How tight should my new all neoprene spray skirt tunnel be to my body? I know it needs to be tight to seal out water but how tight, I am caught in the middle between two sizes. it fits good over my hydroskin but I am not sure about the dry suit and layers yet. also, will it stretch out and stay at all? it seems to be a little better everytime I try it on and easier to get on/off the boat each time as well. thank you.
PLastic, my Snappy Glacier Trek
…seems to adjust to many sizes around the waist thanks to velcro. So, seems to be quite adaptable. You might need to try on.
Hope to paddle with you, noted the Fox as a fav river of your, bruce and I plan to hit the Fox this spring/summer, watch for info under central IL or it’s own thread. Bruce might help me check out boats at Geneva, IL, and thanks in advance, bruce. Anyhow, let’s hit the beach on Lake MI and paddle.
I experienced the opposite
When I bought it in 2000 it fit just fine around my waist, but for some reason it has become a bit tighter since then. It’s puzzling, must be that neoprene shrinks or something… 
With my new sprayskirt, it’s tight but comfortable with a wetsuit, tighter with my drysuit with layers, but doesn’t cut off circulation or anything, just takes a little more effort to get it on and off. It’s easier to get it on the bod and the cockpit rim if you get it wet first.
Sharon
RE: spray skirt fit
Wetting it before you put it on (you and the boat) will make things go easier.
~wetzool
Yeah, what wetzool and sharonmb said,
plus you can wet it and then keep it on the coaming for storage t gently stretch it. G’luck.
thank you!
Thanks to all for the help. cooldoc, I am way up north, McHenry county but yes we should hit the water sometime. I always paddle alone, so this year I plan to meet up with some paddle groups more often. It is much better for learning new skills. what part of the fox are you guys planning on doing?
Neoprene slowly loses gas from its
bubbles, so that any neoprene garment is likely to tighten up some with time.
The skirt tunnel need not be tight
against your torso unless you plan to paddle with nothing else but a PFD topside. In fact, a tight tunnel is going to constrict your breathing and sap energy from you as you twist your torso. Wearing a light, breathable drytop will keep most water out of the top of the sprayskirt tunnel, even when you roll.
For those who can afford it, I recommend two sprayskirts, one for summer and one for the colder months. A winter sprayskirt may need its tunnel trimmed down to fit under a drytop. The drytop (or drysuit) over-tunnel takes on the job of excluding water, while a >loose-ish< sprayskirt tunnel allows one to wear more insulation underneath without constriction.
A summer sprayskirt can be tighter if one is dressing minimally. I almost invariably wear that light paddling top to keep water out of the skirt, but if it is too hot for that, rolling a few inches of the skirt tunnel down over itself will tighten it usefully.