Coastal Jackets vs Ocean

[forsailbyowner]

I have an outer skin made of topgun canvas. To be truthful where I get the best use out of it is when riding in the dinghy on choppy wet days. Although on rainy stormy passages I will strip to naked and don the foulies when going on deck to eliminate all the wet laundry that accumulates so quickly. With a full enclosure I've never needed rain gear in the cockpit.

[Jimbo485]

Originally Posted by forsailbyowner

With a full enclosure I've never needed rain gear in the cockpit.

Yeah, me neither.

[noelex 77]

It very much depends on the type of sailing you intend to do and what the boat is like.
Good weather gear">foul weather gear is mainly needed racing. Sit on the rail for 12 hours crossing Bass strait and anything that can keep you vaguely warm and dry is bargain even at $1500.
Cruising tends to much more civilised. A good waterproof jacket is still needed, but coastal, or worse is fine. If the SHTF the adrenaline will keep you warm.

Ironically charterers always have much better foul weather gear (and sailing gloves !) than cruisers typically use.

[daddle]

A few nights out in the cold and wet - you'll wish you had the real gear. The name brand gear (H-L, Gill, etc) is way better than the discount junk (W-M, etc).

But I agree with Jimbo too. Many sissies out there. But many tougher too.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

it took me while to recognize that I had become so cold (in T-Shirt and shorts) that my fingers were turning blue.

It's at night when I can't see the squall approaching and suddenly there 30 kts and rain and so its reefing quick, not worrying about getting cold, but get cold we do!
I do try to tuck a reef in quick and put on a jacket before doing anything else. And some foredeck jobs can take much more than ten minutes.... My furling line gets out of the roller and ... Anyway, I know that's a hour on deck and even in the tropics on the bow where you get the spray one gets cold quickly. It's not a great problem because its only a short time, but if something else goes wrong you have already depleted the ready reserve of energy.

But he way, on heavy gear I have never like the jackets that wrap around the face. It hurts unless clean shaven, and claustrophobic...


Mark

[noelex 77]

Even the best stuff does have limitations. This is my wife coming back in the dinghy

[bobconnie]

Cold !! We hate it !! We did our snow cruiseing!! and then we just chased the warm weather around the Pacific, and the Carribe for 20-30 years!! LOL We carry oil-skins, and longies, heavy socks ect but work hard to never need them !! And of course we Always have Pilot house boats !! LOL So I guess we are just Old Pussys ! Thats Ok I can live with that ! as long as the weathers warm !!!

[S/V Alchemy]

I have found that Musto bibs, Gill sea boots and a long-armed Banff rain jacket suitable for spring skiing has worked for me offshore, but I believe I will go "full ocean" on the basis that I might have a reason to be on deck between 40 and 50 N or S for unknown periods. While I approve of the "wear only a harness, a teather and enough footwear to keep your toes out of the cleats and sheets and enough grip to take a heeled deck" au natural look, I know that if we had to take to the raft, I'd want full foulies I could remove as needed.

Hypothermia can creep up on you even at the Equator, given a cold-enough squall.

I think it depends on latitude, the date ranges and one's prior experience with "technical" clothing. I was once a bike courier in a Canadian winter and knew that hat, gloves and boots could be worn with long bike tights and canvas shorts well into winter, but you don't move enough on watch to keep warm unless you move around, and if you move around, you will generally get wet in any kind of "get the boat moving" weather.

So experiment in crappy, cold coastal weather. Let your results guide you.

[Stumble]

I got the best off shore I could find when I was racing offshore regularly. After 600 miles of either being on watch, or sleeping on the rail ANYTHING that could keep me warm, dry, or prevent rub rash was a blessing.

Since those days however I don't think I have put on the jacket more than once, and the bibs just a handful.

I would buy good coastal gear unless you are sailing regularly in high latitudes, and just be wet from time to time. Remember it can take 10 minutes to get fully suited up properly in the offshore stuff, most Carribean squalls don't take that long to blow past.

[S/V Alchemy]

In the Caribbean, I wore shorts and a rain jacket. I agree that the squalls are fierce but brief. Fun for all and an excuse for a tot afterwards.

[jackdale]

I love my HH offshore bib pants. Waterproof, breathable and comfortable. I have worn them in the tropics, delivering real wet race boats. I hate being wet. I also appreciate the Kevlar seat and knee pads.

