I like the idea of a mesh seat pad. All my scuppers drain quite well and I use a 1" thick seat pad that I bought in the camping aisle at walmart. It has a strap and buckle that will attach to my back rest. I do stay dry. However, when I'm running a river, I usually get out and take a dip in the water at some point, if it's nice and clear. I would love to try a mesh pad and see if it works. At any rate, I stay dry with the seat pad that I have. Even with drip rings, my thighs get wet from the paddle drips. EDIT: When I paddle a lake, I don't do any swimming, so I do stay dry with my 1" camping seat pad.
Right on the money As for the thin layer of water, that’s not even a given. My diving wetsuit only allows a small amount of water in at the wrists, neck and ankles; most of my body stays dry. Again, the less water intrusion into a wetsuit, the warmer you will be. People can argue all they want, but that’s a fact.
Water does NOT provide insulation What it does is conduct heat AWAY from your body to the neoprene. That heat is eventually conducted (hopefully slowly) through the neoprene to whatever external medium you’re in, whether that’s air or water.
Read it yourself! Nowhere does it state that water add any insulation. It actually reinforces what I said that the suit keeps you warm despite water intrusion.
Yanoer is right in that an SOT, no matter what, is a wet ride. Scupper plugs do help, but the length, paddle angle used, and entry/exit of it, plus your seats depth or angle of said seat, all can have an effect on how wet our rides will be. We have various models of SOT’s and each models seat will have slight differences, which is one reason I primarily paddle a sit inside. Plus the ‘sit ins’, for me, glide through the water at a smoother pace. I do like my OK Prowler, but if I’m going to be on the water for 3-6 hours, it’ll be in a sit inside.
*Welcome to the world of paddling, whether kayak or canoe. You’ll meet a lot of awesome folks and BTW, thanks for your questions because if you knew the answer, you wouldn’t have asked.
Who’da thought a post about wet shorts would get this many replies? Not to be left out, I always wear a pair of jean shorts under my wet suit that I wear in the winter time. My aim is to stay as dry as possible, but most of the time I don’t even wear a spray skirt. I can’t remember a time when my shorts have been wet when I remove the wet suit. Who ever it was that said wet suits are made to absorb water must have found one different than the ones I have. They are as good as any rain coat I’ve ever used and they certainly do keep me warm. I also wear a long sleeved
polyester undershirt under the wet suit. With that and my PFD, I never have to wear anything else to stay warm–and dry.
I paddle a SOT and typically stay fairly dry. It is a WS Tarpon which has a high seat pan, a quick drying seat, and scuppers under the seat so you never sit in a puddle.
I also have a Necky that guarantees I will stay wet.
The concept that, “we are all adults here” is very flattering, but perhaps a little over estimated at times.
I suggest the quick drying wear. Kayaking is a wet sport. Bicycling (less pad), running and other rapid dry synthetic wear are good choices.
I have a lichen planus. I hope you don’t have it… Mine is in a better place than that covered by shorts. This is a persistent skin condition that basically they don’t know much about. I think I got it from the water. It seems to activate in questionable and/or potable water. I got a steroidal crème from the doctor that knocks it down. After cleaning up I treat the area and it keeps the area from a break out.
@bwilley5 said:
New paddler here. I have a SOT 10’ kayak and I’m having a terrible time staying dry. I’m getting less messy, but I’ve plugged my seat scuppers and left my front/feet scuppers open. As a lady, I really need to keep my shorts as dry as possible. Do any of you experienced folks have any advice on keeping my bottoms dry? I’m paddling primarily in our river, which is not the cleanest, and mostly when it’s hot. Should I try wetsuit shorts? TIA!
First, my apologies for how off track this post has gotten. Not the best introduction to the board.
Wet suit shorts, or dry pants would mostly do what you want. Mostly, as if you swim, likely either would let water in. A full dry suit would do everything you want, even with a swim, but is costly and would be overkill in warm areas.
A larger SOT kayak would also work. SOTs function by being filled with air and floating on top of the water. The more you weigh in relation to the max weight the boat can handle, the lower the boat sits in water. The lower you sit in the water, the more water comes up through scupper holes. A 10 foot boat likely doesn’t have a huge weight capacity. Going to a larger capacity boat would lift you up higher, which would generally keep you dryer. An extreme example - we use Ocean Kayak Malibu 2XTs in the rental fleets of a place I work for. Ocean Kayak lists max capacity of 450-500 lbs. I weight 215. if I use it solo, with seat in middle, it is a very dry ride. If I paddle with front and back seats with a second person my weight, we will have water coming up through scupper holes and the feet well and seat well will be flooded, so will have wet shorts (though the boat still floats).
Bwilley5 - I’ve found that rain pants (I use GoreTex rain pants that cost me $10 at a thrift store) are usually adequate for keeping my shorts dry. You might combine them other solutions, and make sure the drip rings on your paddle are near your hands, and not at the ends of the paddle, to keep much of the drip water off.
Kayaking is a wet sport, period, especially in a SOT. No getting around that fact, whether moisture comes from the inside or outside.
A drysuit will keep your bottom dry from external water entry (splashes or capsizing) but it will not keep it dry from too much sweating. Even if it is a Goretex suit, the butt is sitting on a solid seat, unless you put a mesh pad over that.
A SINK prevents direct hits of water, but the interior becomes covered in condensed moisture, from your own sweat inside the spray skirt and from temperature differences between the environment outside and within the cockpit.
If paddling a SOT in hot weather, the best option would be to wear quick-drying synthetic shorts with a mesh liner or undies, and CHANGE CLOTHES after paddling. Wearing wet or even damp shorts while driving home feels nasty, and it eventually makes the car smell bad, especially if the water was foul.
@pikabike said:
A drysuit will keep your bottom dry from external water entry (splashes or capsizing) but it will not keep it dry from too much sweating. Even if it is a Goretex suit, the butt is sitting on a solid seat, unless you put a mesh pad over that.
I believe that the original poster was not so much concerned about being wet, but about exposure to bacteria or similar bad stuff from the water she is paddling. If so, sweat and condensation likely would not be a concern, as these are not exposing her to the water she is paddling in.
I have a sit in kayak and was looking for solutions as well. My concern wasn’t so much about infection as the discomfort of swamp butt and sitting in a puddle all day long. My hubs and I prefer paddling creeks and rivers and we end up taking on a little water in rapids. He has a LiquidLogic with one of those seats that resembles a camp folding chair. This allows him to dry out in no time when he gets wet. I have an Elie with a plastic molded seat that doesn’t drain or get any kind of air flow. I just bought a spray skirt and haven’t had the chance to try it out yet. Most of the time we’re paddling it’s very warm out and I don’t mind cooling off with the water every now and then, I just hate sitting in a puddle all day. And the quick drying surf shorts I wear wont dry if you’re sitting in a puddle
So far the solution I’m going to try this season is to drill a couple holes in the lowest portions of the molded seat for drainage. I’m also going to replace the stock seat pad with this interesting elastic silicone gel seat cushion I found on Amazon. It’s claims include:
The gaps between the pillars is favorable for air circulation, ventilation and breathable, can prevent eczema and hemorrhoids caused by sedentary sultry
The raised pillars can massage the buttocks, relax the muscles and relieve sedentary fatigue
Never hot design, the gel cushion pad will keep your buttock cool and dry. And it¡¯s easy to clean, washed with water directly and dried quickly
Non-slip cushion, the small suckers at the bottom make the cushion anti-skid, don¡¯t worry it will move back and forward. The cushion can be placed in office chairs, sofas and other places
