thief

i do know that there are different sizes of these gaskets available....and if you need to you could always call up Stohlquist about getting a different sized one installed....

stretching....thats why i said probably....i know that neoprene does stretch out over time...but cannot imagine that a few days would be enough to make that big of a change....i would forsee it also slowly returning back to normal...but that is just in my head..i am not certain....

scrawny neck: as in if you turn your head to the side those gnarly tendons pop out....that's scrawny to me.....but then i have a big fat 18" neck.....(weirdly enough the same size as my corgi does )

scrawny (albeit attractive) neck

as opposed to my fat neck:

heading into the 30 degree water of the Nenana river in an Alpackraft.....

i have had my BpodT for awhile now...love it.....

as dry as any latex-neck-gasketed dry suit and much more comfortable.....

caveat: if you have a thin scrawny (read that as pleasant as you wish) neck where your tendons pop out when you turn your head then this gasket is probably not for you....if you do the tendons will create a tunnel to allow water run down/enter the suit....it works especially well for us thick-necked-brawny-kayakers......

leaving the neck on a coffee can for a couple of days probably will not do anything...if you left it on there for a few years it might stretch the neoprene out but just a few days probably nothing will be the outcome....it will just be a nice coffee can holder.....

it is a great price for a great suit.....i am especially glad that they added the p-zip standard on them now....

i would also advocate springing the extra money for the tunnel too.....works wonders.....

i have worn this suit many times here in New England as well as for 4 days straight in Alaska this summer in 32 degree water on a rafting trip (and all of my fellow travelers wanted to know why i wasted the space to bring the drysuit and liner - suckers!!!!)

Jim Stohlquist is great!!!! i have talked with him a few times about my gear (i use almost 100% Stohlquist)

you must either have the FreeRyde top then.....there is also a shorty version called the Swicx that i wear all the time.....it has the same gaskets on the biceps.....

The neck gasket is Titanium Coated neoprene....the fact that you wore the Ti off is amazing......and i do know that S. has different sizes of those gaskets too....

how is the return/warranty going? heard anything yet???

Michael i agree...this would also remove some of the bulk of that zipper....and the stiffness of the "waterproof" zips too....

I Just received this response from the Project Manager:

"If you are interested to know if they are available in kayaking wet suits, the answer is not at this time. We are evaluating where to take this technology in the future. Right now it is a great fit in motorcycling jackets and the design criteria allow for the user to get significant value from it. Seems to make sense in wet suit applications, but at Gore we are committed to making sure products perform to their intended level in every application. This product has not yet been worked through fitness for end application challenges in a kayaking garment. Probably have to stay tuned to see where it might show up in the future. "

I would imagine it could be very nice in dry bags/containers as well as dry suits........

-rob

I have dropped an email to my contact at WL Gore HQ to learn more...

it is a very interesting looking item!

big steroid riddled ziploc

rob

GORE-TEX® product tester

GORE Experience More website Moderator (keep an eye peeled for this!)

peek at the gaskets...are there cracks??? immediate culprit....

take a gander at the seam tape....if it is curling a bit at the edges they might be the issue...

a good thought would to be to drop a note to Stohlquist....and see if they can rehab it for you....

r

tyson you could also bring it down to Osprey for replacement of your gaskets as well....

gaskets do come in sizes....good thing to find out which one fits you best without having to trim them....

personally i like the Stohlquist dry suits much more than kokatats....one of the big things was that Stohlquist uses a thicker gauge latex seals.....more comfortable and last longer.....

rob

no more harassment at West Beach about stickers now.....can drive on in (at least during the week you can-i am not certain if they change that for the weekends).....

granted since i live around the corner i usually walk on towing my boats.......

rob

btw: here is a link: http://www.divebooty.com/item/1729/scuba_m...dive_knife.html

so.....I always carried a spyderco rescue knife in my pfd...as well as a diving line cutter....

but in a Gloucester dive shop I just picked up a new knife:

a scubamax max divers edge in stainless...(also available in titanium).....

what caught my eye was that this knife has an externally located line cutter...no trying to open it......but there is a full blade when needed too...

22.95$ not bad

r

see skypix...told ya you would get responses!!!!!

btw: i had also forgotten to mention Nick Schade of Guillemot kayaks is just a bit south east of you in Connecticut as well.....

rob/thief

a professional photographer trick is treatment of furniture wax on the lens.....water drops right off.....

does the optio have a sliding lens cover??

another VERY important thing to check into is:

does your vehicle insurance cover your boat?

I have adjusted my insurance so that it does............

looking to go to the Chebacco one this week (tomorrow) whats the water temp up around here? (I just moved up from the balmy waters of RI)..

thanks

rob

Rob,

Having taken a better look at the skeg box issue, I don't think goop is going to do the trick. The tubing is too short and very tight through the middle of the stowage space. The result is that whenever I pack the boat it is going to get pulled out of the skeg box fitting again. I don't think even Lexel is going to prevent that. I have posted a couple more pictures here.

