I get out of my kayak and fall down on my hands and knees.
I’m thinking “Maybe I just lost my balance, no big deal.”
I get up...only to find myself on my hands and knees again . I had no sense of balance.
All I really wanted to do since I moved to vancouver island is get in my kayak and enjoy
exploring the beautiful islands I could see.
There are so many little coves to stop and just soak up the beauty.
My vision was similar to what I’ve been doing for most of my adult life.
To get out in nature where I feel most at home.
I’ve enjoyed Backpacking, ski touring, snowshoeing, river rafting.
Going on outdoors adventures is what lights me up.
I think the sea kayak is the best way to appreciate what this area has to offer.
The first step is to get out on the water with my new kayak and practice some skills.
I want to make sure I’m ready to handle the conditions that could come up.
I find a quiet hidden cove to practice the balance brace.
My plan is to learn how to brace and roll with ease.
But there’s something very unique about being in cold water.
In every other adventures I went on, there was always good clothing I could wear that
would allow me to be comfortable enough to enjoy myself.
Even when snowshoeing in the Yukon mountains in 50 below temperatures, I had the sense
that I could keep myself warm.
Now in the kayak, I’m finding myself getting colder and colder as I practice my skills.
Even while wearing what is supposed to be the ultimate clothing for sea kayaking.
I already tried everything.
I started with the farmer john wetsuit.
Then moved up to a dry top/dry pants combination.
I avoided the dreaded neck gasket of the full drysuit for as long as I could.
I finally gave in and decided to sacrifice comfort.
Thinking “there is no other way.
And at least I’ll stay dry and warm.”
And here I am getting my neck strangled.
Wearing a 7mm neoprene hood on my head.
And I’m still getting cold.
To the point where my inner ears are so freezing I can’t even stand up on my own two feet
anymore.
“Why isn’t there kayak clothing that is comfortable for paddling.
Something that would also keep me protected while I’m in the water.
“ “something that can keep me toasty warm
no matter what conditions I find myself in?”
After researching it I concluded that “I’m going to have to create my own kayak gear.
“ I get a $60 sewing machine from walmart.
Buy some waterproof fabric.
And some heat applied seam tape.
Apparently you can apply with a clothing iron.
I never touched a sewing machine in my life.
I go to the library and come back with 12 books about sewing.
I start creating a jaket with a waterproof hood.
The seal on the face is a major problem.
I try it out on the water and the whole thing leaks like a sieve.
Turns out the iron on tape doesn’t work well for me.
I even turned and old drill press into a press to see if more pressure would help.
It didn’t.
It still leaked at the seam.
The thin fabric I was trying out was cheap, and a good way to test the design, but after
a couple times out it was leaking.
I buy better fabric, only to find out my sewing machine does’t work on this fabric.
I’m just getting thread tangled up and getting more frustrated.
After a lot of time and money spent, I’m not getting any closer to having kayak
clothing for my adventures.
It seems like a mission impossible.
And I think I only kept trying because of how desperate I was to kayak in comfort.
One of my friends with whom I paddled at the time thought I was crazy.
He’d tell me “Stop reinventing the wheel.
The drysuit is the best kayak gear.
” But I can’t let it go.
I still have this dream of getting out there in paradise, and being comfortable.
I want the freedom to practice and develop my skills anywhere at anytime.
Of being able to handle whatever conditions come up.
And stay protected and comfortable.
I want to enjoy being on the sea the same way I enjoyed nature when I was backpacking.
To feel like I belong there.
I never wanted to be an outsider struggling against the elements.
I didn’t dare tell anyone this at the time but secretly, I thought there was a new kayak
jacket that needed to be invented.
And I wanted to be the one to do it.
“Surely I’m not the only one who needs this”.
Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be self employed.
But I never had the guts to go for it.
I was thinking maybe this could be my first business.
I had to make a choice.
Give up on the whole idea of creating my own kayak jacket, or invest in the equipment that
could make it possible.
I had to admit this was not just about making gear for myself anymore.
I had a vision of creating a new revolutionary kayak jacket.
At the very least I would need a seam taping machine, and an industrial sewing machine.
I already knew about the tuilik the Inuit of Greenland wore when hunting from their
kayaks.
I read about how they were made of sealskin.
And they had a special way to seal the seams using a special waterproof stitch.
I think the Inuit are extremely ingenious, and practical.
I thought, “if there’re using the tuilik it’s probably perfectly suited for sea kayaking”.
The plan was to follow the Inuit design of the tuilik, but with modern waterproof/breathable
fabric.
It would require overcoming some serious challenges.
For the hood to be comfortable and waterproof, it needs to be fitted to the paddler.
The tuilik would need to be customized to fit the cockpit of the kayak.
And the paddler.
I don’t know of any successful manufacturer that sells directly to the consumer.
So this is a bit of an experiment.
I’ll never forget the first time I took my tuilik prototype for a test.
The seams were professionally sealed.
I finally had a face seal that was waterproof, with wrist gaskets to keep the water out.
And for the first time I was using high quality fabric.
I’m in my kayak with a mask and snorkel.
I drop down to get an underwater view.
I come back up.
Still warm and dry.
I do a balance brace.
Totally warm and comfortable.
Relaxed.
That’s the moment I realized I had done it.
“This is what I’ve been trying to do for years.”
Actually it was even better than I had expected.
I never realized before this moment, how much the sprayskirt restricts movement.
And how comfortable it is when you don’t have anything squeezing your torso.
I can finally practice the techniques I’ve been wanting to master.
In comfort.
Anytime I want.
I can just stop in a nice place, stretch into a balance brace.
And keep paddling.
With my hair still dry.
And more importantly, there's none of that cold water in the ears that can cause me to
lose my balance and fall over.
I discovered a new appreciation for what the Inuit had invented.
The clothing, the kayak and the techniques all work together.
You become something that belongs out there on the sea.
I don’t look for extremely rough conditions, but if it comes up I don’t worry about it,
just put the hood on and paddle through it.
If I capsize no big deal.
I stay warm and dry.
I know I have the skills to handle it, because I practice regularly.
In real life conditions.
I feel like I belong in nature again.
Like I did when I used to go backpacking in the mountains for weeks.
I don’t go on a trip without the tuilik.
The only time I don’t wear it is when it’s too hot for anything more than a shirt.
The same friend who was saying “you’re crazy for making your own kayak gear”? He
ended up being one of my first customers.
And soon I had a wait list.
For those who appreciate it as much as I do…
We don’t want to paddle with anything else.
if it didn’t exist, I would have to create the comfort paddling tuilik.