Re: [Paddlewise] (Paddlewise) Spray Skirts/PFD's/Dry Tops

From: Dave Kruger <kdruger_at_pacifier.com>
Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2006 20:53:22 -0800
Dave Bishop wrote:
> The recent issue of Canoe & Kayak has reviews of [snip] The paddlers dry
> tops were all worn inside the tunnels of the spray skirt, 
> 
> My first instructions in what to wear, and how to wear it, while
> kayaking were to don the spray skirt first, then the dry top with its
> tight waistband down over the skirt's tunnel, and then the PFD on top.
> This  manner of wearing these has always shed spray and splash and rain
> very nicely and kept me dry inside.

If you swim, that method for the skirt and DT invites water entry inside 
the DT.  I would not do it that way unless I had a double-closure dry top, 
so I could put the skirt tunnel over the _inner_ DT closure and under the 
_outer_ DT closure.  I own such a DT, and it seals water out from the 
outside, and keeps me dry underneath if I swim.  I agree the PFD needs to 
go over it all.

> On a recent tour I was chastised by a professional guide for wearing my
> PFD over the spray skirt and instructed to put on the PFD first and pull
> the tunnel of the skirt up outside of it.  We were paddling on very calm
> water on a warm day, so in order to keep peace (and with very skeptical
> second thoughts),  I did so, though the pockets in my PFD were covered
> up.

Don't understand where the guide is coming from, unless his main paranoia 
was entrapment with the skirt on the coaming.  I would never paddle that way.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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Received on Fri Nov 17 2006 - 20:52:57 PST

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