One of the common things people can struggle with when getting into kayaking is putting a spray deck on. This can be especially true when you get your first neoprene spray deck after using a fabric spray deck.
First up you need to make sure that you have the right sized spray deck for your boat. If you're not sure which size is best, just ask us or measure the external length and width and compare that to the manufacturers size guide.
It is important to bear in mind that neoprene spray decks are harder to get on and do require some effort, but hopefully this guide will help.
1. When getting in your boat always make sure you're not sitting on the back on you spray deck as it is hard to get out while you are sitting on it.
2. Always put the spray deck on around the back of the cockpit first. Then work it around as far as you can with your hands – ideally to just in front of you at each side.
3. Slide your hands forward to about 10 and 2 on the ‘spray deck clock’ for the heave over the front of the cockpit. These hand positions may vary with the deck, boat and person but try to have them as wide as possible while leaving enough leverage to stretch the deck over the front lip of the cockpit.
4. You can use your elbows/forearms to a certain extent to hold the deck on the rim, stopping the spray deck slipping off while you're stretching it forwards.
5. On tighter decks you may just have to get the very front of the deck on the cockpit rim first, and then roll the sides on with a spare hand while holding the front of the deck on.
Top Tips
· Don’t use the grab handle to pull your deck on, hold onto the shock cord
· Make sure you leave the grab handle outside the boat
· Getting your spray deck wet (ideally fully wet!) makes it much stretchier!
· You can always get a mate to help!
· When you first buy your deck, you can leave it on your boat to help it stretch
