I ( finally ) got a Kokotat Goretex drysuit yesterday. I was 303ing it today and tried getting in and out a few times today. The neck gasket is tight of course so I put a plastic bucket in it to stretch it out. Should the neck gasket fold over as well? It is so long that it bunches up. Is it safe to trim the gasket so that it lays flat? Kinda scary me thinks. Paul Montgomery paul_at_paddleandoar.com http://paddleandoar.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
There is risk with trimming. Any imperfection in your trim could later be a starting point for a tear in the gasket. With regards to the tightness, I found that the gasket felt less tight as time went on. There are probably two factors at work here. One factor was that the gasket stretched as it aged. The other factor was that I adapted to the pressure on my neck. I also stretched my gasket like you did, but wonder if this may have been a mistake. Now that I've had time to adapt, I've concluded that a tighter gasket is a dryer gasket. If I ever need a new gasket, I'll be inclined to do less stretching when the gasket is new. Its all a matter of balance I guess. Derek --- Paul Montgomery <paul_at_paddleandoar.com> wrote: > I ( finally ) got a Kokotat Goretex drysuit > yesterday. I was 303ing > it today and tried getting in and out a few times > today. The neck > gasket is tight of course so I put a plastic bucket > in it to stretch > it out. Should the neck gasket fold over as well? It > is so long that > it bunches up. Is it safe to trim the gasket so that > it lays flat? > Kinda scary me thinks. > --------------------------------------------------------------- Please limit all email attachments sent to this address to a maximum of 0.5MB. All email attachments that are larger then 0.5MB will automatically be deleted. --------------------------------------------------------------- ICQ: 262152266, AIM: GlamourpetsD, MSN: [my email address], Yahoo Messenger: glamourpets --------------------------------------------------------------- ____________________________________________________________________________________ Got a little couch potato? Check out fun summer activities for kids. http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=summer+activities+for+kids&cs=bz *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I would be careful about too much stretching unless the gasket is so tight it's choking you. It will naturally relax over time. I would also not trim it. From time to time, the gasket can develop a nick around the edge of the gasket. This can happen on wrists as well. That is the time to trim it, so the nick doesn't develop into a full tear. If you trim it now, you could end up prematurely having to replace a gasket because you didn't have room to trim it and still have a good seal. Marcia Tauber Simply Macintosh 837 H St. Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 825-7100 (707) 825-7200 Fax On Sep 15, 2007, at 7:35 PM, Paul Montgomery wrote: > I ( finally ) got a Kokotat Goretex drysuit yesterday. I was 303ing > it today and tried getting in and out a few times today. The neck > gasket is tight of course so I put a plastic bucket in it to stretch > it out. Should the neck gasket fold over as well? It is so long that > it bunches up. Is it safe to trim the gasket so that it lays flat? > Kinda scary me thinks. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi There are several stories here on kayakers being rescued from more or less stupid situations. I thought I should bring one which was slightly different. A 12 year old kid was carried from shore in his inflatable play-boat by the current (or perhaps wind). He did not have the power to get to shore. His problems was spotted by a fisherman who called upon a group a nearby kayakers who then brought the kid and his boat ashore again. The kid was unharmed but a bit more experienced afterwards. Cheers, Kasper *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
And why kayak insurance is a good idea. After about a thousand miles of flapping, the ends of my tie down straps started to fray and need to be "remelted". So the other day I had my beloved Gulfstream on my Subaru and melted the ends of the straps like I, and most others, have done many times before. (Melt the ends with a match and smooth the ends before they cool.). So I did just that, went into the house to make lunch and go back outside about 15 minutes later to see smoke and flame rising from the top of my boat! A quick squirt with the garden hose stopped the carnage but not before the damage was done. A small residual spark must have ignited the end of the strap and continued up the strap to the place where the straps crossed and then proceeded to work their way across the deck, burning and delaminating the hull and deck in two separate blackened strips. The dealer I got the boat from estimated the repair cost to be about $1,100 (after he stopped laughing). He said it would not be possible to exactly match either deck or hull color. The good news is that I now have a new boat. Hal "Power your boat with carbohydrates not hydrocarbons" *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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