Bought a boat today – now I need a skirt and paddle

Spray skirts: You didn’t mention your experience level. Have you done a wet exit with a spray skirt attached? If not, sign up for training.

Would hate to see a posting that new kayaker drowned, after getting flipped, then unable to release the spray skirt. Some neoprene skirts are very hard to attach & release, especially when it’s cold.

Regarding brands, agree with @szihn: Order a custom Seals skirt from Oak Orchard, in up state NY.

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I recently purchased a Seals neoprene skirt and cockpit cover from Cape Falcon (for my Greenland cockpit) and they are both very nice with excellent build quality. I have a couple of their older skirts that have held up well but these are the first I’ve bought in several years. I won’t hesitate to recommend/buy more based on these.

Paddle: Shuna 205 in fiberglass
Skirt: Seals Shocker 1.7

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I use a skirt and have done many, many wet exits in my C1 canoe - kiss the deck, pull the skirt, show the moon. Maybe someday I’ll learn how to roll and make wet exits unnecessary. :wink:

I’m taking a full day training tomorrow - strokes in the morning, rescues in the afternoon.

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Just pulled it apart zero problems zero salt. I fill the shafts with water a few times as I rinse the kayak and spray the outside of the shaft and blade.

The 210 will feel good, but you might later find yourself wondering if 205 would feel better. Might. According to the Werner charts, the 205 I got my first Shuna and Cyprus in were the right length. They did indeed work well for years. And then I became fairly sure that 200 would allow more rotation, so I ordered those.

Yes, I did prefer 200 after all. No regrets. What’s funny is that my first wing paddle was 205-215, recommended by an expert. I got that with the surf ski 2.5 years ago. I would have ordered 200-210 but deferred to her experience.

Well…this spring I decided to order a 200-210 wing paddle to find out for myself. Again, my instincts were good. Mostly I set it at 202, but 200 and 201 are good. I don’t like it as much at 205.

Years ago I also went from a 191 WW Sherpa to a 185, after a long time using the 191.

But I misspoke when I said I don’t need the 200 Shuna because I sold my sea kayak (I sold the 200 Cyprus, too). It turns out that that 200 Shuna will work nicely with the Perception High Five hybrid SOT I just bought and tried today for the first time. The 191 Sherpa paddle was too short for that application—the first time I have ever found a paddle to be too short. Even with a high angle, the blade just never submerged to the depth it should have, where I wanted to plant it (well forward). I bet the Shuna will fit well for this new use. Yay! It’s lighter than the Sherpa and the two-piece paddle is easier to transport. Next time out…

Post here after you do the first paddle with the Capella and Shuna!

I pick up the boat and paddle tomorrow. The shop is not far from a put in on the Charles River, so I’ll probably try it out before before heading home. Won’t have the skirt but that’s OK.

On the paddle, I decided to get the adjustable version - 200-220cm. That way I can try some different paddle lengths. Once I figure out what I like I’ll probably replace it with a one piece, or maybe not.

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I didn’t know they made one with adjustable length. That’s great to find what you like best, and you can keep it as a spare.

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Adjustables are good when you have more than one boat of differing widths. Not that that would Ever happen.

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Shuna is my favorite. You can try mine! My Capella has a 1.7 Seals skirt, so make sure you look yours up.

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Mine is a 205. I ordered one of my skirts from The Kayak Centre. I know where you got your boat now!

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As @PaddleDog52 said, it’s a good idea to rinse the paddle ferrule with clean fresh water after every use. This is especially important if paddling in salt water. Salt, grit, and sand can build up where the paddle comes apart. This will not only make the paddle hard to put together and take apart, but over time it will wear on the ferrule affecting how well the paddle halves fit together. Over many years and thousands of miles I’ve had a carbon fiber paddle get so loose that it wobbled and I no longer trusted it not to break.

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I might be able to help you. I have a first class skirt that fit a vela. The vela has been sold but not the accessories…which includes an all carbon paddle.

Adjustable is good all the time I can go high or low angle with one paddle. 3 seconds to slide and lock.

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Seals has a great fitting guide on their website and a wide range of sizes. If you’re in the PNW you can order the skirt through Kayak Academy. I recently bought a new boat and bought a spray skirt right away; my older spray skirt was too big. The neoprene skirt is awesome. I was a little skeptical but it’s definitely a cut above my previous spray skirt. I ordered a custom Snapdragon cockpit cover for my last boat and it’s a tight fit. It is a real struggle to get it over the coaming. That is nylon. The neoprene is a dream; easy to get on but snug fitting and doesn’t come off when there is water pressure on it (if I’m on edge or capsized).

My main paddle is a Werner Cyprus. They have the same blade also in a different layup, just forget its name. Adjustable feather but not length. High angle. Very popular blade.

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Seals makes a great neoprene skirt but there have been supply chain challenges with neoprene material. Not all sizes are in stock. When looking for a 1.2 recently, an extensive online search turned up only two in stock in the whole country., one is Utah and one in Massachusetts.

Seals is currently started shipping again, but has a huge backorder to work through.