I searched the archives and found some brief info of spray skirts, so I am looking for opinions on how much of an actual  advantage they offer in wind and waves?  Lake paddling only, not whitewater.  I know they help, but by what kind of margin? 
I will be making only my 3rd  solo trip this year in mid September.  I bought a set of beautifully made and fit Cooke covers for my solo canoe years ago, but never encountered enough bad conditions to use them.  At least part of my trip this year will be on bigger water. So I do not want to be over confident with them in use, only to find out the difference is minimal.
Yes, I know, find some bad water locally to test them.  That does not seem to work for a variety of reasons I will not bore you with.

Thanks for the help.

MossBack

I do not own a set for my solo (yet), but I have talked to Dan Cook and Bob O'Hara about them. They both have said that another advantage that you did not list is warmth. I do know that racers use them to keep the wind from slowing the canoe by grabbing the inside of the hull. So I would say if you have it and are paddling large lakes in late season "snap it on".

I had Dan Cooke outfit my Prism with a spray skirt several years back.  What Fallguy says about "warmth" is definitely true.  That being said, I haven't really used the skirt all that much since most of my travel occurs during summer months.  I don't need that warmth and I don't really care all that much if it rains.

I think the value of spray skirts for lake-travel-mostly canoe campers can be found primarily in the shoulder seasons.  It's colder then and staying dry & keeping your gear dry is more important. 

I suspect there is something to be said for being more aerodynamic but I don't think I'd buy a skirt with additional paddling speed in mind.  As far as dealing with waves in big water, well, fortunately I haven't had the "pleasure" yet of a real test when the skirt was on.  There's bound to be value there, if you know the odds of big wave splash are significant.

My biggest issue with the skirt is how best to handle it during portaging.  No matter how you deal with it, it consumes more time and can get a little frustrating during a multi-portage trip.  I'm sure there are more effective techniques for managing it than what I use.

My bottom line: I put the spray skirt on when I solo in the months of May and October... and maybe September.

Jimbo   8-)

Skirts will really help cut down on how much your canoe gets  pushed around by wind, especially cross winds. In a way it nearly halves your wind profile as the wind only gets to push on the outside walls of the boat, not the outside and the inside walls.

Been a long while since I took a science class, but if the wind is flowing OVER that canoe cover, doesn't it exert some downward force to give some added stability in choppy water?

All this talk about skirts is making me pine for PJ's kilt and pipes. Maybe we could have some bagpipes in the background as we browse QJ? Just a thought... ;)

Back to skirts, and those that wear them, and those who are skirtless. Let's not skirt this important issue. 8-)

My canoe skirt is plaid.

solotripper wrote on Apr 11^th, 2016 at 3:48pm:

Been a long while since I took a science class, but if the wind is flowing OVER that canoe cover, doesn't it exert some downward force to give some added stability in choppy water?

If you mean like an airplane wing (Bernoulli effect?) It would lift I think, not force down.  I doubt it's significant either way.

It's always been the portage issue that has kept me from considering skirts.

The Bernoulli effect on an airplane wing certainly lifts the plane up by creating a low pressure area due to the difference in the speed of the air flow.  But a canoe probably does not lend itself to the Bernoulli effect for several reasons.

For unknown reasons, I have a hard time even contemplating airflow over a canoe skirt having any relation to Bernoulli and airflow on the surface of an airfoil....but, posts regarding the wearing of a skirt, plaid or otherwise, really brings a mortifying and crazy mental image, especially with any amount of airflow above or below.... :D  :D

Quote:

brings a mortifying and crazy mental image, especially with any amount of airflow above or below.... Cheesy  Cheesy

You have NO idea how close your are  ;) ;D ;D
Maybe the plaid skirt wearer will grace us with a pic of the "formal" plaid garment and the "casual" canoeing/camping one.  :-? ;D ;D

You mentioned going solo and using a canoe cover. All of the feedback you've gotten so far is true as far as my experience, warmer, better handling in the wind, but hassle while portaging or just getting to things,,
It might be useful if your canoe had a really low freeboard, or maybe a tandem where your weight isn't towards the middle, or low volume in the bow like a racing canoe.

But I doubt you'd like it for tripping with lots of portages. It's mostly done while river tripping and paddling through run-able whitewater. If a lake was raging, the fight would be more constant, and not very much fun IMO.

Some racers duct tape cheap plastic covers over their solo canoes as a temporary deck in the early season. Seems like the wind is worse and the warmth is nice, but they're not tripping. Still it's a cheap way the test it out.

Thanks to everyone who offered their thoughts.  I understand the portaging issue is a problem so I will ponder that a while.   My hope in buying the cover was to give me a bit of an edge paddling solo in the wind, which I have done very little of.  As time goes on I also find myself being interested more in the shoulder seasons, more so late in the year than early.  My solo an older Mad River Independence, and is only 11 ¾” deep at the center.   Cross winds and trailing seas tend to put water inside if the cover is not on, where headwinds are not so bad.  As to the issue of being warmer I will not be able to get full benefit from the velcroed apron, simply because I do not have the nerve to use it.  The thought of being upside down in the water and needing the presence of mind to undo the closure around my midsection does not sound like a good game plan for me.  My paddling time using the cover has been with the front and back pieces reefed, or at least the apron itself reefed. 

I will take it with me in mid September and try to sort out some of the questions.

Thanks again for all the help.

Regards,
MossBack