Hello from Nevada County

Hi,

New to the forum. I've done salt and freshwater fishing in the past, foothill lakes kayaking currently.

Just got myself a 2018 Jackson Coosa FD, starting to outfit it for fresh and salt.

I haven't used a wetsuit since I lived in SoCal back in the mid 80's. From research I've done, it looks like the water temps from SF Bay up to Crescent City range from 50-60 throughout the year?

Will a full suit 2/3mm be enough get back in the kayak, or survive until the CG boat/chopper comes to get me? Should I go thicker?

Is bottoms and a full jacket OK or do I really need the full suit?

There ends stream of consciousness...

Thanks

Richard

 

Welcome aboard Richard 

Welcome, Richard. 

Welcome Richard to NCKA....Don't be a dick     This will make sense if you are active on this site.

Welcome Richard to NCKA....Don't be a dick     This will make sense if you are active on this site.

But... that's my name... 

Welcome, eL.

I'm partial to a dry suit (technically, a "paddling suit"). Lots of discussion of this topic here, but you might need 10 posts to see the good stuff..

Welcome Richard 
I myself use a 3mm farmer John wetsuit. It works but I’m envious of those dry suits getting splashed around in the early mornings.
My wetsuit does the job I need and I’m happy wearing the one with the relief zipper. It easy to strip down to my waist when it gets hot.

Welcome to NCKA, Richard.  "Dress for immersion" is the rule.  The water up here along the Humboldt coast was in the high 40's early this season when the winds were causing heavy upwelling.  I wear a 6 mm farmerjohn under my drysuit most of the time, but when it's warmer I sometimes wear a 3 mm fj under it.  Sometimes I'll just wear a wetsuit, but I like the combo.  The wetsuit stays dry under the drysuit, and that's nice and silky.  The drysuit gets all wet with paddling drips, fish slime and blood, and that works for me.

Find what works for you and conforms to the level of safety standards that you believe in.  One of the great things about this community is that we have a culture of safety, and we share it with one another with the knowledge that we are being judged and will very likely be regulated at some point by the powers that be (USCG...).  Many people here do not dress for immersion all the time because they think they won't go in the water - at some point this will lead to a rude awakening and possibly a tragedy.  Dedication to standards that will save your life in the worst situations is much like having airbags in your vehicle - you hope to never have them deploy just like you hope to never be treading cold water for more than a few seconds or minutes.

Other safety issues to consider for the ocean revolve around navigation and communication.  Having at least one compass and at least one GPS is the standard - redundancy is wise.  Having one VHF, more and more, is seen as minimally prepared.  Redundancy in VHF's is possibly the biggest issue separating hobbyists from hardcore enthusiasts or pros. 

Best of luck.   

Hey Richard, welcome 

Hello.
Former Nevada County resident and NU grad here. Now living in the Sacramento area