When can I paddle safely without a drysuit/wetsuit?

[iamtfc]

The subject nails it, mostly. As a student, neither is in the budget in the near term. I'm just trying to help myself out mentally, by setting a general date as to when I might reasonably be on the water. Is there a rule of thumb for this?

The Google has some answers, but I was looking for some local knowledge.

[Bill Gwynn]

There is one rule of thumb. Water temp below 50 - dry suit, above 50 - wet suit. Once water is above 65, you can get away without special clothing just as long as it's not cotton. Of course, this is just a rule of thumb, and other factors should be considered, such as air temp. If it 35 air temp and water temp is 60, I am still going to be in my drysuit. Also, every person is different in how they tolerate cold water. The best test, is to put on whatever clothing you plan on wearing, then go into the water and see how long you can last before you start to get too cold. This would be best to do close to shore with someone there to observe and help in case you become hypothermic.

Here is a link to local water temps:

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/natl.html

At a minimum, I would recommend getting a 3mil farmer john wetsuit. They are relatively inexpensive and will give you some protection. Here is an example

[shewhorn]

As bill says it's individual. Personally I prefer a drysuit or a dry top as full wet suits are... yuck. Too much resistance on the shoulders. As it gets warmer I'll switch to a dry top and neoprene bottoms (either full length or shorts) and when it gets even warmer than that I'll switch to a light GoreTex paddling jacket and neoprene shorts so long as I'll be relatively close to shore. For a long crossing I'll go back to the dry top and rely on rolling and sculling to keep me cool. My threshold of pain for dry suit vs. wet suit (I do have a full wet suit... I just don't like it) is 60 degrees for the water temp.

Cheers, Joe

[Suz]

The subject nails it, mostly. As a student, neither is in the budget in the near term. I'm just trying to help myself out mentally, by setting a general date as to when I might reasonably be on the water. Is there a rule of thumb for this?

The Google has some answers, but I was looking for some local knowledge.

You can safely paddle when the water temperature and air temperature are comfortable to SWIM in for as long as it takes you to swim to shore. (So from wherever you are paddling).

Try it and you will know.

Suz

[shewhorn]

You can safely paddle when the water temperature and air temperature are comfortable to SWIM in for as long as it takes you to swim to shore. (So from wherever you are paddling).

Try it and you will know.

Suz

Or forever how long it will take for the Coast Guard or nearest responder to pluck you out of the water as swimming to shore isn't always practical.

Cheers, Joe

[Suz]

Or forever how long it will take for the Coast Guard or nearest responder to pluck you out of the water as swimming to shore isn't always practical.

Cheers, Joe

Letsgotomaine won't have any way to contact the CG. If he can't buy a wetsuit or drysuit, he certainly can't afford a VHF. So, he should plan on being as close to shore as he is comfortable swimming.

Suz

[EEL]

Letsgotomaine won't have any way to contact the CG. If he can't buy a wetsuit or drysuit, he certainly can't afford a VHF.

Just a note about assuming the CG will save your bacon whenever you want them to. One bright sunny and summer day near Jewell I listened to the CG trying to contact a sailboat that had reportedly hit a rock hard and was taking on water. No response. They knew the location...as in the rocks that were struck... so then they asked vessels in the area (it was a typical busy weekend on Casco Bay) if any had heard or seen the vessel. No response. This played out over 45 minutes with repeated calls and they eventually said they would await further info before doing anything.

Now I know folks get rescued and the CG does wonderful things. That is not the point. The point is counting on them as opposed to being prudent to stay out of trouble and being self reliant when it hits the fan may not be the wisest of moves.

Ed Lawson

[JohnHuth]

As I understand the original question - it's "when" can you paddle safely without a wetsuit or drysuit.

As people have pointed out - the general temperature when you can be rid of wetsuits is when the water temp is roughly over 65 degrees. The question is then when/where can you paddle.

Up in Maine - Downeast Maine in particular, the water temp rarely goes above 55 degrees, ever. So, that excludes a big chunk of Maine.

If we're talking about Cape Cod, I think that transition temp happens roughly in late June. It does depend a lot on the amount of warming we get. Also - Cape Cod - it goes back to wet-suit temperatures around Oct. 1st or so.

[Bill Gwynn]

Here is a link to local water temps by location and dates

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/natl.html

This will give you a general idea of where and when temps are in your acceptable range.

[subaruguru]

At a minimum, I would recommend getting a 3mil farmer john wetsuit. They are relatively inexpensive and will give you some protection. Here is an example

Please remember that it's important to dress for the WATER temperature, which means exercising great caution in the spring, as the sun's warmth invites shedding layers prematurely. Conversely it's easy to paddle late into the fall as often the water temp's higher than the air, so cold shock is a less obvious threat.

