You said you are a new paddler, so
the responses seemed appropriate for a new paddler asking the question.
Some input from very experienced female paddlers was offered and you didn’t like it.
The fact is, that for many SOTs, keeping a dry butt is nearly impossible because of either water getting into the seat well from the body of water or from sweat when trying to keep out the water by using waterproof shorts.
As others have stated, if you want to kayak, getting a sit in kayak and using a spray skirt will greatly improve your chances of having a drier seat.
Happy paddling.
that’s exactly what
I’ve experienced swimming. I once wore an old stretched out wetsuit and swam. Nearly froze to death. A thin layer of water trapped next to the skin is what you want. Not a continuous stream of water leaking in and out
When you first get immersed in a wetsuit you initially cool down until your body warms up the water in the suit. In a stretched out suit new cold water comes in while the warm water leeks out.
So if this is all mythical i must have been ridin’ a unicorn rather than paddlin’ my old gyramax.
I almost became a myth that day- able to get most of my body up on the boat and out of the water until some other boaters arrived.
This is the part of the OP
– Last Updated: Aug-12-15 12:37 PM EST –
that I don't quite understand: "As a lady, I really need to keep my shorts as dry as possible." Like Celia I wonder if there is something more that is not being said? Whatever.
My feeling is that if it is important for you to stay dry while paddling a sit on top kayak you are going to have a struggle. Dry suit works well but expensive and probably too hot. Sit in Kayak certainly much dryer than a sit on top. Maybe there are some goretex shorts or long pants on the market that would help? I just came back from a two hour paddle in my sit in kayak with a spray skirt - I wore my bathing suit as I generally do this time of year and in this sort of environment (protected coast of maine waters close to shore). My bathing suit is pretty much 100% dry right now.
I wish i knew a good answer
but i don’t. You stated you boat when its hot, on a SOT. I would go with some light loose nylon shorts that dry quickly, and keep things aired out (commando). I think staying dry will difficult so think fast drying instead.
Take a shower immediately after boating and wash clothing after each trip.
another lady paddler weighing in
I’ve been doing “immersive” sports my whole life, from swimming in questionable ponds as a little kid to snorkeling, diving, swimming and paddling in oceans, lakes, rivers and streams all over North America for 45 years. And I admit I am as puzzled as Celia by your presumption that water coming into your kayak will cause (or is causing) lady parts infections. I’ve suffered various such annoyances in the past from the side effects of antibiotic use, picking up tinea crurens (jock itch) at the gym, swimming in chlorinated pools (which messes up your pH and can trigger candida albicans florescence) and inadvertently sharing microbes with a couple of boyfriends, but never had anything attributable to microorganisms in any natural water body vector. So please forgive our skepticism but this just is not a common concern among us lady paddlers.
That said, and respectfully presuming that this is something that you really do need to address, the various wicking and wetsuit suggestions are NOT going to keep the waters you are paddling in from contacting your nether regions. The only method I have found to keep ambient waters out or to a minimum is Goretex or other breathable waterproof full length paddle pants with neoprene waistband and ankles. I have a pair of NRS ones like these linked below (on sale as a matter of fact).
http://www.outdoorplay.com/NRS-Womens-Carolina-Kayak-Pants?sc=7&category=184
If you capsize or swim some water WILL get in through the waistband, and even though they are breathable your will sweat inside in warm weather, so if your troubles arise from the sorts of infections like tinea or yeast that are aggravated by moist warm conditions, it won’t be much help. But these will pretty much keep the bulk of the water flushing into your boat from soaking your pants. In warm weather I wear them over a tank suit (like a Tyr or Speedo) with hard soled rubber dive booties or soft neoprene dive socks, which help keep water from going up the cuffs.
I would try a pair of the pants – always a good investment anyway since they are great for rainy weather hiking and biking.
Thank you
The concern of being a lady and the water is the constant presence of moisture, which I was told by my physician is causing the problem. I am seeking advice as to how to stay as dry as possible. I appreciate your feedback.
Not quite, and another idea
Moisture itself is not the cause. Rather, it provides an environment that the cooties find easy to thrive in.
I still think you need to give your body a break from the wetness, to make things harder for those bugs.
Also, I remember seeing one kayaker put a mesh seat pad on his SINK’s seat. He did it for comfort and cooling in hot weather. It would also help with your problem. I tried it in his kayak and liked it. But I don’t know where he bought it from. You might be able to adapt a mesh car seat pad, or make one yourself.
To the OP
I understood your question perfectly and was just trying to point out that you would still be exposed to water against your skin if you were wearing a wet suit.
Unfortunately there are many here that need to ask “why?”, “how”, “what”, etc along with never giving a helpful answer.
Jack L
Context Helps A Lot…
– Last Updated: Aug-12-15 2:43 PM EST –
I kept reading this thread only to learn, if nothing else, what is the reason that may be for not wanting to get wet in sport that is done inherently in a wet environment.
So, eventually, we get there (the underlying reason) after some roundabout assumptions and diversions. :)
Generally, folks here want to help but the more context, the more likely for helpful advice to surface quicker.
