For some kayakers spray skirts are unnecessary, but for others they are a helpful or even essential piece of gear. A spray skirt, otherwise known as a kayak skirt or a spray deck, is used to keep water out of the cockpit when paddling a sit-in kayak.
So, how do you know whether you need a kayak skirt? How do you use a spray skirt? Are kayak skirts dangerous? We will answer all these questions and more!
Why Use a Spray Skirt?
There is no way to sugarcoat it, it is impossible to rock a spray skirt and not look like a dork. They really aren’t a fashion statement. And worse still, you are bound to get one of the world’s worst wedgies when you put a spray skirt on.
So why even bother with a spray skirt? Well, in many cases spray decks are an essential piece of gear. In fact, some people argue that it can be one of your most valuable pieces of safety gear. This is mostly true for paddlers going out in the roughest conditions, so not something we will get into here.
A spray deck is useful because it keeps the water out of your kayak. It stops big waves from dumping on you, lets you avoid water dripping into your lap from paddling, and it stops water from getting into your kayak if you capsize. All of this works to help keep you warm in cold conditions.
Do You Need to Use a Spray Skirt?
Spray skirts are designed for sit-in kayaks, not sit-on-top kayaks. And not just any sit-in kayak either, as some sit-in kayaks don’t have cockpit combing. Cockpit combing, the lip on the cockpit rim that goes around the boat, and is what the spray skirt latches on to. So, if your sit-in kayak does not have this, you cannot use a kayak skirt. If your kayak does have this lip you can, but it doesn't mean you necessary need to, use a spray deck.
Whether or not you should use a spray skirt comes down to the type of paddling you are doing and the conditions you are doing it in. It is pretty much essential to use a spray deck when using a sit-in kayak in rough water. Or, if you are in calm water that can quickly become rough. That is because the whole idea of using a spray deck is to stop your boat from swamping and to give you the option to roll if you capsize.
This means you need to use a spray deck when kayaking in whitewater (class 2 and up). It also applies to paddling in open, and exposed, bodies of water where waves can quickly become a real issue.
However, in calm, protected water, it is not essential to use a spray deck. That is why most recreational kayaks, designed primarily to kayak in mellow conditions, don't even take a spray skirt because you don’t really need one. The only reason you’d use one is for a bit of extra warmth or to keep the drips from your paddle off your body!
How to Choose the Right Spray Deck
There is a large range of different types of spray decks. So, how do you know which kayak skirt is right for you?
Well, first of all, what makes up a spray deck? A spray deck has four key parts:
- The tunnel – this is the part that goes around your waist.
- The deck – this is the part that covers the cockpit of the kayak.
- The rand – this is the stretchy part that goes over the cockpit rim to hold the skirt into place.
- The grab loop – this is how you get the spray deck off once you are in the kayak.
Sizing
There is no such thing as one size fits all with spray skirts. If you have multiple kayaks, there is a very good chance you will need to have multiple skirts. There are two parts of the skirt that need to be sized: the tunnel and the deck.
The deck size depends on your kayak. The best thing to do is to go to the website of the kayak skirt manufacturer where you will find charts that list the size of deck you need for the type of kayak you have. If your kayak isn’t listed you will need to measure the length and width of your cockpit and compare it to the measurements in the charts to discover which size spray skirt you need.
Sizing the tunnel, is much simpler. It’s like a pair of pants – you can get a small, medium, large, etc, and you just get the same size as you would a pair of pants.
The Different Styles of Skirt
Nylon Skirt
These are the most basic, and therefore least expensive, types of spray skirts available. They have all the main features of a spray skirt, but the rand is made with an adjustable bungee which means that the seal it creates on the cockpit won't be very good. The thin nylon, which is not stretchy, means water will pool on the deck and it might cave in and get you wet.
These skirts are created mostly as splash decks, to stop the splashes getting you wet.
Neoprene Skirt
The opposite of the nylon skirt (in both function and cost) is the full neoprene spray skirt. The tunnel is stretchy and the whole thing is designed to be form-fitting so water doesn’t easily get down into the boat at your waist.