My feet and hands chill easily, so wearing a drysuit WITH BOOTIES provides complete ease when wading/launching in cold water.

Probably in early June I'll go to my farmer john, which provides great core comfort. Neoprene booties with wool socks are usually enough to keep my feet warm unless I'm wading/immersed for more than a few seconds while launching/exiting.

I still wear a neoprene "shorty" bottom all summer for back and abdominal muscle support and completely eliminating immersion chill. Think of this as similar to a thick cycling short sans inside pad.

Joe mentions restricted movement with a "full" neo suit, but that's true of those with shoulders and full sleeves. The "farmer john", lacking sleeves, provides full shoulder/arm movement without restriction or chafing. For warmth simply add layers of poly tops, as much for sun and wind protection as well warmth.

Whereas some of the club's gentry go from full drysuit to summer layers, most folks favor a farmer john for three season use.

But if you try to paddle with just this 3mm neo protection be extremely careful to stay near shore and paddle with someone else, as the current 50F lake temps are mighty chilly. Hypothermia demands high respect. Keep warm!

[Gcosloy]

Before I had my drysuit or even wet suit I kept to flat water, ponds lakes and rivers. they generally warm up a lot faster than the ocean and even when they're still too cold. mild current, as you would experience in the Charles, Sudbury or Concord rivers might allow for better rescue by swimming to shore if one had to. However, I got dumped by a strainer in moderate current in the Assabet last March had to swim to shore (about 20 yards) and paddled back to my put-in 5 miles down stream with mild hypothermia. (no wet suit or dry suit) some shivering, slurring of speech and general slow cognitive responses to familiar tasks. I was lucky and would never do that again. Don't paddle in the Ocean without the right clothing.

[cathyfoley]

Just a note about assuming the CG will save your bacon whenever you want them to. One bright sunny and summer day near Jewell I listened to the CG trying to contact a sailboat that had reportedly hit a rock hard and was taking on water. No response. They knew the location...as in the rocks that were struck... so then they asked vessels in the area (it was a typical busy weekend on Casco Bay) if any had heard or seen the vessel. No response. This played out over 45 minutes with repeated calls and they eventually said they would await further info before doing anything.

Now I know folks get rescued and the CG does wonderful things. That is not the point. The point is counting on them as opposed to being prudent to stay out of trouble and being self reliant when it hits the fan may not be the wisest of moves.

Ed Lawson

Ed...you bring up a very interesting point about expectations for a quick rescue. I recently bought and ACR Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) after doing an enormous amount of research and thinking (of cost vs benefit). The bottom line is you are likely to be on your own and in the water for quite some time before a CG or other agency rescues you, unless you have direct communication with them, either with VHF or possibly cell phone. I would not want to count on the cell phone for sure.

Because the cost of deploying rescue teams is so high, the CG and other agencies want to verify the situation before they react. The reality is too many people have cried "wolf" when there really was not an emergency. From everyting I have learned, VHF is probably your best chance of a quick rescue. Getting in touch with CG, harbor master or any other boat.

The same holds true for PLB's as far as reaction time. Each PLB must be registered with the government of the country it was bought in. In our case, its NOAA. A PLB is a last resort option....so I would think someone would have already been in the water for a bit before deploying it. Once deployed, if it's a GPS equipped PLB, the signal will likely be picked up within a few minutes. They will know they have a signal, but the process to react is similar to the CG. They first try to determine if there is likely an emergency. The first thing that happens is they try to contact one of the emergency phone numbers that are filed with the PLB registration to determine if there might be an emergency or if it was a false deployment of the PLB. They also try radio communications in the area where the signal is coming from. So it's likely there will be 10-15 minutes before any decision is made to deploy SAR.

The ACR rep told me the fastest rescue they have on record for an ACR PLB is 30 minutes from the first signal received. The slowest was 7 hours due the nature of the terrain.

A few years back, two former NSPN members required a CG rescue....they were in the water slightly over 2 hours before a chopper plucked them out. Thankfully, they applied all the good training they had received and were well prepared for the long stay in the water. (drysuits, back-up VHF, paddling partner, good training, practice, etc) Although they got into a bad situation, I think they are a textbook case of how proper planning, equipping and training are esstential to successful rescues.

[iamtfc]

Thanks for all the responses. I think I overestimated the expense of a basic farmer john, so I'll save up my pennies in hopes of joining y'all for some trips before the end of June!

Oddly, I already have a VHF. Just held off on buying the big ticket items (wetsuit/drysuit/nice paddle) until I was paddling enough to justify it. Hopefully that'll be soon enough, since I'm Done With School Forever in a few weeks.

