: Hey All,

: I'm finishing my Sea Ranger, hopefully ready to paddle this coming
: weekend. I'm discovering the difficulty in finding a
: sprayskirt/tuilik option I can afford and will fit this cockpit.
: I went with the 22x16 option specified.

: I'd appreciate any recommendations for both options including
: design recommendations if you have any.

: Thanks so much!

: Eric M.

Hi Eric-

I wouldn't buy a spray skirt or tuilik. I'd make an aquilisaq (Greenland-type spray skirt) or tuilik. Chris Cunningham has plans for an aquilisaq in his book on building a greenland kayak, and you can build it out of neoprene or coated nylon. I use one, it works great. You can get a pattern for a tuilik from Qajaq USA. It's not difficult to make. I used the custom hood pattern maker on qajaq.nl web site, and it fits and works great, even though it was my first sewing project of any kind. There is also an article on making one in the most recent issue of The Masik on the Qajaq USA web site. You can order neoprene from a number of sources, like Seattle Fabrics, Aleeda Wetsuits, or Pertctex Plus. Seattle fabrics is more pricey on neoprene, but they also carry bungee, Melco seam tape, and neoprene cement, so it's one-stop shopping. If you make an aquilisaq, you'll have enough neoprene left over from a full sheet to make a cockpit cover from the most recent issue of The Masik as well and a pair of mitts from an earlier issue, I forget which one. If you make a tuilik a full sheet will leave you enough to make the mitts.

m