C-Forum

First question to you Decked C Boaters, what do you wear in your Boat? (Nothing rude)! I used to be a Kayaker and wore a Drysuit. Top Banana!
With the warmer climate gone, the Shortie Cag has gone as have the Shorts....and so has the Roll setup!

Let's explain. Over the summer I paddled on the Flat stuff (Whitewater don't exist in SW England/Wales during the Summer, at least not the stuff we're allowed on), I rolled happily with a Shortie Cag, water impregnation enabled me to go under water upside down verily happly ta kindly, thus enabling me to Roll properly.

A Bit of tweaking with the Boat recently (A SuperEgo) (A large Backrest and Rear Bulkead to jam my Feet to enable me to brace me Knees into the Straps) I'm now Stern Squirting and working on Cartwheels in the Pool.

Well I thought I'd be clever and take myself in a Drysuit and the Boat onto some cold moving Water, alas Symond Yat lost it's Eddies so I decided to mess around on the Flat. First Stern Squirt I went over and instead of going upside down I got stuck on my off side just underneath the surface not quite upside down! Terrific! So I tried to wiggle my Knees and Hips to shake the Boat completely over, then I had to roll myself underneath the Boat in order to Roll back up again. Three Swims and a few Rolls later, I gave up for a bit and went back to it after I dived in the River to allow the pressure to deflate the Drysuit. What a polava! I'll try and post the Filmed comedy onto this site later. We got there in the end but that ain't right!

My question is therefore, (yes I always try and deflate the Drysuit before I get into the Boat) Does everyone else wear a Drysuit? does everyone else get stuck just below the surface and not manage to get themselves completely over in order to roll? How do you sort yourself out, Ok I could attach two Bricks to me Head but whilst I'll go right over I'm not sure about surfacing again! I Could go back to the separate Long Sleeved Cag and hope the Air escapes out of the Cag into the Boat. On moving Water I'll make my excuses, but on the flat stuff I'm "Fish of the Year" award prime Candidate!

I'm self taught so I'll take the advice gratefully, so far you've been good enough to me and given me a few ideals, I've put them into practice. The Offside Roll has almost worked 80% of the time, just need to work on the absolute final bit.

The Onside Roll, until I got onto the river on Sunday I would have sworn I'd have rolled comfortably all the time and reckon on good odds rolling in the moving stuff.

Finally are there any C Boaters in South West England and Wales?

I'd say you need to make sure that you get as much air out of your suit as possible to reduce your bouyancy. You can do it by contorting yourself into all sorts of weird positions on land to create air pressure in the suit and then letting it out. But my favourite way is to flip over on purpose, and hold one wrist above the water while upside down. use your other hand to pull that gasket open and all the air should escape. Sometimes it takes a couple tries to get all the air out for me. Just make sure to keep your paddle close by while doing all that!

Judd

Since I boat both OC and C Ialways use a drysuit in cold water no matter what boat I am in, i do not own a Drytop. As soon as the water / air gets warm enough, I'll use a simple paddling jacket.
I found that the key when paddling with a drysuit is to really make sure that your drysuit is totally deflated. What I'll do to ensure that (if it is not too cold) is to go into the water about shoulder deep while pulling your neck seal slightly open. This way whe water pressure on the outside will make sure that ALL the excess air is out.
If you do this, you should not have any trouble going totally upside down whatsoever.

martin

Here is an additional reason to deflate that drysuit, maybe two. When it comes to insulation, an air gap does help, but only to a point - in construction, when the gap gets over 1/4" it starts to be counter productive (convection currents form, I believe). I'd bet the principle extends to insulative clothing.

Also, I find excess air under my dry top and paddle pants makes them bulkier - this is particularly noticeable getting in an out of my decked boats. I'd like as little between me and a smooth quick exit as possible...

However, when you are swimming, the extra floatation of the Michelin Man look might come in handy....

Scott

I love my dry-suit. When I put it on I crouch down & hug my knees to my chest while sticking a couple of fingers into the neck gasket. When the air stops coming out give a couple of quick sqeezes & some more will come. Put the skirt on & repeat. Get into the boat & repeat. When you flip, flip quick to use the momentum of the flip to assist the roll.

Mike W.

I also wear a drysuit when it gets cold as it does here in New England. I have never gotten stuck on my offside because of the suit. I use the same technique as Mike W. and have had good success. After removing my fingers from my neck gasket and standing up, my suit usually hugs my body pretty well, no bulges due to air in the suit.

Good luck.