Greenland-Style Tuiliqs

To seal themselves into the cockpits of their kayaks, the Native Greenland paddlers often use a tuiitsoq. You'd recognize it as a sealskin version of a sprayskirt. It cinches around the coaming and under the paddler's armpits and is held up by a pair of shoulder straps. However, the tuiitsoq is "only meant for fair weather sailing in the spring and summer," according to H.C. Petersen, author of Skinboats of Greenland. When the weather turns cold and the seas rough, the Greenlanders don tuiliqs, paddling jackets that seal tightly around the face and wrists and attach directly to the cockpit coaming. The tuiliq not only seals the kayaker into his kayak, it provides good protection from the cold, and unrestricted mobility for the broad range of Greenland bracing and rolling techniques. When I wear either my wetsuit or my dry suit and a neoprene hood, my neck is still exposed, and my neoprene hood may cover my ears-which are susceptible to injury by exposure to cold water (see "Osteoma," SK, Feb. '96), but it doesn't protect them from water forced in by rolling. The tuiliq has good protection for both of these areas, and eliminates the possibility of taking on water between a sprayskirt and a paddling jacket.

Brooks Wetsuits of British Columbia has been making neoprene tuiliqs for Greenland paddlers for about six years, but hasn't marketed them here in North America. I didn't know their tuiliq existed until I saw the one used by Greenland kayak champion Maligiaq Padilla.

The seams of the Brooks tuiliq are glued on the inside and sewn on the outside. Its hem has a rubber-side-out sleeve around a bungie cord that seals the tuiliq to the cockpit coaming. While the cut of the tuiliq is designed for small Greenland cockpits, the extra-large tuiliq I tested fit cockpits in sizes ranging from the 22" by 15" cockpit of my traditional Greenland kayak to the 31" by 16" cockpit coaming of a typical North American fiberglass kayak with an adequate amount of stretch. The sleeves fit snugly at the wrists and forearms to seal out water, yet they are generously cut around the elbow and shoulder to allow an unrestricted range of motion for paddling. Velcro straps at the cuffs provide additional compression for the neoprene at the wrists. The hood has a long drawstring that runs in the hem around the face opening. Drawn tight, the string seals the opening around your face and the extra length wraps around the crown of your head to hold the hood in place.

The Brooks tuiliq is very well suited for rolling. Its loose mid-section provides unlimited flexibility for torso rotation and lay backs. The hood protects the ears and the neck, which can lose body heat quickly. Even while I was doing rolls that call for capsizing face-first into the water, no water got past the face seal to my ears. After 10 or 15 minutes of rolling, I got some seepage of water in through the cuffs and face opening; enough to wet my skin, but not enough to chill me or collect in the cockpit. Nylon webbing suspenders support the "skirt" of the tuiliq and keep water from pushing the tuiliq into the cockpit opening.

Even though a wet exit is not compatible with the Greenland style, I was curious to know if the loose fit of the neoprene around my torso would provide any warmth if I were in the water. After a wet exit, I was surprised at how much air the tuiliq kept in it when I came to the surface. The air buoyed up around my chest and shoulders and provided a lot of flotation. By tucking the skirt of the tuiliq in between my legs, it provided some thermal protection for my groin and kept water from circulating around my torso. With my legs crossed and hands folded over my chest, I floated comfortably in the water. The seal around my face let only a little air out if I worked my jaw around but, for the most part, the fit was airtight and maintained the air bubble. I'd still recommend wearing a thermal protective layer under the tuiliq, but I was surprised by how much warmth and buoyancy it provided while I was in the water.

While the Brooks tuiliq is too warm for cruising in the heat of summer, I think it is a great piece of apparel for paddling in cold weather and rough water, and it is excellent for rolling practice.

Superior Kayaks offers a tuiliq in Gore-Tex. The Superior tuiliq, according to the manufacturer, was designed as touring apparel-more for comfort while paddling than for immersion wear.

It does not have suspenders to hold the front of the skirt up, so a bit of water-not enough to worry about-can pool in the front of the tuiliq where the fabric sags into the cockpit. For the coaming of a modern recreational kayak, the hem of the tuiliq is drawn tight around the cockpit coaming with a bungie cord. For a traditional coaming without a flange, the tuiliq is secured with nylon cord. The cuffs fold to fit around the wrist and are secured with Velcro straps, while the face opening is drawn tight with a cord with a sliding cord-lock. There is a hand-warming pocket on the chest. The seams are double stitched, but the fabric edges are not hemmed. In the hood and shoulder areas they are sealed with silicone sealant: It is not as fancy as using heat-sealed seam tape, but it does keep water from seeping in.

The Gore-Tex fabric doesn't create the same airtight seal as neoprene and, during rolls, some water did trickle in around my face where the cloth puckers around the drawstring and through the cuffs where the fabric is folded back on itself. Even with the seepage, my ears and neck were still well protected from the water.

For cruising, I'd wear the Superior tuiliq under my PFD, if for no other reason than to have access to the equipment that I keep in my PFD's pockets. Since it is cut full enough to fit over a PFD, you could carry the tuiliq in a deck bag and, if the weather took a turn for the worse, pull it over your PFD, paddling jacket and sprayskirt.

The breathabililty of the Gore-Tex is an advantage over the neoprene tuiliq for keeping the paddler dry in soggy weather and a bit cooler in warmer weather.

Although the wrist and face seals and the seams of the Superior tuiliq aren't state-of-the-art, it is an economical and functional paddling garment for cold-weather cruising, and should appeal especially to aficionados of Greenland-style kayaks and equipment.

Both Brooks and Superior make mittens for their tuiliqs. The Brooks neoprene mittens seal well over the tuiliq sleeves and have plenty of finger room. Superior's Gore-Tex mittens have wide openings that make them easy to put on. They're meant for protection from wind and spray, not immersion. Neither the Brooks nor the Superior mittens have enough friction to get a good grip on a slick, synthetic paddle shaft, but on the oiled wood shaft of a Greenland paddle they work fine. The Superior mitten also comes in a double-thumb version that can be turned around. This feature helped Greenlanders get a fresh grip when one side of a sealskin mitten became soggy and slippery. Gore-Tex won't get as slippery with use, so the double thumb is a bit of a novelty and a nod to its Greenland ancestry.