even a white water boater or two (so I've heard) for basically the same reasons: to limit water entry into the boat upon wet exiting, and easing the process of getting the water out of a boat without bulkheads or with unreliable bulkheads as an added insurance policy. Vince *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> I am not sure you could get one to work well on your plastic kayak. The > cockpit coaming is probably too rounded to be able to accept both a sea > sock and your spray skirt. Fiberglass boats have sharper edged coamings > and deeper grooves than do plastic boats and the combo of sea sock and > skirt tends to stay on better in them. This is also true of the > Feathercrafts folding kayaks all of which have fiberglass coamings > absolutely like those on fiberglass boats with the exception of the > inset groove to which part of the folding kayak skin goes. > If the sea sock fits over the same coaming that the sprayskirt is attached to, what prevents the sea sock from being released when the spray skirt is released from the coaming? Especially if the sprayskirt fits tightly and is a neoprene skirt?? The concept of a sea sock sounds very practical, but the descriptions so far indicate that the sock *might* pop off when the spray skirt is released - thereby negating the main reasons for using the sock. What am I not understanding? Erik *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Again in defense of sea socks which I don't particularly favor for myself but for which I do see a practical use. Erik Sprenne wrote: > > > I am not sure you could get one to work well on your plastic kayak. The > > cockpit coaming is probably too rounded to be able to accept both a sea > > sock and your spray skirt. Fiberglass boats have sharper edged coamings > > and deeper grooves than do plastic boats and the combo of sea sock and > > skirt tends to stay on better in them. This is also true of the > > Feathercrafts folding kayaks all of which have fiberglass coamings > > absolutely like those on fiberglass boats with the exception of the > > inset groove to which part of the folding kayak skin goes. > > > If the sea sock fits over the same coaming that the sprayskirt is attached > to, what prevents the sea sock from being released when the spray skirt is > released from the coaming? Especially if the sprayskirt fits tightly and is > a neoprene skirt?? To my knowledge, this has not happened at least with Feathercrafts. I have been contact with hundreds of Feathercraft owners who use sprayskirts over their seasocks on their coamings and this has not happened. This goes for the nylon sprayskirts that come with most models of Feathercrafts and with the optional neoprene ones that come as standard on the Khatsalano (I think). > > The concept of a sea sock sounds very practical, but the descriptions so far > indicate that the sock *might* pop off when the spray skirt is released - > thereby negating the main reasons for using the sock. > > What am I not understanding? It won't or at least hasn't for hundreds of users who I have been in contact with. I am not certain however, as I stated earlier that this would be true of a sea sock used on a plastic boat's round non grippy coaming in conjunction with a spray skirt. I am not saying that it won't work with a plastic boat. I am saying that I don't really know but suspect that given the round contuours of plastic boat coamings and the difficulty they sometimes have in hold even a sprayskirt, it makes me wonder. 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 - 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/ ***************************************************************************
Erik Sprenne wrote: > If the sea sock fits over the same coaming that the sprayskirt is attached > to, what prevents the sea sock from being released when the spray skirt is > released from the coaming? Especially if the sprayskirt fits tightly and is > a neoprene skirt?? > > The concept of a sea sock sounds very practical, but the descriptions so far > indicate that the sock *might* pop off when the spray skirt is released - > thereby negating the main reasons for using the sock. > > What am I not understanding? Your undrstanding is fine. Perhaps the descriptions of the problem hve been too slim. In my experience with a nylon SS, the slipperiness is at its greatest between the sprayskirt and the SS. The SS does not slide so readily over the coaming as the skirt slides over the sock. So I have never had my sock come loose, even though I have multiple wet exits (in surf practice) which included loosing the skirt. Helping, no doubt, is that the sock is held in by air pressure, which does not apply to the skirt (it does not seal tightly around my body). BTW, I share Bob Phillips disgruntlement at the sales pitch Pygmy gives for the sea sock. It is a good safety device, but packing from the cockpit is not wonderful. Give me hatches on a boat to be used for overnight trips. That said, I followed Pygmy's advice and left my Osprey hatchless -- and it works fine for a day boat, which is my main use of the boat. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** 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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