I wear a Gill Atlantic (5 dot) jacket when needed. I also wear Dubarrys when needed. I pamper myself (notice that is not capitalized)

[Paul Elliott]

I like the breathable gear. I have a Musto HPX suit (jacket and trousers), and it has served me well for two Hawaii round-trips. The first three days out of San Francisco can be cold and miserable, and during the race we hand-steer 24/7). When it's really cold I wear a thermal layer or two, then a salopette, and then the FWG. Add good boots, waterproof insulated gloves, and a fleece cap under the rain-hood. and even while the rain and seas are attacking you can be almost comfortable during your trick at the helm.

I was wearing the same gear during a recent short hop from Victoria (Vancouver Island) to Friday Harbor. It was only about 30 miles, but we were in near-freezing rain, and I had to be on the side-deck for five hours watching for logs and dead-heads. Afterwards, my inner layers were dry as a bone.

Sailing in the tropics, when the squalls come I usually just use a light windbreaker for a top.

I've used lighter-weight Gill and West Marine FWG, and honestly it's pretty good. The Musto HPX (ocean-style) stuff is just a little tougher, and seems to hold up better. Some of the details are nicer, but that's probably a judgement call. My Gill suit gave me several good seasons of hard use though. Climbing and trekking gear is OK, but it really isn't designed for waves hitting you face-on. FWG details like double elastic cuffs, high collars, and heavy-duty wear-resistant patches on the knees and butt are worth it.

Of course the value of these various features will depend on where and how you sail.

[circumnavbute]

Hi, I have tried nice breathable suit's and still have one for each person on board but find that sailing in the colder wetter climate around Scottish waters we prefer the Flexothane bib and brace over trouser's and the same in a jacket. The weak point is the zip on the jacket which allways goes after some heavy use.but @ around £45 for both we now use nothing else. I do wear layers underneath depending on the time of year.and going out in all extremes find them the best value and the quickest to put on/take off. but from a fashion point of view they need imagination. But had 2 inches of rain one day last week and only a cpl of damp patches round neck. I like staying dry so not worried what I look like out at sea.

[WMarineCanvas]

The good gear doesn't get used so often but when it does it's worth so much more than you paid for it. Despite what some people might think I have found that the best gear for cruising in bad weather is racing gear. A decent pair of salopettes or bibs made for small-boat racing combined with either a coastal foul-weather jacket or a pull-over smock is the best gear. If you wear it on its own then you won't risk over-heating because the gear is designed for high physical activity. If you layer up under it you could go to the poles as long as your layers are good.

Also, just a word about sailing around, on or close to the equator and how one shouldn't sail in more than caribbean shorts and t-shirts:
- A good Caribbean breeze can make even a warm day feel quite chilly if your boat is not the kind that provides bone-dry sailing from the cockpit (and sometimes even if it does)
- When I sailed from the Galapagos to the Marquesas we were very close to the Equator the entire trip (and crossed the equator on the way) and I can tell you that after dark it was wintry cold even in the cockpit for the person on watch (and this was a boat with a full enclosure), combine that with the steadily marching squalls lined up on the horizon several days of the trip and it would've been miserable crossing the equator IN JUNE without my offshore foulies.

Just my two-cents.

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by WMarineCanvas

Also, just a word about sailing around, on or close to the equator and how one shouldn't sail in more than caribbean shorts and t-shirts:
- A good Caribbean breeze can make even a warm day feel quite chilly if your boat is not the kind that provides bone-dry sailing from the cockpit (and sometimes even if it does)
- When I sailed from the Galapagos to the Marquesas we were very close to the Equator the entire trip (and crossed the equator on the way) and I can tell you that after dark it was wintry cold even in the cockpit for the person on watch (and this was a boat with a full enclosure), combine that with the steadily marching squalls lined up on the horizon several days of the trip and it would've been miserable crossing the equator IN JUNE without my offshore foulies.

Just my two-cents.

Make that 4 cents.

When we left Lahaina for Vancouver last summer, I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. One wave later I was wet, I think the shorts and t-shirt were damp all the way back; they were hanging on a hook. By the next watch I wearing foulies and closed toe sandals - very comfy.