Isle Royale Forums

Ok, I am looking into buying spray skirts for my kayaks. I assume they aren't all the same. What should I look for and what should I stay away from. I don't mind spending some money if it will work good and last. Thanks for the advice!!

Brian

Brian,
Make sure the size of the spray skirt fits your cockpit size and waist size. I prefer a neoprene deck as it will be better going through surf as far as not collapsing if you have breaking waves.

I'll echo johnhens' comment and say that the fit of your boat is the first thing for a spray skirt. You want to make sure it is easy to get on when you shove off in your kayak and are trying to keep your boat upright while you hurry to get your skirt on the coaming before getting hit with waves.

We bought skirts for our kayaks last year and I can't remember the brand, but manufacturer said the size we bought was the correct size for our boat models - well, they weren't. Even the shop that sold us the skirts tried them on our boats and they couldn't get them on either. Most skirt manufacturers have sizing charts based on various kayak models, but in this case it was wrong.

We ended up with the Seals Sneak nylon skirts. They fit our boats, are moderately priced, have two mesh zippered pockets on top to stash stuff, a neoprene waist tunnel, a zipper to vent, and a built-in rib across the front that keeps it propped up so the water rolls right off. They've worked out great. We wanted to go with a nylon skirt rather than neoprene because while neoprene is more waterproof and flexible, they can trap heat and make it a little warm in the summer. The Sneak lets us unzip and vent out the heat, as well as reach into the cockpit without pulling off the skirt.

Thanks for the info!!

Hey does anyone know how far a couple young guys who are in shape but are not avid kayakers can make it in one day? (I am guessing 2+ mph for 5 straight hours to make 10+ miles in one day.)

we will be either using one tandem kayak like the one shown in this link:
http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/kayaks/tand ... otter.html

...or two singles like the one shown in this link:
http://www.oldtowncanoe.com/kayaks/recr ... er_xt.html

does anyone have a recommendation of whether to take the tandem or the singles...I keep going back and forth. we will be doing a lot of fishing and portaging.

bac wrote:Hey does anyone know how far a couple young guys who are in shape but are not avid kayakers can make it in one day? (I am guessing 2+ mph for 5 straight hours to make 10+ miles in one day.)

As an old out-of-shape guy, I can do that in a canoe, which is slower. I use 2 mph for planning purposes and always average at least that. Not sure about 5 hrs straight paddling, though .

How far you will be paddling comfortably depends on a lot of conditions beyond your control.

For spray skirts, consider what you will be using them for. If it's going to be bigger water (like Lake Superior), or faster rivers, I would consider a neoprene skirt that sits across your legs tight like a drum. If you are going to be fishing in smaller lakes, where you want to keep dry but aren't expecting water to wash over your lap often, then consider the Seals skirts that spartan mentioned--they are currently on sale at our local Gander Mountain.

While I'm certainly not trying to advertise, if you don't have a good paddling shop near where you live, NRS (http://www.nrsweb.com/ ) has always been good to me, and they have a good return policy, as I've sent skirts back to them.

bac wrote:Hey does anyone know how far a couple young guys who are in shape but are not avid kayakers can make it in one day? (I am guessing 2+ mph for 5 straight hours to make 10+ miles in one day.)

My wife and I covered 42 miles in two days last summer on our first "overnight" trip with our kayaks. After the trip we decided however that that was too much to be enjoyable. 15 miles would be about the max we would want to comfortably paddle in any one day.

It also really depends on what type of kayak you are paddling. A longer sea kayak will be easier to cover more distance than a recreational kayak. We typically cruise around 3.5 mph, with a 13 and a 14.5-footer.