I have a Current Designs Extreme fiberglass kayak. I tried my "Mountain Surf" kevlar neoprene skirt on the boat and it grips around the cockpit so hard it won't come off using the handle, it takes two hands to pry it off. It is the correct size for the boat. No loss because it was for my whitewater boat. However I would like to find a neoprene skirt perhaps with a rubber-rand (MEANT TO SAY SHOCKCORD) that would be easier to pull off. I was looking at a "NRS Shock Cord Kilt" and normally have to order online so have to pay for return shipping if I am wrong. I would appreciate any advice about a tight neoprene skirt that you can pull off. Thanks Peter
Correction to Post I meant to say I was looking at buying a shock cord or bungee neoprene skirt. What I have now is a neoprene rubber rand that is hard to pull off.
EXTREME!!! How do you guys like your Extremes? I’ve got my eye on one, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be my next investment. What kinda return am I looking at?
Snap Dragon Designs I have had good luck with a Snap Dragon neo/nylon tour skirt and also a Seals breathable summer skirt. Both have adjustable bungies. Both work well on my QCC FG rim.
Extreme I live in Maine and have paddle whitewater for 12 years and just started sea kayaking last year. I already have had a used Looksha IV and a Tempest both poly and now an Extreme. I live near the ocean and have really started to enjoy sea kayaking. I am not an expert on sea kayaks but the Extreme is fast and fun. All I can say is buy a used one this time of year, take care of it, and sell it in season if it doesn’t work for you. Not much to lose if anything. P.S. The Looksha and Tempest are great also. Each slightly different. Also like my girlfriends Eskia. Like them all.
A good skirt for a plastic ww boat is way stickier and harder to take off or a composite boat than a similar quality skirt designed for a composite boat. The coamming on a plastic boat is slippery and the edge is rolled rather than fine.
Mountain Surf makes “Linderbeck” decks for composite touring boats. They are pretty much a custom order, but the price is reasonable for what you get.
I recently bought a Snapdragon LL or Large-Long deck with the shock cord sewn to the edge of the skirt. It is for a Prijon-sized, hand-laid cockpit rim on an old '82 Noah WW boat. While a little harder to stretch over the rim than an older skirt I had been using, the Snapdragon will stay “caught” on the back of the rim while I “nail” the front end. Then it is easy to put on the sides. It releases OK, as I found out on the Nantahala when I flipped this rather hard-to-roll boat.
This Snapdragon skirt also fits my Dagger Animas, but the sides pull loose to easily. That’s why rubber rand skirts are used so often on plastic boats.