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There is a video on this page that shows some of the features for this type of skirt.(and how to put it on) http://www.immersionresearch.com/products/sprayskirts/sbd/ I believe that these types of skirts have fewer seams and are less likely to implode. I had an NRS one that I sold with one of my boats; never used it enough to be comfortable putting it on by myself.

Boston AMC holds 2 or 3 beginner WW sessions in June & July. If someone misses the NH AMC classes or doesn't have the immersion gear you need to paddle in April these are great. Because the water is warmer you do have the opportunity to push your limits a little further without risking hypothermia. Boston also has a larger and newer rental fleet, which is a plus if you don't own your own gear. Regardless of where you get your training it is amazing to see the progression that people make from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon. Boston AMC also has 5 week rolling sessions in Arlington & Watertown starting in February. http://trips.outdoors.org/index.cfm

That same document also says "DO NOT PUT GARMENTS WITH GASKETS IN A DRYER" This topic should really have links to Stohlquist's instructions, not Gore or Kokatat's.

I wouldn't put something with latex gaskets in the dryer. I would use a warm iron instead.

No, but they are a competitor so I imagine that they would have similar costs/policies.

You've taken the time to fill it with water and post here. I would hope that you would send them an email or give them a call. Or work with the dealer who sold it to you in the first place. Incidentally - last month one of the people that I was paddling with worked for Palm/MTI. She said that in general they are very liberal with warranty replacements.

lifetime warranty http://www.stohlquist.com/warranty.php

Gore has a new waterproof zipper (similar to sandwich bags) that they are rolling out for motorcycle gear. I haven't seen anything yet about using this for other applications, but it will be interesting to see if this gets used for drysuits in the future. http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-new...9/gore-lockout/

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Accident/view/

http://www.drysuit-repair.com/ They have a drop off at the Kayak Centre in RI - free shipping

Are you wearing gloves with them? I've been told to by others to not wear gloves with pogies. You can also roll back the cuff(NRS black mamba) and snap it in place to make it easier to get your hands in. There are also 'creek pogies' like the wildwasser ones that have a shorter cuff that stays open. http://www.sierraoutdoorcenter.com/PoGloves.html Mittens like the NRS toaster work well for me as well.

This is a very easy class 2 river. We had several trips this summer in which we took new graduates of the amc whitewater school. It has some great features to allow you to practice your whitewater skills and easy surf waves as well. And the bbq afterwards is really great!

Phil, So you had a tight fit initially and have backed off from that for torso rotation? Maybe you have gone from one extreme to another? Perhaps try bringing the footpegs towards the rear one position at a time so that you are still relaxed, but can push on the balls of your feet when needed to lock yourself in? I agree with what Kate says about the height of the back deck, I had the same issue moving from my Tempest to the Serenity. I am still working on my roll in the new(to me) boat. You can also try to sitting on some foam to raise you in the seat and see if that helps you get more clearance. It does raise the center of gravity and make the boat less stable, but if you're at walden or other flat water try it out.

I was there Wednesday on my way back from the Winni and there were two on the rack. I don't think that these are full drysuits but the super nova (semi dry). They do have attached feet and latex wrist seals, but the neck neck seal is a simple neoprene seal. They also have the gopro hero waterproof digicam for $79, if you don't mind the color pink.

I bought a spare at Charles River a year or two ago. It is still somewhere in my garage...

I have the NRS version and it attaches easily to your pfd. My only complaint is that the bite valve was lost the first time I did a reentry. NRS doesn't sell a replacement separately so I replaced it with a camelback bitevalve and that has held for 2 yrs.

In my experience 1 - 1.5 hr on either side of low lets you get in & out of Hingham with little or minimal mud(at least if you launch right next to the boat ramp). You may have to follow the marked channel out of Hingham Harbor. 2 hrs allows you plenty of water; except maybe on a spring tide? I've landed on World's End with no issue - I believe that they have been running kayak tours the past couple of season from there. The back of Worlds End on the Weir river is popular with the powerboaters - they raft up there for the whole weekend. The mouth of the Weir river can be a very busy place. You can follow the Weir river up to the large windmill(or further). In a good sw wind at mid to low water you can get some fun waves on the sandbar at the sw corner of Grape Island; especially when the commuter boat wakes interact with the wind waves.

Do you do a radio check before heading out?

If you go to defender.com you can get the updated hx280s with the LI-ion battery for $76. I bought one of the hx270s last year from them and their price was around $75 if I remember correctly.

The first season was in black & white.

Two years ago I tried the Chatham 17 & the Tempest 17 at Charles river. I spent more time in the Tempest because the metal footpegs on the Chatham were frozen and couldn't be moved. The Chatham was comfortable for me but there was less freeboard than the Tempest. I ended up with a used Tempest. I've been happy with it; but I also think that it may not be the boat for me long term. Last year the REI in Reading & Hingham did have a some new/leftover Chatham 17 for under $1k.

Or paddle down the Weir river next to Hull Wind 2. This one is much larger(1.8 MW vs 660 KW) than the one at Windmill Point. You can hear it as you paddle by it; but it is not obtrusive at all to me.

For anyone who is interested and doesn't want to do this in April; the Boston AMC chapter has multiple whitewater sessions in June & July. I've taken this as well as the NH AMC class. The Boston class spends 2 evenings on flatwater and 2 days on the river(usually Fifebrook section on the Deerfield). And because the water is warmer you can spend more time doing self rescues; in the NH class that I took the goal was to get people out of the water asap. We spent an hour in one section of the river doing more difficult ferries until everyone swam at least once. One other thing; If you don't have your own boat the Boston AMC has a more current fleet of rental boats. You can use rental boats on future AMC trips; rental fees are $10 -$15 a day I think. Boston AMC website - doesn't look like school dates are listed for 2009 yet. http://www.concentric.net/~Amcbcc/

http://www.boatma.com/tides_new/index_new.html

I was at the Bass Pro shop in Foxboro tonight and when you first enter the store they have a bin of gloves on sale. They have Glacier Gloves for 7.95. (m,l,xl) These are the ones that have the thumb & index finger that will peel 1/2 back, most of them seemed to be fleece lined.