How To: Stretch a Sprayskirt

To prevent water leakage and implosion, you want a neoprene-deck sprayskirt to fit tight to your kayak cockpit coaming. However, if it's so tight, you have trouble getting it on the rim or pulling it off in an emergency. In this video, we show you how to stretch the skirt a bit.

[@danbolton3180]

O.K. I put mine on the boat while I was wearing it. I tried to extricate myself, but my two artificial knees locked up. I got help. It’s just better.

[@deetee-uk]

Doesn't the sprayskirt shrink after it dries out?

[@MrJnboise]

Newb Question: If I can get the skirt on the cockpit, why would I need to stretch it?

[@NRSWEB]

Thanks for the question. New sprayskirts can be super stiff or tight and people may have a hard time initially getting it on their cockpit. On the other hand, if you can get it on the cockpit, but it's still super tight, you may have a hard time pulling it off during a wet exit. Stretching the sprayskirt would help in both of these situations. If you have any more questions please reply to this message or call us at 800.635.5202.

[@GooshawnXD]

Thanks for the tips! I tried getting mine on while not even being in the kayak and after 20 mins gave up. I will try getting it wet 1st next time! Any other how to video just shows how 'easy' it is. Ugh!

[@TheDcrocks1]

What was the outcome? Any good results?

[@nicolasmoreno5134]

How much do they stretch

[@NRSWEB]

Hi Nicolas, They can stretch alot but at the extreme limit they become very difficult to put on. If you're doing casual kayaking its probably not worth struggling to get the spray skirt on everytime you get in and out of the boat. If you're doing more whitewater especially into class 3 and 4 thats when you need a skirt that is fits good and tight to avoid implosion.