I see some many requests like: "I am a newbie. What kayak should I get?" That's akin to a "big ocean" (of a question)in which we can all pitch our respective stones (assumptions/suggestions).
Frankly, 99% of the time these days, I admit to not even bothering to respond tho' I do glance and sometime react to something. I don't how someone like Celia have the patience to keep on trying to offer advice -- in good faith through her experience through the years -- to these types of general questions. A lot of time for good will (that may or may not be appreciated). Then you get to sometimes read responses by folks who are so fervently convinced about their answers being the "right" ones despite really not having that much experience or exposure to breath of equipment, venues, training and appropriate skills and awareness.
sing
No longer taking on the windmills.
Have you asked your doctor?
Maybe he/she could come up with some suggestions to avoid whatever issues you are having while enjoying a wet sport.
BTW, like you, when I first posted here last year I knew zip about the sport. I was quickly informed what a poor choice I had made in the kayak I had just purchased. Rather than being insulted after being told my $400+ bucks had been foolishly spent, I was grateful that experienced paddlers were concerned enough about my safety and ability to progress to teach me some realities about the sport.
There’s a great opportunity to learn here and I hope your journey is as much fun as mine has been.
Both
You are cool in a wetsuit until you warm up the thin layer of water, and per Bryan Nystrom, you also have to warm up the air inside the closed-cell neoprene. Both warmed layers then provide (differing amounts of) insulation.
The two arguments ignore the thermal behavior of the material they don’t think is important. But the water layer and the air bubbles in the neoprene are both involved in the thermal behavior of the suit. You can argue about the relative insulation value provided, but they are both involved.
A baggy wetsuit doesn’t work because the warmed water layer is continuously flushed away, and is therefore not able to warm the air bubbles in the neoprene and the system is not able to function as intended.
So we’re all right, let’s just get along…
Have you tried
plugging the front scuppers as well as the seat scuppers? Is that where the water is coming in? Or if you’re getting a lot of paddle drips, do you have drip rings on your paddle?
I paddle a Hurricane Skimmer 128 SOT, and don’t use scupper plugs because the water doesn’t come up through the scupper holes. But I understand how uncomfortable it can be to sit on a wet seat all day, especially in cooler weather, as my SOT’s seat is not removable and if it rains on the way to the launch, it stays wet. So I use an inflatable thermarest type pad on the seat and that takes care of the problem.
I hope this helps, and welcome to p.net, forum home of some really nice and helpful and experienced paddlers, and a few assholes who think they know everything. It won’t take you long to sort them out.
No. I Disagree With…
– Last Updated: Aug-12-15 3:52 PM EST –
"You are cool in a wetsuit until you warm up the thin layer of water, and per Bryan Nystrom, you also have to warm up the air inside the closed-cell neoprene."
Actually, it's the other way around. When I wear my winter wetsuit, I tend to get hot, especially if I am actively paddling. In fact, the strategy to deal with that is to deliberately roll (sometimes repeatedly) to get some water into the suit to cool my body back down. Eventually, when I paddle enough, I get hot again and have to roll again. The water is actually sucking/dissipating the build up of heat that the neoprene is effectively retaining/trapping against my body.
As the science goes, air is a less effective thermal conductor (thus better insulator) than water. The gas trapped in the neoprene is the primary insulator for the wetsuit. The water getting in is sucking some body energy/calories to warm up. Hopefully the suit is well fitting enough that the "flushthrough" is minimal so one doesn't keep buring energy to warm that layer of water. My strategy of repeated rolling to cool down is to increase the rate of flushthrough and letting water conduct body heat away.
sing
Cooties??? Seriously???
Pikabike, in my neck of the woods, cooties are lice. I believe the OP is referring to the common yeast infection, and since we are all grown-ups here, perhaps you could refrain from implying the OP has lice and use the common technical term.
Some women are unfortunately more prone to yeast infections than others and finding ways to avoid them is a priority.
Love you sissy!
Right on!
Just When One Thinks It’s Settled…
I thought consensus has been reached among the PNet women, at least, about the challenge that is facing the OP. Apparently not.
sing
The PLUS!!!
is that the OP already stated that she got a behind the scene email that understood and addressed her underlying issue and challenge.
PNet advice succeeds one way or another. 
sing
hypocrisy so thick you can cut it with a
– Last Updated: Aug-12-15 4:23 PM EST –
knife.
I think you misplaced your self-awareness.
I really doubt pika meant to say she had crabs or anything else specific, because the OP was intentionally vague and because the term is often used that way. And because pikabike is helpful and not malicious.
But I'm sure the OP appreciates your public online diagnosis.
When we new the water was cold…
We would hydrate before the dive knowing we could get a warm up.
Thank you, slushpaddler
I thought the OP was talking about microscopic organisms, specifically bacteria in a urinary infection or yeast in a vaginal one. Where I grew up, cooties did not refer to lice. When people talked about lice, they SAID “lice.”
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