Seals Sizes
Number = Circumference of the cockpit in meters
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I can see that for the smaller skirts - but I doubt the cockpit of a Pungo (which takes a 7.0 āskirtā) is 7 meters (almost 23 feet!) in circumference! Maybe that holds true for the sea kayak sizes and the larger ones are random?
This made me cackle. Which I very much needed. No wonder those rec kayaks sink so easily.
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. I canāt say I ever sized a Pungo. Never really crossed my mind.
Iām going off what my Seals rep told me. Perhaps itās more logarithmic when you get to rec boats
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Seals has a bit of an oddity on their sizing for the Delphin: 1.4 (correct) for the skirt & 1.7 (???) for a cover. the Aries on the other hand has 1.4 listed for both the skirt & cover. I know that 1.7 isnāt correct as I have one for my Pygmy.
Hence the āskirtā in quotes. Cockpit cover is slightly more reasonable (maybe?)
I always figured there was some kind of reasoning behind those weird numbers. Iāll go with the logarithmic explanation for the larger ones - I like it!
Sprayskirt fit is such a frustrating crapshoot. I would say half the ones I have bought over the years did not fit the boat they were intended for. (I gave up on trying to get a neoprene deck skirt for my touring boats.) By now I have returned, given away or sold as many skirts as Iāve kept, even though I have usually had multiple boats of differing cockpit sizes I could try any new skirt on. Even dealers I have interacted with tear their hair out over the failure of manufacturer fit charts to conform with coaming reality.
Since I use a GP almost all the time, going without a snug fitting skirt deck is not a realistic option ā there is a lot of runoff with a high angle GP. And a slack, too-big skirt is almost worse than none at all due to the constant nuisance of having to dump the pooling. At least I can sew and have been able to re-tailor some skirts with tunnel elastic.
Since there is no way the many players in the kayak industry will ever āstandardizeā coamings it will always be a challenge for those who want to serve paddlers with properly sized skirts. I donāt envy the inventory challenges of the makers who try. Imagine the production chaos tire companies would have to deal with if the auto. motorcycle and bicycle industries had not agreed to universal standards on wheel rim sizing!
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Seals says right on their fit chart that the numbers are specific to Seals and account for length, width, circumference and shape. They do not refer to any mathematical formula or measurements of the cockpit.
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Snapdragon made my skirts with a bigger tunnel for my chest. Sad they are gone. My neo skirts will probably do my days.
despite several e-mail attempts I canāt get even one reply from Seals. I called the phone number I found on-line and again, not reply at all.
Umingmaq Paddle Outfitters in Wisconsin is a US dealer for and stocks some PeakUK skirts which are well made, reasonably priced (cheaper than Seals) and come in a range of sizes with a fit chart that has exact measurement parameters.
I just got this nylon model for my Avatar (also fits several other coamings I have, roughly 34" by 20" or equal to Seals 1.7). They advised me that PeakUKās neoprene skirts are quite a bit snugger . I found that to be true and had to return a neo version I had ordered earlier that was listed as the same size that does fit in the nylon.
The shop owner, Matt, was great to deal with and did the swap promptly. Mentioning this as an added potential source now that weāve lost another quality skirt maker.
Hey Willowleaf, So it aināt just me!? The last skirt I bought was from a dealer for IR (Immersion Research). I ordered a skirt based on the measurements they required and the skirt they delivered was way too small. I returned it for the next size up and it has been great.
THANKS SO MUCH Willowleaf. I just called them and left a message, so I hope they will call me back.
Iāve had great experiences with IR skirts. I custom ordered my last one (neoprene) and it arrived with a perfect fit to my boat and to me. I didnāt go through a vendor, though - I direct ordered using email and PayPal. Did they stop doing that? I had no idea Snapdragon went out of business. That makes me sad. I recently just gave away one of Snapdragon skirts. Lucky receiver!
Szihn, what are the dimensions on the cockpit you are trying to fit?
I ask because I had Umingmaq send me the two large sizes they had in stock of that nylon PeakUK skirt to see which would best fit the latest kayak I had added to the fleet. The smaller one was perfect and the larger one is too big for that boat. i will try it on a couple of other kayaks I have that are stored at my garage/boat barn up the street. Itās what they call the āBig Deckā and is probably closer to a Seals 2.2 size. Matt graciously offered to take it on return but itās such a nice skirt Iāll keep it if it remotely fits any of the other boats (some of my older skirts are in pretty rough shape and need to be replaced, or donāt keep me dry due to zippers and poorly sealed extra seams ā all the water shedding that my Greenland paddles produce means a solid deck skirt works best for me).
I did use that PeakUK skirt twice last week with the new kayak and it worked beautifully. Kept me and the cockpit dry and was not noticably hot though I was paddling on days in the mid to upper 80ās with high humidity and was out for up to 4 hours wearing ankle length poly athletic tights and neoprene dive booties in the kayak.
Anyway, I can measure the actual dimensions for you if that helps. Though Matt can help you, I hope. I think his current challenge, as with many outfitters, is in getting stock from his wholesale sources, especially overseas. But I hope you have luck.
Thanks so much Willowleaf.
The cockpit is 32.5" long outside to outside
20.5" wide outside to outside.
88" around the circumference on the outside and 85" around inside the lip
Iād be delighted if it will work. Please let me know.