Hi, Peter.
Sausage shaped draught excluder?
Easy DiY project:
1. Get a strip of material of the right length plus 4cms. The width should be the circumference of the sausage you need plus 2cms. (Any material will do but if you’re buying it get something quick drying)
2. Fold in half lengthways (good side, if it has one, in)
3. On a sewing machine, using appropriate thread, sew across one end. Do it twice for strength .
4. Sew, double again, down the length thus making a tube, sealed at one end.
5. Turn the whole thing inside out - or rather, outside out . (!)
6. Stuff with anything that won’t hold water. Polyester padding, cooker hood filter material, even old tights. (With a wife, four daughters and four granddaughters I have an endless supply of those.)
7. Sew up the open end as neatly as you can by tucking in the edges then over sewing. (I had to do this by hand, not being adept at this sort of thing.
The resulting draught excluder will be very light, so use stick-on Velcro to hold it in the right place.
I used this idea (a long tube of Hessian, coiled and lashed) to make a crash mat/cushion for “Four Sisters”. Rope is easier but soon gets waterlogged. When this thing gets wet either whirl it around your head or hang it up to drip dry. To be honest, a square of closed cell foam (old KipMat) does a better job as a cushion but will blow away if you don’t sit on it.
Another use for laddered "pop socks" (For any crusty old bachelors out there, these are socks made from the same sheer nylon as tights.)
Pull pop socks over the rubber feet of your drysuit. Protects the rubber from cuts when hopping about on one foot trying to put the damn thing on but, more usefully, makes putting on dinghy boots much less of a struggle, even when dry. Very slippery and adds no bulk.
