The PaddlerUK magazine July 2015 issue 3 | Page 72

P D L RUK 72 A DE g www.nswatersports.com w THE UK S ULTIMATE ONLINE www.nswatersports.com 01642 520234 01642 520234 www.nswatersports.com 01642 520234 PADDLESPORT STORE! 01642 520234 in association with in association with in association with in association with The Royale spraydeck by Immersion Research www.immersionresearch.eu By Phil Carr www.unsponsored.co.uk www.nswatersports.com 01642 520234 For the past few years I have been using Immersion Research (IR) decks for both play boating and creek duties. Now they have set out to create a leading Class V spray deck – one that would hold up to the punishment unleashed on it by the most extreme paddlers in the world. To achieve this, the material used must be robust to survive tough walk-ins/outs, offer superior implosion protection and fundamentally ensure that water has the most difficult of times finding its way into the kayak. For most of my paddling career (28yrs+) I have used Play boater decks and it has only been Immersion Research who have been able to tempt me away from the brand. Prior to getting hold of the Royale I have owned a couple of IR decks for a number of years.The first is a rand based (more on that later) skirt the Special K and the bungee based Klingon Empire. Now if you combine the features of the Special K and the Klingon Empire you get The Royale.The Royale features the finned rand from the Special K with the materials and construction of the Klingon Empire. The rand: The rand is essentially a thick rubber band that is glued to the neoprene deck material.The rand has a tri fin design profile that allows it to seal really well against pretty much every boat I have tried it on.The rand has a relatively low stretch and can be a little difficult to attach to certain boats. As expected it is harder to attach to a boat than the bungee based Klingon Empire but not overly so. Fitting it to the boat overnight prior to its first use certainly helped. The system is incredibly dry and the seal even around shallow cockpits is extremely good.The deck has been mainly used on my Dagger Jitsu and Wavesport Recon and I have experienced zero water getting into the boats, which I find utterly astounding. Kevlar: Around the high wear areas IR have used a Kevlar based 4-way stretch material. If you spend a great deal of time on the water, find yourself hiking through the bush on a portage or are generally harsh on your gear this extra re-enforcement is a must.