The deck itself is also stretchy, so once it’s ‘sealed' on, it blocks the water from getting through. Sealing a neoprene kayak skirt feels a little bit like sealing up a Tupperware. It snaps on and it is very tight. The water does not get a chance to pool on top of it as it just runs off to the side.
The rand on a high-performance neoprene skirt is much tighter. This means that it might take a real effort to snap it on, but once it is on, it will hold tight. Make sure you have to remember to leave the grab loop out once you’ve put it on so that you can actually get the deck off when you need to!
I use the NRS Drylander for all my high-performance kayaking whether it's white water or sea kayaking.
Neoprene Decks with Rubber Rands
Some neoprene spray decks have a thick and stiff rubber rand rather than a bungee rand. They can be even harder to put on the kayak but they provide a really solid seal around the cockpit.
This is the kind of skirt to use when you really, REALLY don’t want the skirt to come off at an inopportune time. That said, it can be difficult to take these skirts off even when you want to! Spray skirts with rubber rands are designed to be used by high-end paddlers using it in high-level white water.
Hybrid Spray Deck
If you are not looking to paddle in very high-level white water, you might want to look for a paddle skirt that is somewhere in the middle. That would be a hybrid spray skirt. These are more affordable than a full neoprene skirt.
There are a few different types of hybrid skirts. For instance, you can get skirts with a nylon tunnel and a neoprene deck. That means you get the benefit of a neoprene deck so the water will run off and not pool. You get a flexible, but not overly flexible rand, so it is relatively easy to get on and off, but it will not spontaneously explode on you if you flip, letting you roll the kayak.
The difference here is the nylon tunnel. It is much cooler to wear a nylon tunnel compared to a neoprene tunnel. The neoprene can be a lot more like wearing a wetsuit and provide a lot of warmth. The nylon tunnel will be much cooler. It is much more a sea kayaker's skirt, or maybe even a recreational kayaker. Someone who wants to stay in the kayak, but wants it to be cooler.
Enhanced Nylon Skirt
The enhanced nylon skirt has a full nylon tunnel and a full nylon deck. What makes this different from a basic nylon deck is that it has a frame built in. There is a stiff bar in the front that is designed to prevent water from pooling on your deck or to stop crashing waves from popping your skirt out. It’s still an entry-level skirt but will stay on a lot better than the basic nylon skirt.
Tips for Using a Spray Deck
There are a few things you should know when using a spray deck.
- Do not put it on over your head like a shirt. Instead, step into it, pull it up, and accept the fact that you are going to get a wedgie!
- Put your spray skirt on before you put your life jacket on. That way when you cinch your life jacket down it will hold your skirt into place.
- If you are paddling in rough conditions, or will be rolling, I would recommend wearing a short sleeve paddling top. That will stop a lot of water from going down into your skirt.
- If you are paddling in colder conditions in rougher water, wear a paddling to with a double tunnel. That way you can wear your skirt over the inside tunnel and the outside tunnel will go over your skirt. This will stop any water that does manage to come up the jacket from going inside the underlayers in your jacket. It will just come back out!
- Keep the grab loop out and accessible! Going to get out of the kayak and realizing you're stuck because your grab loop is hidden under the cockpit rim just plain sucks. Make sure it is always easy to reach before you set off!
There are a lot of things spray decks are good as discussed above, but style is not one of them. So, if you have any tips on how to look less dorky in a spray skirt then please let me know!
Kayak: Pakayak Bluefin 142 portable sea kayak, Pyranha Ripper 2
Paddles: Gearlab Outdoors IPIK, Aqua Bound Shred
Skirts: NRS Drylander Spray Skirt, NRS Nylon Skirt, Seals Extreme Neoprene skirt, Seals Sneak Zippered skirt
PFD: NRS Zen PFD
Paddling Top: NRS Silkweight Short sleeved shirt, NRS Silkweight Long-Sleeve Shirt
Paddling Shorts: NRS Benny Board Shorts
Sunglasses: Wiley X
