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From: <Pamvetdr_at_aol.com>
subject: [Paddlewise] sprayskirt bottom shockcord knot
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 23:04:20 EDT
Hello!
    I have a Snapdragon sprayskirt with an adjustable edge, that is, the 
shock cord is fastened with a knot.  I am using this only on one kayak and would 
like to permanently size it to this kayak alone and eliminate the knot. I keep 
sitting on the darn thing and it makes entry and quickly putting the 
sprayskirt on impossible.
   Is there a way to do this (size to my kayak, cut off excess cord and 
secure ends) with a minimum failure rate? 
   Thanks!
               Pam in Washington State



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From: Craig Jungers <crjungers_at_gmail.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sprayskirt bottom shockcord knot
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 21:00:01 -0700
Just to get the ball rolling on this, I also have a spray skirt with a knot
and ends (as Pam knows). This is, by far, the crappiest spray skirt I've
ever tried but my largest whitewater spray skirt would not work with the
larger cockpits of my Nimbus Telkwa. When I recently acquired a Mariner
Express I found that my larger w/w sprayskirt fit that boat's cockpit rim
just fine so I now only use that sprayskirt. The only downside is that I
have to pull the sprayskirt higher around my chest before I get in to avoid
having it jammed between my body and the side of the cockpit as I enter.

Whitewater sprayskirts have an advantage (I think) of fitting better over a
drytop without the annoying gaps "touring" sprayskirts leave. Plus no
suspenders. Plus a deck generally designed for more rigorous activity. And
no w/w sprayskirt I've ever seen has one of those adjustable borders and
thus no knot and no excess.

Craig Jungers
Royal City, WA (temporarily in Nahcotta, WA on Willapa Bay)

On 8/23/07, Pamvetdr_at_aol.com <Pamvetdr_at_aol.com> wrote:
>
> Hello!
>     I have a Snapdragon sprayskirt with an adjustable edge, that is, the
> shock cord is fastened with a knot.  I am using this only on one kayak and
> would
> like to permanently size it to this kayak alone and eliminate the knot. I
> keep
> sitting on the darn thing and it makes entry and quickly putting the
> sprayskirt on impossible.
>    Is there a way to do this (size to my kayak, cut off excess cord and
> secure ends) with a minimum failure rate?
>    Thanks!
>                Pam in Washington State
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From: alex <al.m_at_3web.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sprayskirt bottom shockcord knot
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 23:05:34 -0700
>     I have a Snapdragon sprayskirt with an adjustable edge, that is, the
> shock cord is fastened with a knot.  I am using this only on one kayak and
would
> like to permanently size it to this kayak alone and eliminate the knot. I
keep
> sitting on the darn thing and it makes entry and quickly putting the
> sprayskirt on impossible.
>    Is there a way to do this (size to my kayak, cut off excess cord and
> secure ends) with a minimum failure rate?

Cut off the knot and glue and sew the cord ends together with some
overlapping.  I didn't try this, because I think that usual "old underwear"
symptom will appear at some time - the bungey will stretch irreversibly, so
you'll have to cut and sew again. Make sure you know  how to retrieve the
end of the cord when (not if, but when) it escapes your hands and slips into
the sleeve.
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From: <Goffma_at_aol.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sprayskirt bottom shockcord knot
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:42:31 EDT
>     I have a Snapdragon sprayskirt with an adjustable  edge, that is, the
> shock cord is fastened with a knot.  I am using  this only on one kayak and
would
> like to permanently size it to this  kayak alone and eliminate the knot. I
keep
> sitting on the darn thing  and it makes entry and quickly putting the
> sprayskirt on  impossible.
>    Is there a way to do this (size to my kayak,  cut off excess cord and
> secure ends) with a minimum failure  rate?

Here's what I would try:  
 
1. Mark the bungee where you want to cut it
2. Pull out some slack from both sides and clamp the bungee so it can't  snap 
back into the sleeve
3. Cut the bungee
4. Wearing gloves, use flame to melt the ends of the bungee to seal the  
loose ends and make the rubber part sticky
5. While the rubber is still sticky, put the ends together in a butt joint  
and hold until it cools
6. Cut some heavy fabric to size to make up a sleeve to go over the butt  
joint
7. Glue the fabric sleeve with marine goop and then sew it as well, making  
sure to sew through the bungee as well as along the seam of the new  sleeve.
 
Again, I haven't tried this but I think it would work.
 
Mark Goff
Hampden, ME



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From: Dave Kruger <kdruger_at_pacifier.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sprayskirt bottom shockcord knot
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 07:29:57 -0700
Pamvetdr_at_aol.com wrote:

> I have a Snapdragon sprayskirt with an adjustable edge, that is, the 
> shock cord is fastened with a knot. I am using this only on one kayak 
> and would like to permanently size it to this kayak alone and eliminate
> the knot. I keep sitting on the darn thing and it makes entry and
> quickly putting the sprayskirt on impossible. Is there a way to do this
> (size to my kayak, cut off excess cord and secure ends) with a minimum
> failure rate?

Pam, I use heavy-duty cable ties, a pair of them, pulled bull-tight with
pliers, on skirts where I need a low-profile way of securing the ends
together. The spray skirt with this arrangement has survived about 6-7
years of use, to my surprise, so I guess it is pretty solid.

Mark Goff's elegant solution is bombproof, I think, and would be even 
lower-profile.  If the cable ties seem insecure, I'd go with his regime.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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From: Ralph Hoehn <FoldingBoats_at_aol.com>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] sprayskirt bottom shockcord knot
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:40:43 -0400
Is the bungee really so thick that a knot will not serve at all (even with
the loose ends trimmed back)? If so, all the advice posted so far applies.

Or is the problem in the loose ends? If a knot might work, then here's a
selection used in climbing that might do well and be reliable:

http://www.abc-of-rockclimbing.com/howto/learn_climbing_knots.asp ... and go
to the "bends" section.

Even a simplified version of what that website calls the Fisherman's Knot
might work: instead of the more complex version of each half of the knot
shown in the website, tie a simple overhand knot with one end around the
other, and then tie another overhand knot with the other end around the
first part, pull them towards each other and tight.

Ralph Hoehn

-----Original Message-----
From: Goffma_at_aol.com
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sprayskirt bottom shockcord knot

>     I have a Snapdragon sprayskirt with an adjustable  edge, that is, the
shock cord is fastened with a knot.  I am using  this only on one kayak and
would like to permanently size it to this  kayak alone and eliminate the
knot. I
keep sitting on the darn thing  and it makes entry and quickly putting the
sprayskirt on  impossible.
>    Is there a way to do this (size to my kayak,  cut off excess cord and
secure ends) with a minimum failure  rate?
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