No, we did not use a spray skirt. The only inflatable kayak we know of which you can fit one to is the Itiwit x500. With the Sandbanks, most of the water that splashes in drains to the drain well under the rear deck well.
Hi, the Sandbanks Optimal is 90cm wide in the middle. You need fairly long paddle of at least 230cm wide to paddle it solo. I bought a 250cm wide Werner Camano paddle and one of the other guys bought a 240cm wide one since we generally use wide inflatables which are 90cm-100cm wide. The included paddles that come with the Sandbanks are 230cm wide, so just about wide enough to use it solo. I just prefer the wider paddles because they avoid you sometime scuffingyour wrists on the sides of the kayak when paddling.
I have not tried the Chelan but I have seen a couple of them out when I've been paddling. The Chelan has low pressure side tubes but higher pressure floor, whereas the Optimal is entirely high pressure drop stitch, so they are different types of kayak. I think that Chelan will be a bit lighter to carry but the Optimal will be more rugged and streamlined on the water.
