Hi all.
This will be my first winter sailing. I have just been looking at clothing. To outfit myself and 2 sons will cost more than the boat I bought.
Any suggestions for more affordable clothing please. I will need dry and wet weather along with shoes.
Cheers
BJ
keep your head, hands feet warm!!
Head, any good beanie
Hands, try washing up gloves under your sailing gloves. Keeps hands dry
Feet, Ronstan boots are warmest as far as rubber boots go or try Sealskin socks (fully waterproof) under sandals or cheap runners.
Then for wet weather gear, smocks are hard to beat, Burke or Ronstan are pretty cheap. Wear some thermals underneath and maybe a polar fleece (buy smocks a bit big). Even a cheap Burke spray jacket will do, around $120 each
Go bib and brace trousers, should be able to get Burke for around $120 a set.
www.burkemarine.com.au/collections/harbour
How old are your boys? I have a brand new Ronstan smock going cheap (unwanted prize)
for low budget stuff you can try ski gear from op shops. motorcycle gear is another option.
i recently bought some new Musto wet weather gear for really good prices off eBay (UK sellers). some of the brands update their ranges every year, and older season's stock is heavily discounted...
for low budget stuff you can try ski gear from op shops. motorcycle gear is another option.
i recently bought some new Musto wet weather gear for really good prices off eBay (UK sellers). some of the brands update their ranges every year, and older season's stock is heavily discounted...
Wow. That's thinking outside the square.
Dressing in layers is the way to go. A singlet or t-shirt, fleecy polo and a breathable jacket (or Ronstan red spray) will do the job. For pants, go to an op shop and buy an old bottom half wetsuit, or a full one and have it cut down. As mentioned above, beanie (over the top of cap, will reduce the water intake) and cheap dinghy sailing boots. For steering in winter, I use a pair of ski gloves.
In a previous life I had the use of an airport tarmac jacket. Heavy as, but it was so warm.
Dressing in layers is the way to go. A singlet or t-shirt, fleecy polo and a breathable jacket (or Ronstan red spray) will do the job. For pants, go to an op shop and buy an old bottom half wetsuit, or a full one and have it cut down. As mentioned above, beanie (over the top of cap, will reduce the water intake) and cheap dinghy sailing boots. For steering in winter, I use a pair of ski gloves.
In a previous life I had the use of an airport tarmac jacket. Heavy as, but it was so warm.
Thanks EC
Wool is perfect for on a boat. It stays warm even if wet and has a natural antibacterial quality, so doesn't get as smelly. Have a look around the op shops. You'll get a feel for the quality after looking around a while.
If you can afford it, some outdoor stores sell merino base layers. The wool quality varies and it's good idea to shop at the factory outlet stores like at Birkenhead in Sydney. Aldi often have them on sale too.
I'm so glad my boat has a heater.
Burke jackets and overalls are cheap and good quality ...... Their sea boots are slippery though.... Pays to spend more on good seaboots ....
For seaboots I use 'Bogs'. They look a bit agricultural but work fine. Used the heaviest model of Bogs going around Cape Horn and stayed toasty warm, better than all others on board. Now I use them in winter on the farm for motorbike work. +1 for old woolen layers from the op-shop, too.
It barely gets cold enough in winter to put my wet weather musto gear on. Youre in enclosed waters and live in a temperate climate. Just go.
A slight bit off-topic, but indulge me please. My jacket leaked like a sieve recently. Any recommendations for restoring waterproofing?
I bought some gear here after hearing about them on o/s forum ....could not be happier ![]()
decathlon.com.au/
just checked and they have some good discounts now
Save
get those fleecy ski bands that go around your neck, you then cover up the parts of your neck that other stuff misses
I tend to skimp a bit on the upper layer, rather than spending a million bucks on heavy high-tech outer layers. Throw a bit more at layers underneath, as others have said. A thin merino long sleeve shirt goes on first, followed by a Marmot fleece jacket and then a light spray top. A standard Mountain Design (?) pair of waterproof trousers down below over the top of merino long johns. With gloves etc it keeps you warm even when doing the old Shorthanded Sailing Association offshore winter series, which included overnight racing and windy racing in the dead of winter.
I've been lent a really high tech outer layer and it was great, but too heavy and $$$y. The expensive outer layer is also a bit limited in use, whereas the other stuff is useful for skiing or cold days ashore.....which means that here in Canberra we use it a lot!![]()
One trap I once found was having thermals with cotton cuffs. 95% of the thermal almost dried out quickly - but it sucked the water out of the cotton cuffs and the whole thing stayed damp. Stupid design. Details count, and simplicity is sometimes the best detail.
A slight bit off-topic, but indulge me please. My jacket leaked like a sieve recently. Any recommendations for restoring waterproofing?
Wongaga, I used Starbrite Waterproofing on my leaking like a sieve Bimini with excellent results. Whitworths have a 473ml spray pack for $25.95.
For the Bimini, I purchased a 1 gallon (4ltr) for about $70 from somewhere(?) in Australia.
Make sure you don't get any on your deck - it makes it very, very slippery.
regards,
allan
Thanks everyone.
Wool thermals
Woolen top
Spray jacket
Beanie
Waterproof pants
And thinking wetsuit booties as i like sailing bare foot.
Sounds a good list. I would just add be carful with the water proof bottoms. The thin hiking ones are prone to shredding. Have tried ski pants and they work well to a point. I was getting wet knees from zipper air vents and a wet bum if sitting in a pool of water on the rail.
I went for a set of gill os2 and the jacket is overkill unless you are on watch at night off shore, the pants with the high cut are great. You can wear them plus a shirt or fleece just for warmth and can protect from the odd splash.
That extra height can also compensate for a short jacket when leaning over
i just bought some of their cheap fingerless gloves as an experiment. completely synthetic but hard to complain too much at $12 a pop. ok for lending to friends who come sailing...