: Luke-
: Is that a Gore-Tex or non-breathable dry top at REI?

I believe gore-tex - if i'm wrong about that, I definitely won't be buying it, so for the sake of argument, let's assume gore-tex.

: What's the water temp where you paddle?
: Can you imagine a situation where you would come out of the boat?
: ie do you have bombproof roll?
: Or, re-enter and roll?

I've never rolled once in my life (can't practice my greenland technique until I finish my greenland boat :), but I plan on practicing it (on safe, warm water, or near the shore) until I can do it with ease and confidence. So let's assume I won't be in any potentially dangerous water without the ability to confidently roll in almost all situations.

: I think all those factors could make a difference in your decision,
: and would help getting good advice.
: Dry suits are expensive, but the farmer john wetsuit was really hot
: when paddling (and cold after it got wet) in my experience .
: Tricky choice.

Mostly paddling in SE Michigan where the water is either pretty warm (summer and fall) or small enough to just swim ashore if it's cold and I have to wet exit. Generally speaking I imagine I'll just be using a spray skirt (or nothing at all if I'm just toodling around my lake).

I would like to be prepared to do summer paddling on the great lakes though where it is cold pretty much all year, but generally close enough to just swim ashore in emergencies. Winter paddling is a possibilty, but will probably only happen rarely and when the weather is very docile. I'm thinking cold surf, pictured rocks, etc are the types of situations I'd want a dry top or tuilik.

A full drysuit is pretty much totally out of my price range regardless of where I plan on paddling. If there's some paddling situation that wouldn't be safe (or unbearably uncomfortable) without a drysuit (i.e. drytop or tuilik + wetsuit doesn't cut it), I just won't do it.

My options seem to be:
DIY spray skirt + DIY tuilik + wetsuit bottom where wet exit into cold water is possible
DIY spray skirt + dry top + wetsuit bottom (dry top replacing DIY tuilik)

Advantages of dry top over tuilik (in my head):
1) Don't need to make a tuilik
2) Not much more expensive than DIY tuilik (compared to dry suit at least) (if I make a gore-tex tuilik, $15/yard + notions I imagine $100 difference max)
3) Possibly a little more adjustable for comfort on the water (can just remove dry top instead of switching to spray skirt - maybe this is silly)

Advantages of tuilik (still in my head):
1) Not terribly hard to make (I have experience making gore-tex stuff, made a raincoat last year)
2) a little bit cheaper
3) Probably a little more comfortable to paddle in? Never paddled in either so I can't say.

Thoughts?