As usual, I don't have $150 - $200 to shell out for kayaking stuff, so I decided that I could make my own dry top. My wife did the sewing, although I modified the pattern and did the seam tape. Not counting labor, the top came in at $40 in materials.
It is probably more accurate to say that it's a semi-dry top, since the neck seal is adjustable, but otherwise, it passed the shower test this morning and kept me totally dry, with the exception of a little bit of seepage at the neck line. I think that may be due to difficulty of taping the layers of fabric there. I sealed the outside nicely, but water, obviously gets in through the grommets and then makes its way through the inner neoprene seam. I'll probably apply some Aquaseal to that problem, we'll see. I do have some latex neck and wrist seals laying around, but I thought the neoprene would be more comfortable, and almost as watertight, without being so fragile.
I used the Crater Lake Pullover pattern #769 from Green Pepper Patterns, although I can't find that pattern on their site anymore. I picked up the pattern on eBay for about $5.00. I'd think that any of the fleece pullover patterns would probably also work. Plus, you wouldn't have to modify the pattern as much. The jacket pattern I used was supposed to have insulation and contrasting colored facings and insets. I left all of those out of it and cut the front as one piece and the back as one piece, instead of three pieces for each as called for in the pattern. Less seams to seal. Also, the Fairbanks Pullover, #124, looks like it would make a nice expedition style drytop.
Anyway, the details: Fabric is Ultrex 3 layer, waterproof and breathable; tight, neoprene cuffs with velcro straps to give it an even tighter seal; Mustang style adjustable neoprene neck seal; neoprene waist seal. All of the seams are taped so that they're waterproof. The whole jacket took about 5 yards of seam tape! For the wrinkly waist and wrist sections, I stretched the neoprene tight so that any wrinkles between the neoprene and the fabric went away, then ironed on the tape, let it cool, and then moved on to the next iron sized section of seam.
One other thing I'd like to do is make a top with a double tunnel, so that the sprayskirt could go between the two, but I didn't want to tax my wife's patience with my sewing requests. I can't wait to hear what she says when I tell her I want to make a drysuit! On and in the water testing will happen whenever I can get away from work for a bit for some paddling.
The fabric looks grey in the photos, but it's black. The neoprene is 2mm at the neck, 3mm at the waist and the wrists.
The original pattern:
The outside of the jacket:
Detail of the Mustang style adjustable neck seal:
Inside of the jacket. The black lines are waterproof tape:
http://www.blackdogkayaks.com/drytop.html
It is probably more accurate to say that it's a semi-dry top, since the neck seal is adjustable, but otherwise, it passed the shower test this morning and kept me totally dry, with the exception of a little bit of seepage at the neck line. I think that may be due to difficulty of taping the layers of fabric there. I sealed the outside nicely, but water, obviously gets in through the grommets and then makes its way through the inner neoprene seam. I'll probably apply some Aquaseal to that problem, we'll see. I do have some latex neck and wrist seals laying around, but I thought the neoprene would be more comfortable, and almost as watertight, without being so fragile.
I used the Crater Lake Pullover pattern #769 from Green Pepper Patterns, although I can't find that pattern on their site anymore. I picked up the pattern on eBay for about $5.00. I'd think that any of the fleece pullover patterns would probably also work. Plus, you wouldn't have to modify the pattern as much. The jacket pattern I used was supposed to have insulation and contrasting colored facings and insets. I left all of those out of it and cut the front as one piece and the back as one piece, instead of three pieces for each as called for in the pattern. Less seams to seal. Also, the Fairbanks Pullover, #124, looks like it would make a nice expedition style drytop.
Anyway, the details: Fabric is Ultrex 3 layer, waterproof and breathable; tight, neoprene cuffs with velcro straps to give it an even tighter seal; Mustang style adjustable neoprene neck seal; neoprene waist seal. All of the seams are taped so that they're waterproof. The whole jacket took about 5 yards of seam tape! For the wrinkly waist and wrist sections, I stretched the neoprene tight so that any wrinkles between the neoprene and the fabric went away, then ironed on the tape, let it cool, and then moved on to the next iron sized section of seam.
One other thing I'd like to do is make a top with a double tunnel, so that the sprayskirt could go between the two, but I didn't want to tax my wife's patience with my sewing requests. I can't wait to hear what she says when I tell her I want to make a drysuit! On and in the water testing will happen whenever I can get away from work for a bit for some paddling.
The fabric looks grey in the photos, but it's black. The neoprene is 2mm at the neck, 3mm at the waist and the wrists.
The original pattern:
The outside of the jacket:
Detail of the Mustang style adjustable neck seal:
Inside of the jacket. The black lines are waterproof tape:
http://www.blackdogkayaks.com/drytop.html
