RFH -> neoprene drysuit neck seal -> size adjustment

[themagni]

Hi, I have a request for guidance. I couldn't find any tips on the board or on google, so hopefully this is the right place to ask.

I bought my drysuit when I weighed about 20 pounds more than I do now. The neck seal leaks since I don't fit it anymore. All seals are neoprene, as is the suit.

Based on several discussions with other divers and some shop owners, I've figured out how to make it smaller. The plan is to cut out a V, glue the sides together with neoprene cement, sew the side together with waxed floss, and aquaseal the stitching.

The question is: how big should the neck seal be?

My neck is 14.5" in circumference. (That's smaller than I thought it would be) The neck seal on my drysuit relaxes at 16" in circumference at the very top. How much smaller should I make the neck seal? Is cutting out 1.5" the right thing to do, or should it be smaller to accommodate the stretch, or should it be bigger to accommodate the inwards folding?

The seal is older but perfectly serviceable. In other words, it was been broken in, but it is nowhere near in line for replacement.

Thank you.

 

[cbmech2]

What I would do in your particular situation is to start by adjusting the diameter to equal your neck circumference, plus an amount equal to half the thickness of the neck seal itself. One thing about neoprene seals is that they will stretch and will stretch to a bigger size once they wear. If the seal is still a tad small, you can stretch the neck seal over an object that measures the diameter desired and leave it that way over a couple of days to stretch it out. That should put you in the ballpark to a better fit once you shrink the seal using the method you described in your post. Hope this helps.

 

[spoolin01]

I'm coming at this a bit out of the blue, since I've only done a couple of minor seam repairs and hole-fills with Aquaseal, but it's easy to end up with a stiff mess at the glue line, not to mention what stitching would do. But then... I can't draw, either. An alternative to cutting the neck seal would be to make a spacer - a neck gaiter - to fill the gap between your neck and the seal. Apollo makes an ultra-stretchy, almost gummy, thin one (Bio-Seal) that my buddy and I both use and it improves the sealing contact compared to seal-against-skin. We stay drier now. Prior to finding this, she rented a crude one from the LDS, made from about a 5mm neoprene rectangle, 3-4" wide, butt-glued into a ring. No stitching that I recall. I'm thinking keeping the glue joint neat and clean will be key to the seal, and that might be easier with a thicker piece of neoprene than a thinner neck seal. Probably there are techniques for doing this in a more satisfactory fashion, hopefully someone will chime in.