skirt grab loop handle

[busterblue]

Yesterday I had the uncomfortable experience of not being able to find my skirt grab loop. I couldn't feel the loop through my thick winter gloves. (Or maybe I tucked it in the boat, who knows).

I've seen some people attach a small wiffle ball to the grab loop. I've heard some people use a carabiner (which sounds nice because it would hang straight down). Any thoughts on what works best?

[PAC]

Had same experience a while back. NOT fun!!!. Used both mini wiffle golf ball (with holes) and biner. Trade offs on either... particularly when creek'n tight runs with lots of wood or stuff. The ball works okay but can get washed about in a hole, etc. Biner has more weight and size (and side uses).
If you go with a biner go locking (but that can still snag but less likely to clip on grap points on boat).
Others might have better ideas.

[Mike W.]

Pogies.

[PAC]

Pogies work fine when its only Southern cold.... When its Northern cold ya tend to bulk up a bit more! Seen folks with gloves on in pogies.

[Mike W.]

Pogies are warmer than gloves. If its too cold for pogies, I recommend boxes.

[ian123]

Pogie wearers in the north might find themselves in a dangerous situation if they lose their paddle

[Bob P]

Pogies are fine for me down to 25F. Lower than that and I stay inside. The only hard part is when I've left wet pogies on the paddle, and they're frozen stiff. A tad uncomfortable for the first few minutes. I've heard that thin polypropylene glove liners work well underneath pogies too.

[JimW]

Sew a strap right across from side to side about 1/3 back from the front of the skirt. Kayakers call it a knee release strap, obviously that will never happen strapped into a C1, but it is much easier to find (slide your hand from the front towards you along the skirt and it will catch it) and virtually impossible to tuck inside by mistake, you really would notice if you did! Works fine on most cockpits, there are a few which really need you to pull the very front of the skirt to release but most release OK from the side.

[Jim P]

For really cold days some chemical stripping gloves from the hardware store add that extra layer under the pogies yet still provide a good feel on the paddle.

[busterblue]

Sew a strap right across from side to side about 1/3 back from the front of the skirt. Kayakers call it a knee release strap, obviously that will never happen strapped into a C1, but it is much easier to find (slide your hand from the front towards you along the skirt and it will catch it) and virtually impossible to tuck inside by mistake, you really would notice if you did! Works fine on most cockpits, there are a few which really need you to pull the very front of the skirt to release but most release OK from the side.

I actually used to have a skirt with one of those straps. I cut it off because it seemed dangerous and I didn't know what it was for. And once, when I swam, my t-grip got caught under the strap for a little while.

[JimW]

And once, when I swam, my t-grip got caught under the strap for a little while.

Ah right, that can't happen with a kayak paddle.... neither of my C1 skirts have straps like that so I haven't experienced a scare like that!

[arhdc]

My rule of thumb is no gloves for insulation above 35 deg F, 20-35 deg F I wear a pair of these http://www.nrs.com/product/2417/nrs-rapid-gloves, 1.5mm of toasty warm neoprene with good dexterity.


Below 20 deg F everything ices up too fast and I stay home.

[sbroam]

I've got a Skirtworks skirt- can't leave the loop in the boat :
http://www.skirtworks.com/skirts.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I modified an old skirt my son uses to work the same way - i cut one end of he old loop from the rand, passed it through some vinyl tubing and stitched it to the "deck" of the.

Mittens, gloves, pogies, forgetful middle schoolers - should all work.

[stroker]

What happens if you accidentally attached the skirt with the grab loop tucked inside? I always taught students how to deal with this and it's a good skill to have.

The tightest part of the skirt is front to rear, so if you grab the skirt on the side of the cockpit rim, you can "usually" pull the skirt off the rim pretty easily since there is less tension from side to side. Once you get it started, it's easy enough to work it completely off the rim. This is why the strap mentioned earlier works well. Try it with your gloves on to get an idea of how it feels and works. I'd have students practice this on wet exits too, so they'd hopefully remember the trick if they ever ended up in a situation where they couldn't find, or possibly even reach, the grab loop.

Btw, I always used the wiffle balls on grab loops and never had a problem finding my loop for a swim (and I had a bunch) so I guess it worked pretty good.