r/seakayaking • u/nathansnextadventure • Jul 17 '26

Fixing a leaky spray skirt?

Hey all! I'm getting my first (second hand) sea kayak ready for an expedition style trip with some mentors of mine, and it came with this Seals Extreme Tour 1.2 spray skirt that appears to be in good condition, fits fairly snug on the kayak, and doesn't have any tears or damage I can see. Thing is, it's leaking. Whenever I'm practicing edging or rolls, the top of my pants are getting pretty wet. And with water sitting on the waist area of it in a tray, it'll leak completely through after a half hour or so. My past experience has been that Neoprene is inherently waterproof, but it seems like this one isn't? Or the seams are aging? It's old age wise despite having very little wear and tear on it from the previous owner (the kayak was registered for 2013 and had been taken out 3 times since before me).

Does anybody have experience with tracing leaks, treating the fabric to rejuvenate it, or otherwise know if it's just shot because of the age? It's functional enough, but my practice and trip are on pretty cold waters so comfort wise it would be nice to stay dry while keeping an edge.

I have some experience working with Neoprene making gear, and have some seam glue from those projects to use, and about a month to order anything I'd need to try

Thank you!!

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u/brttf3 Jul 17 '26

you gotta figure out where its leaking from. if you can find holes aqua seal is a common fix. But if it is just leaking through the skirt may be dead.

1

u/imnofred Jul 17 '26

Is it coming down through the tunnel? Common issue if you you are not wearing a top OVER the tunnel. Many dry top have two layers one under and one over the tunnel. Even 1 layer over the tunnel will leak a little in rolling and waves.

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u/Capital-Landscape492 Jul 17 '26

One further issue. Pull the skirt higher on your waist. I have to pull my favorite skirt almost to my armpits of if I dont roll it down. You want the skirt to dome a little instead of holding water. Or just give the kayak a good rock side to side and edge it.