I'm relatively new to outrigger paddling, but want to continue to paddle as long as possible this fall (on Lake Ontario).

Do people wear dry suits (too expensive), wetsuits (full or farmer john?), or other clothing if they want to keep paddling when the air temperature drops to (or below) freezing?

I know this isn't a DB question, but given the increasing overlap between the DB community and the outrigger community, I thought there might be some good advice here.

Check out the same topic name on www.ocpaddler.com forums for lots of good info on the topic.

Stay close to shore , wear PFD when water is cold , use leash , do not paddle in conditions beyond your skill ( wait till water is warm to push envelope) , do not paddle untill you are very tired ( no energy reserves if you huli). You can also find calmer (safer) place to paddle , behind breakwall or in Humber or Credit rivers.

Dressing for fall paddling depends on the day. This is not such a difficult task because the air temperature is cooler and the water temp is not that cold yet. I typically wear a pair of wet suit pants, but do have wet suit shorts if the air temp is unseasonablly warm that day. On top if it is really cold I could wear a dry top with a lifa type undershirt. That is typically quite hot for fall. I could wear as little as a t-shirt or layer it with again lifa type shirts or even put a wet suit vest top under the layers again if it is cool.

Winter it's a drytop with layers underneath depending on the air temp, with again wetsuit pants and boots.

Spring is the hardest time of year IMO to dress for as the air temp can be quite warm, but the water temp is deadly cold. The trick is to not overheat while training, but still be able to handle a cold dunk if you huli. Having a catastrophic equipment failure is difficult to plan for. Always wear a leash!! Also best to paddle with two buddies or stay close to shore. You'll want one buddy to go for help while the other buddy hauls your shivering self onto their boat. You should not be out further than you can swim in unless you have someone with you. Spring swims are typically very short one way or the other.

OCpaddler.com is a cool resource, lots of excellent paddling experiences to utilize. Enjoy your paddling. Drop me a line if you want to paddle out whitby way.
Jeff

The saftety tips in the above posts are good. I do not wear dry or wetsuits. I prefer to dress as I do when skiing. Several layers of lifa , fleece with rain paints. Gloves or mitts(much better ! ) with gripping palm and thinsulite lining. Allways PFD when water is less than 10C. This is comfortable down to -5 or -10. I have tipped a bunch of times in 0C water , it is not bad if you get out fast.

I think jeff's combos are good although I try and avoid cotton t's any which way. They tend to saturate either with sweat and or water and DO NOT wick the moisture away from you body. Thin neoprene 3 mil max is good. keeps a thin layer of moisture on the body, which warms up to keep you somewhat warm. LIFA and or any polypropolene type material is ideal... and yes a ton of common sense and planning the worse case scenario are also great tips to keep in mind.

October 21 , 1st paddle in a snow storm this year.

I use the drysuit pans and booties from MEC with long john underneath. I use an excel 1mm shirt, with a light jacket over tiop and i can even be in the water for 5 min and be ok. I have spent lots of time paddling in these conditions and I find that works best. The Xcel stuff is key.

I have a pair of drysuit pants and used to pair this with a less expensive dry top with lifa underneath. The problem I had was I sweat so much that I was pretty much soaked underneath anyways (like paddling in a garbage bag). Of course I was warm while paddling but putting the boat away gets a little chilly in January. I have recently started using a more expensive dry top made of gore tex to see if this helps, but I haven't really had much of a chance to test it out yet. The wet suit pants depend on the moisture to keep you warm so the more you sweat the warmer you stay when you stop paddling.

I'm an overheater but if you are not the drysuit may work fine. If you are an overheater dry suits wouldn't be my first choice. The dry-pants paired with a breathable top should reduce the sweating but a huli would end your session if the air is really cold.

I don't have a farmer John as I was told that it can be restricting. MEC sells a wetsuit vest that can be paired with pants to be quite similar to a farmer John. Since they are not attached there is more freedom of movement. It doesn't restrict me anyways. Damn, maybe I have to work on my rotation a bit more. Hmmmmmm.
JW

I paddle most days in drysuit pants since they are comfortable, but one caveat, if you do have to swim far, they can be trouble. My pants seal great at the ankle but not so good at the waist. After a wipe out once I had to swim 300m metres back to shore (since my ama broke away from my boat, while riding a surf break) This was VERY DIFFICULT, my pants filled with water and became very heavy, water was entering throught the waist. Good thing I had a life vest on.

Now if I am paddling on bigger or days with potenial for a trouble I use the wetsuit pants since they are much easier to swim in.

just to comment on the drysuit option... A few years back i was very avid boardsailor. I used to sail right up to the first snow and for the most part used a dry suit. Spring, early summer fall I have used one piece neoprene. Trust me you spend quite a bit of time in the water particularly when you are waterstarting (lifting the sail above your head while treading water to get back onto your board. This is the only way of getting on your board when you are sailign high wind conditions on a small sinker). the long and short of it is, drysuits are great and will keep you warm. The downside they can get a little bulky when you are trying to move around. The old drysuits were acutally a bag and had from time to time the zipper would blow open, your suit would fill with water... and in some extreme cases has almost drowned some people. Unless you can get a water tight seal I'd be careful on the dry suit. I would even suggest duct taping your the cuffs, ankles. If you are wearing just pants again I'd suggest getting a one piece or suite that will seal water tight around any area to prevent any water getting in.

I personally think the thick neorprene pant and top along with poly underneath should be a good combo.

Any comments about choosing between a one piece farmer john suit or a separate neoprene pant and vest? Is a one piece suit too restricting?

I paddle out west year round so have a bit of experience with paddling in cold weather and cold water. When it starts to get nasty out I always wear a farmer john wet suit and neopreme booties. (nothing worse than cold feet!!) I usually wear a pair of lightweight rain pants along with either a paddling jersy or some type of sweater depending on the temp. I've been upside down in some very cold ugly weather and have never had any trouble.
Quick story. A team I was paddling with huli'd one day in Feb. Three of the six paddlers (OC-6) were wearing westsuits. By the time we got back to the dock three of them were in early stages of hypothermia. Any guess's on which three? Hint: It wasn't the ones wearing wetsuits....

Wet suites are not the only way to prevent hypothermia. Layers of fleece , poly-pro will do the same. Wool helps as well. NEVER , EVER wear cotton anything !!
I have dumped @ -5C and paddled 2hr. home . No problem , once you start paddling you are no wetter than from sweating.
Of course , you should never be 2 hours from home in the winter.

I use an NRS Ultra John in Seattle, w/ layers underneath or on top depending on conditions. When it's really cold and wet, I have a thick rashguard w/ an attached neoprene hood(Henderson)that I wear under the wetsuit. Yes, the farmer john is a little restrictive, but if you huli you won't get your pants full of water. A lot of sea kayakers here wear drysuits (kokatat brand mostly), but these are pricy and really hard to swim in if it comes down to that. Safety is even more important in the cold, even here in Seattle where it's rarely below freezing. I think it's better to overdo it, and then take off layers if you get too warm. Also, polypro socks under the booties are key.

check out the last issue of Dragon Boat World International. There's a great article on cold weather paddling.