Padding floor all the way to the footpegs

[brambor]

We paddled on Tuesday afternoon until about 8pm at night. It was a beautiful day at first. Crispy clear, nice foliage and no power boats. As the sun set the cold made it self move evident. I also felt it from the hull on my calfs and thighs.

I was thinking that I might need more insulation under my drysuit for november paddling but then I also thought what would happen if I placed a 1/2" or 1" camping foam mattress to extend from the seat to the footpegs?

[PeterB]

We paddled on Tuesday afternoon until about 8pm at night. It was a beautiful day at first. Crispy clear, nice foliage and no power boats. As the sun set the cold made it self move evident. I also felt it from the hull on my calfs and thighs.

I was thinking that I might need more insulation under my drysuit for november paddling but then I also thought what would happen if I placed a 1/2" or 1" camping foam mattress to extend from the seat to the footpegs?

No reason not to try both. Most cold weather paddlers use layers (polartec fleece, capilene, etc) to fine tune insulation inside the drysuit, and inserting a foam pad in the cockpit would also be worth a try.

[EEL]

I also thought what would happen if I placed a 1/2" or 1" camping foam mattress to extend from the seat to the footpegs?

I use a closed cell pad from seat to end of legs all the time in my SOF. Nice, warm and comfy compared to hard FG/plastic hull. Of course my legs are flat on hull so perhaps more important than typical splayed leg position. I have seen putting foam pad between seat and front bulkhead suggested when paddling/camping in cold places as a way to provide insulation for legs and to store sleeping pad. Something to try now that there is a chill in the air.

Ed Lawson

[scamlin]

We paddled on Tuesday afternoon until about 8pm at night. It was a beautiful day at first. Crispy clear, nice foliage and no power boats. As the sun set the cold made it self move evident. I also felt it from the hull on my calfs and thighs.

I was thinking that I might need more insulation under my drysuit for november paddling but then I also thought what would happen if I placed a 1/2" or 1" camping foam mattress to extend from the seat to the footpegs?

Insulating the cockpit makes sense as the cold does transmit through the hull.

One thing I wonder, though, is how secure the foam pad is. There is the possibility of entrapment (e.g. hooking your feet on the edge of the pad) in a wet exit as well as the pad blocking a fast re-entry in conditions. Seems like is should just lay there, but if you get trashed in surf or chop, a foam pad might not stay put given its flotation and the wave action in an empty cockpit. Think how sponges, pumps and other stuff seem to float away when you exit.

Remember, this time of year your margins to sort things out are significantly smaller as the water gets colder and the conditions rougher.

Dunno what might keep it secure: duct tape? Velcro? Tucked under the seat and a foam bulkhead in front of the footpegs? Gotta be some simple way to do it.

Scott

[brambor]

Insulating the cockpit makes sense as the cold does transmit through the hull.

One thing I wonder, though, is how secure the foam pad is. There is the possibility of entrapment (e.g. hooking your feet on the edge of the pad) in a wet exit as well as the pad blocking a fast re-entry in conditions. Seems like is should just lay there, but if you get trashed in surf or chop, a foam pad might not stay put given its flotation and the wave action in an empty cockpit. Think how sponges, pumps and other stuff seem to float away when you exit.

Remember, this time of year your margins to sort things out are significantly smaller as the water gets colder and the conditions rougher.

Dunno what might keep it secure: duct tape? Velcro? Tucked under the seat and a foam bulkhead in front of the footpegs? Gotta be some simple way to do it.

Scott

a doublesided tape running along the perimeter might do the trick. Another thing to consider is to Wellwood glue it permanently and use it year round.

[NPSheehan]

Hmm interesting topic! Although I wonder if your legs were cold inside the kayak what they would feel like if in the water. Maybe the safest bet would be more layers or thicker layering inside the dry suit. Although closed cell foam would be comfy if your legs were extended as Ed's are in his SOF. Also the hull temp may actually be warmer than the deck temp when the outside temps drop well below 50. I suppose you could wrap that closed cell foam completely around the inside of the kayak.

Neil

[bob budd]

Cold legs in cockpit = insufficient insulation of legs. More to the point, the cold legs are a sign you are in general not warm enough, i.e. heat is being conserved in the core by your circulatory system. In a similar vein, (puttin on) a warm hat usually makes your whole body warm up, chases a chill, etc.

Ditto on entrapment hazard.