Spray skirt leakage

[josko]

Speaking of sprayskirts.... Both weekend days, after lengthy sessions in 'sporting' conditions, I'm noticing a gallon or two of water in the cockpit. Following up, we set up a kayak with a (snapdragon) spray skirt on the lawn, and directed a hose up along the hull towards the spray skirt connection. And sure enough, under the 'right' conditions, a considerable amount of water makes its' way past the spray skirt seal and into the cockpit. To reinforce that, I can occasionally feel little squirts of water, particularly when the coaming is submerged, also indicating water is making its way past the spray skirt seal.  The skirt is very tight, about as tight as I'd want it. It seems the main leakage occurs along the fairly straight sides of the coaming, just ahead of the paddler's hips. I've tried this with both Reed and snapdragon Sprayskirts, with comparable results

Is there anything I can do to minimize leakage across the sprayskirt-coaming 'seal'?

[Phil Allen]

my first response is "buy a sponge".  ;-)   

Realistically, that area is where the skirt is under the least amount of tension so there may not be anything you can do.  Only other thought to add is to check for cracks in the coming, as they can be both subtle and very leaky.

best

Phil

[John Martinsen]

Ditto checking for cracks. You could try getting a spray skirt with a flange, the extra layer of material is supposed to help seal the cockpit. Or I spoke to an old timer who claimed that adding a thin layer of foam, something like weather stripping, around the coaming would make it more waterproof but I haven't personally tried this trick.