How to Make a Kayak Skirt

A kayak skirt, also known as a kayak spray skirt or spray deck, is a piece placed around the waist to seal the cockpit of the kayak and prevent water from entering the top of the boat. It must fit properly so that it is easily removed when necessary and yet provide a good seal. A kayak skirt is typically made of neoprene, nylon or a combination of both.

Things You'll Need

  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Kayak
  • Scissors
  • 2 pieces of plywood, 1/2-inch, 2 feet x 4 feet
  • Nails
  • Hammer
  • Jig saw
  • Fine-grit sandpaper
  • Measuring tape
  • Sheet metal
  • Tin snips
  • Duct tape
  • Neoprene
  • Cutting wheel
  • Nylon iron-on patch
  • Iron
  • Bungee cord
  • 2 needles
  • Thread
  • 1-½ inch wide nylon webbing, 16-inches long
  • Clamps
  • Marker
  • Neoprene cement
  • Seam tape
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Instructions

  1. Making the Spray Deck and Torso

    • 1

      Place a sheet of paper over the cockpit of the kayak. Use a pencil to trace around the coaming. Cut along the traced lines with a pair of scissors to create a template. Nail two 2- x 4-foot-pieces of one-half-inch plywood together. Use a hammer to drive a nail into the center of the plywood. Place the template on the plywood and trace the outline on the wood.

    • 2

      Cut along the lines with a jig saw. Be sure to cut through both pieces of plywood. Remove the nail and separate the pieces of plywood. Sand the edges with fine-grit sandpaper.

    • 3

      Measure your waist with a measuring tape. Add one inch to the measurement. This will be the waist size for the torso. Cut a piece of sheet metal to 10 inches wide with a pair of tin snips. Cut the length to the waist size for the torso. Roll the cut sheet metal into an oval and join with duct tape. Cover all the edges with duct tape.

    • 4

      Place one of the plywood deck pieces on a piece of neoprene. Cut the neoprene one inch wider than the deck. Use a cutting wheel. Reinforce the tip of the neoprene with a nylon iron-on patch. Use a hot iron to attach a 3-inch x 1 1/4-inch crescent-shaped patch on the edge where the grab loop will be placed.

    • 5

      Wrap a piece of bungee cord around the coaming on the cockpit. Cut the cord to size. Sew the strap together with a needle and thread. Thread one end of the thread through a needle and thread the other end through a second needle. Weave the needles back and forth across the ends of the bungee cord.

    • 6

      Place the cut neoprene over a deck piece with the iron-on patch facing down. Center the bungee strap on the front of this piece and wrap it around edge of the second deck piece. This is the shock cord. Pull half of a 16-inch long piece of 1 1/2-inch wide nylon webbing under the bungee cord grab loop between the plywood and the bungee cord.

    • 7

      Push the grab loop under the plywood and place it on top of the other deck piece. Place clamps on the sides to hold the pieces together. The neoprene will be between the two pieces of plywood. Sew together the nylon webbing, grab loop and neoprene. Trim the neoprene one-quarter-inch from the shock cord and pull the neoprene off of the plywood deck. Sew the nylon webbing together on the open end and sew the other end to the shock cord.

    Assemble the Kayak Skirt

    • 8

      Place the deck over the cockpit on the kayak and position the sheet-metal torso. Trace around it with a marker. Draw an oval one-half-inch inside the traced line and use a cutting wheel to cut along the inner mark.

    • 9

      Cut a nine-inch wide piece of neoprene to a length that is one-half-inch less than the waist measurement. Apply neoprene cement to the ends and press them together. Apply neoprene cement to the circle in the neoprene spray deck and to the bottom of the waist tube. Pull the pieces around the waist tube and press the edges together. Remove them from the waist tube and press firmly along the edges. Allow the cement to dry for one hour.

    • 10

      Attach seam tape to the inside and outside seams on the waist tube. Use the "silk" setting on an iron and press on the tape for 15 seconds. Allow the tape to cool and use the iron to press down any loose edges. The kayak skirt is complete.