C-Forum

i was reading some of the posts below on the robson FM & the thread got into sprayskirts. chuck had mentioned the idea of leaving a tight fitting skirt on a cockpit rim to ease getting it on & off. my question has to do with the long term effect this has on the skirt. will leaving the skirt on a boat during storage (assuming decent storing condtions) deteriorate the fit of the skirt in the long run? thanks in advance for the feedback.
trevor

Mr. Tgb,

I was worried that the spray skirt was so tight it might fold the boat end to end.

I have a friend that has had a kevlar skirt for a few years and he said that they only get tighter as they age. He thinks the kevlar does something.

My boat is inside, out of the elements. Paddling stuff seems pretty durable if you keep it dry and clean. I would say that by the time it rots, you'd be ready for something else long before.

Chuck/Tennessee

thanks for the feedback chuck. sounds like the skirt you have is pretty snug. it didn't seem to me as though it should be a problem, but i like getting others' opinions to clear up anything i might not have thought about.

as you noted, i have questioned whether or not kevlar creates a skirt that seems to be snugger & more difficult to put on. skirts without the edge protection seem more supple. i guess that extra reinforcement comes at a price.

Kevlar is tight, but that would be a benefit if you were playing I would think. I bought this one because it was on sale for $100 from NOC.com. One thing about it, is that it is not going to fail to stay connected. If you decide to get one, make sure you tell them what boat you are using. Also, Snap Dragon does custom work, I hear.