I have a Tsunami 140 with the stock seat. I actually like it a lot, but I don’t think I can use it with a spray skirt. So, I recently bought the back band from Wilderness Systems. Installation was pretty easy, but I don’t think I’m a fan. It’s OK, but I don’t feel like it provides enough back support. I swapped my stock seat back in, and it just feels much better.
I never used a skirt until I got the back band, but now that I went back to the larger seat back, I have to go skirtless again. Are there any other options? Maybe a seatback that’s bigger than the back band, but smaller than stock? Or possible a different kind of spray skirt? My friend gave me his Seals neoprene skirt, but it’s not a good fit with the gigantic seat back.
Recreational type seat backs and skirts are generally not a match, neoprene especially does not work.
What do you need a skirt to do? If you need it to protect against more serious conditions, like waves dumping into your boat, you probably should get your core strengthened up and put the back band in.
If you paddle flat stuff and only need the skirt to handle paddle splash, you can either look for a half skirt that just goes in front of you, or get and oversized cloth skirt with a bungie that you can tie off to fit around your cockpit. But a skirt big enough to get around a seat back is likely to leave a decent amount of spare material in your lap.
High-backed seats don’t work well with skirts, and they also inhibit self-rescue. If you plan to paddle where you need the protection of a skirt, and might possibly need to self-rescue, then it’s worth it to try to get used to the smaller back band. If not, then just don’t worry about a skirt.
Thanks. The main reason I started using a skirt is because I am trying a Greenland paddle, and the water literally pours into my boat with that thing! It’s also nice to have the protection when I’m paddling in rough conditions. I’ll occasionally end up with a wave in my lap, and the skirt keeps my dry.
I’ve paddled a bit more with the back band, and I just don’t like it, so I swapped my regular seat back in. One thing I tried that helps is to push the seat back all the way down. It’s actually not very high this way, but it’s still more supportive than the band, which is very low. I can actually get the neoprene spray skirt on this way, but only when I’m not wearing a PFD, so it’s a no go. I did actually find one of those half-skirts, so I’ll try that and see. That should at least keep the GP from filling my boat.
Are there any other seat options for these Tsunamis besides the stock one and the backband?