RE: [Paddlewise] Wet exits and spray deck removal

Sid Taylor wrote:
<SNIP>>>>What's the point of this newsgroup if I can't express my honest
opinion?<<<<<

Right or wrong, my honest opinion was that your honest opinion was a put
down rather than a legitimate attempt to explore the possible ways to
accomplish the task. My (wrong) guess as to your age was because your
response seemed to me more like I have experienced at WW kayaking or
downhill skiing chat groups that seem to be more about one-upmanship than
honest inquiry. My judgment about that may be just as wrong as my guess of
your age.  Perhaps, you were in a hurry and didn't have time to list the
reasons those release methods wouldn't work for you. While it appears you
have a lot more miles under your butt in a kayak than I do, I dislike
appeals to authority (even by real authorities) without some reasoned
argument of true story to back them up. On reading your post I doubted you
had ever actually tried to slide your hand down into the tunnel to remove
your sprayskirt but had too readily dismissed it with an air of authority,
perhaps (I guessed) because it wasn't in the curriculum or commandments of
your particular kayaking religion. That was my first impression, wrong or
right. I look forward to your sharing your vast experience with us in the
future, but hopefully with more detail attached to the opinion. BTW I
believe that just saying "Ditto" is frowned upon on by Jackie (our
paddlewise list mom, who has rapped my knuckles more than once).
Personally, I think that the more ways I have actually practiced to remove
my sprayskirt the more chances of success I'm likely to have removing it
when the chips are down. Certainly some methods are going to work better for
some folks (and spraydecks, and cockpits, and clothing) than others. That's
why you need to try them all and invent new ones for yourself rather than
just learn the one an "authority" told you is the best. You might find
yourself wearing neoprene gloves next time you need a way out of the cockpit
in a hurry (BTW I just added George Gronseth to the list of those who were
frustrated by neoprene gloves while trying to exit a cockpit).
I learned the hand down inside of the spraydeck method from a guy who had
just figured it out in the nick of time to save his life (after being unable
to release the tight neoprene skirt on a kayak he was testing at the West
Coast Sea Kayaking Symposium a few years back). He had already tried a lot
of other ways that didn't work for him and was desperate for air by the time
he thought of it. I have to give him credit, I probably would have drowned
desperately trying what had previously worked (and with increasing vigor,
this is not usually a time that favors original thinking). Of course someone
who has practiced any technique will be much more likely to be able to do it
(unless something has changed to prevent it from working). This technique
isn't nearly as hard to do or as complicated as some are making it appear. I
think with a little practice (and maybe no tight drytop) this technique
could be learned with one hand (for that day when you dislocate a shoulder
and your brace on that side collapses into a capsize). Try this before then.
Lift up your PFD from the bottom by hooking your fingers under it,
straighten your fingers and push the tips into your chest or belly to get
the nails to slip under the top of the skirt, next slip your flattened hand
down through the tunnel as you suck in your gut. Once the hand is low enough
rotate it palm up and slide it towards the side of the coaming while pushing
lightly up on the underside of the skirt (so your straight fingers don't ram
the inside of the coaming "head-on"). With your straight rigid fingers push
the spraydeck out beyond the coaming lip (to break the suction) and lift the
forearm from the elbow while swinging it forward to peel off the skirt from
the front of the coaming. I would appreciate it if anyone who tries this
reports back to us about how it worked (or not) for them.  Also please
report on what keeps it from working when it fails. So far Peter reported it
worked the best for him of any method he tried.

Matt Broze
http://www.marinerkayaks.com


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