C-Forum

Just picked up a Cascade, but the M skirt is a tight squeeze for my not-so-M waist, and it pops off when I roll.

I'll post on the CBoats buy/sell page, but if that doesn't work, what are my other options? I know I can buy custom from Mountain Surf, Skirt Works, and Snapdragon, but are there off-the-shelf models that fit the Cascade?

Thanks,

-=David=-

I've never paddled a Cascade or even seen one in person but from pictures it looks like a true C-1 cockpit-- really really small.
I've looked for dedicated C-1 skirts and failed to find them currently in production, so I can't offer much help there. If you're lucky you might be able to connect with someone who has one laying around, this worked for me in the end. Assuming the gear's been stored well getting a used one might not be out of the question even though it might not have been produced for 10 years. The cboats gear swap is a good idea.

Otherwise, I think I remember something from the Mountain Surf site... they have a pretty in-depth article on what makes skirts work well (or badly)-- both in the design of the skirt and the boat's construction-- explaining the design challenges when making one. As a skirt designer, the author was very interested in cockpit size and talked about current trends... while whitewater boat cockpits have been getting bigger and bigger, some european sea kayaks have been returning to tiny cockpits and skirts. In whitewater you need to be able to get out of your boat fast. Sea kayaks need to NOT get swamped, so they trade off ease of entrance/exit for the durability a small skirt and cockpit provide.
You're probably don't need to think too much about the reasoning behind it, but if there ARE kayaks moving towards a smaller/rounder cockpit, a skirt made for them might just fit a C-1. The only issue is that I have neither seen these kayaks with abnormally small cockpits or skirts made for them... but the MS guy said they existed and seems to know what he's talking about. You might be able to find modern small skirts if you look in that direction.

Even if you find a currently produced skirt, I'd recommend a purpose made whitewater skirt, one made of all neoprene. This isn't going to be much cheaper than a custom one, unfortunately. Various sea kayak skirts can be had for dirt cheap if you did find a boat with a cockpit similar to yours, that they were producing the skirts for. However, skirts with nylon decks for example never seal properly to the cockpit rim. Nylon tunnels unless they have a really fancy fastening mechanism won't keep out spray for long, god forbid you roll the boat in a rapid... just because you can get a production skirt for $50 while a custom costs $120 doesn't mean the $50 is a better deal. If you want the skirt built in a way that you'll be satisfied with, you're looking at more like $100 IF there's a mass produced one that would fit your boat.
If you can't find it used, you might want to just go custom. You would save money with a cheap skirt compared to a high quality custom cut one, but in reality you might want a high quality skirt either way.

Just check their fit lists. I know that several listed have the Cascade on their fit list, so they do have a model # for them (ie not really a custom). Some (Mountain Surf for sure) has an upcharge for the skirt, but others may not.

When I had an Atom, I just used an old IR bungee kayak skirt that was fit for an RPM cockpit. There was a little extra material pooched in front, but it never blew and was plenty dry. I hear LC-1s will work as well, though no direct experience.

If you'll be running hard/big stuff, you might want to get a custom skirt to fit the cockpit.

The Cascade actually has about as big a cockpit as you will find on a production C-1 - not long, but big around. The Atom was about the same size if not exactly the same. MS, Snapdragon, and a number of other companies had/have "off the rack" skirts that fit both, though as both boats haven't been in production for a while you may need to order one - they will have the patterns.

But... you might find one laying around in your local boat shop and you might find that a skirt labelled for a smaller boat will fit - I have a skirt that was labelled for a Slasher (smaller than a Cascade, bigger than a Gyramax) that fits everything from a Gyramax to a Cascade.

The process is described in Walbridge's Boat Builder's Manual and by Bob Putnam at http://www.wwslalom.net/skirt/index.htm

These are neoprene skirts and no sewing is required. You can buy all the materials from Sweet.

Hi! I bought one several years ago, but feet couldn't handle lower saddle. I had it custom made for my overweight body. You could remove some neoprene if need in tunnel. Excellent shape.

snap dragon will make you a really nice one my buddy has one they did for him. In fact it is for sale, but it comes with the cascade.

Mountain Surf made me a skirt for my Slasher.
I use that on my Atom and Cascade now with no complaints.