[jeffcasey]

the other "rule of thumb" that I've heard many times (attributable to many of the NSPN gurus) is also a rule of 50s:

50 degree water

50 yard swim

50% chance.

in a drysuit, however, you can float among the icebergs till you get bored (if you have a fair layer of comfortable polypro under). not cheap, but well worth it....once late april and early may come along and the sun is shining and the air is warm, we ALL want to get out on the water, but it is still too cold to be safe.

don't EVER plan on "swim to shore distance" for your safety margin. currents, rough landings, or a short diversion away from shore can erase this margin in no time. simply put: dress for immersion.

[subaruguru]

[quote nam

Here is a link to local water temps:

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/natl.html

Very cool website, Bill!

[alcoons]

Before I had my drysuit or even wet suit I kept to flat water, ponds lakes and rivers. they generally warm up a lot faster than the ocean and even when they're still too cold. mild current, as you would experience in the Charles, Sudbury or Concord rivers might allow for better rescue by swimming to shore if one had to. However, I got dumped by a strainer in moderate current in the Assabet last March had to swim to shore (about 20 yards) and paddled back to my put-in 5 miles down stream with mild hypothermia. (no wet suit or dry suit) some shivering, slurring of speech and general slow cognitive responses to familiar tasks. I was lucky and would never do that again. Don't paddle in the Ocean without the right clothing.

Gene's event makes a good argument for caring extra clothing whenever you paddle. If you along a river, you can at least change into a layer of fleece (that what I always have with me -- compressible, light weight, warming). Also nice (and expected) to have on the ocean. I have helped at least one kayaker who dumped and was getting cold change their upper layer in a boat while rafted. Extra clothing certainly is not the solution for wrong clothing, but it always makes sense to have some with you.

[jonsprag1]

Thanks for all the responses. I think I overestimated the expense of a basic farmer john, so I'll save up my pennies in hopes of joining y'all for some trips before the end of June!

Oddly, I already have a VHF. Just held off on buying the big ticket items (wetsuit/drysuit/nice paddle) until I was paddling enough to justify it. Hopefully that'll be soon enough, since I'm Done With School Forever in a few weeks.

Funny the last time I bought a VHF it was around 150 dollars---my last farmer john style wetsuit---which most paddlers prefer to a full wetsuit---is around 100--125---ask for one for a graduation present.---and if you are really planning on going to Maine you will need it---even in the summer the ocean water is mostly quite cold.

[JohnHuth]

As long as we're on the "what to wear" thread - some of my observations. Others' may differ.

You can layer-up with wetsuits. If you have a farmer john, you can get a long sleeve, heavier top, which is a nice addition you can go-to, depending on conditions. You can slowly add stuff over time.

Dressing for the water can be tough when the water temp is low, and the air temp is high. At one day, in Bar Harbor, the air temp was in the low 90's. At the end of that day, when I took off my drysuit, I was sure it had sprung a leak because of all the water in my socks. It turned out to be a liter of my own sweat. I had the nastiest smelling long-johns you could imagine. Not pleasant, but necessary. Bring a lot of water along on days like these - even gatorade for electrolytes.

Keep extra dry clothes around to wear during lunch breaks. It's a bit of a pain to peel something off and put some fleece on while eating lunch, but it's worth the effort, rather than to put out again and have cooled off. Although I count on warming up once I'm paddling, I don't like to start off cold after a break.

[EEL]

I'm not sure what dressing for immersion means. I doubt it means dressing for immersion for an indeterminate period of time as I do not recall seeing people kayaking in offshore survival suits. This suggests the advice to dress for immersion is based upon a risk assessment as opposed to any absolute criteria. Which in turn means many factors need to be considered and there are few absolutes. After all, being safe does not mean being burdened to cope with any eventuality.

Having said that, I understand being able to make a reasonable risk assessment requires knowledge, skill and experience and is tricky business. I also understand the advice to scull or roll to cool off. I am just suggesting like many other sports which have higher than normal levels of risk; how any given person chooses to dress for a given paddle is ultimately a matter of what margins of error and what levels of risk that person wishes to select as opposed to if tis X degrees wear Y.

Ed Lawson

Who often chooses to sweat in a drysuit

[wilsoj2]

Maybe I'm a wimp or just getting old. However I tend to stick to a dry suit until the water temp hits 60F. Which means while in Maine I'm usually paddling in a dry suit into July. Sometimes I'll go to a Farmer John at water temp of 55F - but usually only with good splash top.

In ww, I tend towards separates for much of the warmer season.

[dbibby]

Dudes!

This is a great thread! I am a newbie and many of my questions concerning the when/where wetsuit/drysuit have been answered. Thanks for the link to the water temp chart too.

I currently have a short sleeve and leg wetsuit so I won't being paddling around off the coast of Salem just yet.

I am content to wait till the temp rises a bit or just paddle in the Charles.

But, it looks like I will have to start researching drysuit.

-Darrell