Time to talk to Wilderness I think.

Graham

Graham shoot me an email and i will get you in contact with Steve....he is a great person to talk to and a great way into confluence.

rob

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/wNkbSh7sEjlK7...ck/IMGP0109.JPG

that is a pic of Steve Scherrer's (tempest designer) skeg box....mine looks the same.....just goop the heck out of it....i am not certain if the reason of the leak has been identified or not...but this is simple.......

Yep,

That may well be it. There is a sleeve over the entry point that is now sliding on the cable so I guess it got dragged off when I was pulling gear out. I will goop it up and see how that goes. Never heard of Lexel - I will Google it.

Thanks

Graham

lexel is the stuff that Wildy uses to put their bulkheads in RM boats....silicone would work-but nothing will ever stick there after if you do use it....

To be honest the worst leak on the boat is still the skeg box due to lousy build quality.

there is an issue with the skeg control tube and how it runs into the top of the skeg box.....just goop the crap out of it with lexel and you will have no problems with it after that....

good luck on the trip!

Thanks to all for the advice.

Rob,

That is a kind offer and seems like a good idea. I was hoping to get it turned round quickly locally but I'm a bit leary about going to a boatyard that does not have a track record with Kayaks and hoping for the best. The problem I have is that I'm off on a paddling trip next weekend so I am inclined to patch the damage now and get the keel strip later (to cover up my probably ugly repair.....).

The damage appears to be more cosmetic than structural. Here are some pictures.

How often do you go down there and where from? How long do you think they will need it for? I paddle nearly every day so I might wait until I am going away for work in July.

Graham

Morning Graham

first I would drop a note to Carl at Osprey with those pix....he can give you an idea of time....$ et al.....

i head down to that area almost every weekend for some amount of days....

drop me a note on email for faster responses since i do not check this forum all the time: corgimas AT gmail . com

rob

i still would push Osprey down in Westport....i can deliver down there from the north shore if needed/wished....easy nuff to plop another tempest on my roof...

Carl did the k-strip on my tempest....not the new liner stuff a normal glass strip....good price...great quality..

rob

http://www.ospreyseakayak.com/index.php?section=76

some paddlers put car edging strip on the edge of their coamings to help prevent this...it also would make a bulbous lip at the edge and get your skirt to have more of a positive locked on seal.....

you cant get it a pep boys etc...... make sure you get the "U" shaped channeled one....might have preloaded adhesive in the channel too....kinda of like hot melt glue....

had that on my MEGA surf boat and it worked well...

Thanks guys,

Thief, I did take you up on the "Tempest owners group" as my girl friend and I are both Tempest owners. I found that after I loosened the screw on the slider grip, that I could see the cable. Should I pull the line through the slider and then put the grip in the same spot and tighten it to hold the cable in the new position? and how do I access the cable?

I'm about 2 inches out more than I'd like.........

the easiest way to to then gently -and i mean GENTLY- pus the skeg where you would like it...then make sure that the slider is where you want it....

also there is a metal tube that is over the skeg cable that has a cut into it so that the screw hits the cable....you have to make sure that the metal tube moves along with slider when you move it....

see you on the water!

good winds

rob

Morning Hal:

come and join the specific Tempest [paddlers group on yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TempestOwners/ )

yes there was an issue with putting steel spring clips on the end of the skeg tube....snap a stainless one on there and you are good to go...

now for the fun part of adjusting the skeg...there are pictures and info on the yahoo group about this....

how far down is it???i have adjusted my skeg so it is a little "proud"....it is always sticking out of the skeg box a bit....that makes it a little harder for something to jammed into the skeg box....and it also provides a tiny bit of skeg bite all the time.....now by a little bit i mean that my skeg shows about 1/4" (if that) beyond the hull.....works great....that also allows the skeg to drop further down when deployed as well....

to adjust it lower your skeg all the way and then you can go back to the control slider....there is a set screw that you can then loosen and move the slider to a new position....you can adjust it as far in any direction you wish to....play with it and see what you are comfortable with....

I am in Beverly if you are nearby and need some hands on help with it....

rob

btw: here is West's request:

http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/community/...opic.php?t=2847

from West Coast Paddler

So I wrote earlier wondering about someplace to work this summer...now having gotten the job I was looking for, I'm confronted with a new issue: I'm in Arizona for school, the job is in Washington, and my boat is in Massachusetts. I realize that this forum is based on the wrong side of the country, but if anyone is going to be driving from the Boston area west, even just past the midwest, and has room on their roof for a long boat, driver(s) would be much appreciated and compensated for gas and/or beer. If I can't find anyone driving out that can take a boat, does anyone have experience shipping a sea kayak cross-country...? I know it's relatively easy with a WW boat, but they're small, lighter, and virtually indestructible...not so much for an 18 foot glass boat. Any thoughts?

_________________

Cheers,

West

"Nothing screams 'poor workmanship' like wrinkles in the duct tape."