Grundens gear for cold-weather sailing on Lake Superior

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by DarwinHolmstrom

Googled it! Apparently a grundle is the medical term for what the kids are calling a "taint" these days.

Technically Grundle and Taint are both slang for what is referred to as the Perenium in the medical community...........but I digress.

Grundens are probably the most popular weather gear">foul weather gear worn by professional fisherman.

[DavidMRea]

Originally Posted by DarwinHolmstrom

I plan to spend next year getting familiar with my new home on Lake Superior, then head out to the Atlantic and down to the Bahamas the following year. After that, who knows? The girl I'm buying seems capable of taking my grundel anywhere.

Intrigued. Not that I'm planning this, but how do you get past Niagara?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by DavidMRea

Intrigued. Not that I'm planning this, but how do you get past Niagara?

The Welland Canal.

Niagara's Welland Canal

[DarwinHolmstrom]

I'm already on the maritime alerts list for the Welland and Erie canals.

[rmlarson1098]

Originally Posted by DarwinHolmstrom

I'm going to spend much of the next few weeks sailing on Lake Superior and am shopping for cold-weather gear today. The Grundle stuff looks solid. Does anyone recommend that or anything else?

Yes, Grunden. I've worn a 'smock' (pullover) I guess you'd say, in pretty much the worse weather imaginable. Navy blue, partial zipper in front, with a decent hood and strong elastic cuffs. 2 zipped pockets in front.
They run a little snug so if you want to wear lots of stuff underneath, buy larger than normal.
Love their old-school rain hats, too, but the admiral would prefer that I didn't wear it in her presence.
I like all Grundens stuff. Durable and won't break the bank.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by DarwinHolmstrom

I'm going to spend much of the next few weeks sailing on Lake Superior and am shopping for cold-weather gear today. The Grundle stuff looks solid. Does anyone recommend that or anything else?

Yep, it looks solid and for the price, it'd damn well better be. For what they're asking you could easily shop HH or Gill. Given that you have all that hunting gear, wouldn't an army surplus poncho do the job for a lot less money? Used one once to cross the Molokai Channel during small craft warnings when it was raining so hard I couldn't see the companion way from the helm (which is not very far in a 30' boat) but the bugger kept me dry. Dry but stupid - I should have never have been there in the first place.

[DarwinHolmstrom]

Originally Posted by joelhemington

Yep, it looks solid and for the price, it'd damn well better be.

West Marine was out of virtually everything Grunden; the only gear they had in my size was Gill, which was freaking expensive, but I needed it by tomorrow morning so I didn't have a lot of options. I loaded up on gill rain gear and fleece, then went sailing for four hours in the rain. I was pretty happy with the results. It held up so well today in a cold rain that I think it will be a good choice for Lake Superior in what is looking like a cold, wet September.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by DavidMRea

Intrigued. Not that I'm planning this, but how do you get past Niagara?

Typically via the Erie Canal; sailboats have to unstep the mast at Buffalo.


As Mike points out, the Welland Canal is also a possibility as it directly bypasses Niagra Falls allowing passage from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. This requires a more northerly route to the coast which is usually less practical for cruisers but which does have the advantage of allowing the mast to be left up.

[DarwinHolmstrom]

Originally Posted by Jammer

As Mike points out, the Welland Canal is also a possibility as it directly bypasses Niagra Falls allowing passage from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. This requires a more northerly route to the coast which is usually less practical for cruisers but which does have the advantage of allowing the mast to be left up.

I'm in the process of buying a ketch, which means I'll have two masts to unstep if I go the Erie Canal route. But I've always wanted to visit the Maritime Provinces so having a ketch motivates me to go that route. That will mean storing my boat on the hard one more winter and spending one more winter in the Great White North, but that's the route I'm leaning toward right now. Plus I have friends in Quebec and Maine that I'd love to visit.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Typically via the Erie Canal; sailboats have to unstep the mast at Buffalo.

What's the depth limit for the Erie from Buffalo? Not sure what our OP draught is, but this might be a problem. He's also got a ketch, so carrying two masts on board will be twice as fun .

Originally Posted by Jammer

As Mike points out, the Welland Canal is also a possibility as it directly bypasses Niagra Falls allowing passage from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. This requires a more northerly route to the coast which is usually less practical for cruisers but which does have the advantage of allowing the mast to be left up.

Well,... it depends on where you are cruising. For me, sailing the St. Lawrence River has been one of the highlights of my cruising life so far. And since them, my time in Newfoundland has been incredible.

Almost everyone wants to rush south. I say warmth and easy sailing is over-rated. Come north my friends. The cruising is grand and the boats are few.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by DarwinHolmstrom

I'm going to spend much of the next few weeks sailing on Lake Superior and am shopping for cold-weather gear today. The Grundle stuff looks solid. Does anyone recommend that or anything else?

The thing is that Grunden makes a wide variety of wet weather gear, so it is hard to generalize. There is a lot of difference between a Grunden Shoreman Hooded Fishing Jacket for $55 and a Grunden BUOY X GORE-TEX Jacket for $479.99.

There are many brands. West Marine, for example, which Judy is happy with. I use Henry Lloyd Offshore Ocean Racer gear, which I bought to do Hobart a few years back and I love, but it's a bit warm for Mexico.

It depends on your anticipated usage. If you expect to be offshore in cold weather, for a couple of days, make sure you can stay dry, good gear is really essential, and use layers to stay warm. .

If it is day sailing, in a harbor every night, you can spend a little less, but still enough to stay dry.

Boots! Get boots.

Here is a story: I signed a couple of cruiser wannabe's to do a 10 day passage in the southern ocean. They had drug store rain gear. I said "No way, you get some good gear or you don't go."

They bought two sets of West Marine Third Reef gear. On the second day the foulies went on and they lived in it for the next nine days. No regrets, and I never had to worry if they could take another cold wet watch.

[DarwinHolmstrom]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

What's the depth limit for the Erie from Buffalo? Not sure what our OP draught is, but this might be a problem.

The Shannon 38 that I'm in the process of buying is a full-keel boat with a 5ft draft. It should be good for both canals and blue water. If I go the St. Lawrence Seaway, I'll probably go in the late spring of 2022 and spend next year cruising the Great Lakes. Even though that means having to pull my boat out for yet another winter, it also sounds like a lot of fun. and I'd get to see the Maritime provinces, which I've always wanted to do.

[DarwinHolmstrom]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Boots! Get boots.

I ended up getting Gill OS24 jacket and bibs, which were freaking expensive, but after spending almost four hours sailing in the rain today, I'm not complaining about the price. I may have made a mistake with the boots, though. I got deck boots because I have a messed up ankle that makes putting long boots on difficult, but the deck boots were too short for a long day in the rain. Luckily I was able to seal the cuffs of the OS24 bibs tightly over the tops of the boots and my socks stayed dry all day. My gloves, however, were completely soaked. The captain of the boat on which I will spend the next three nights on Lake Superior (I'm buying the boat from him, but when he's on board he will always be her captain) told me to get two pairs of gloves. He was not wrong about that.

[Muaddib1116]

I haven't figured out a good glove solution yet. Obviously for cold weather sailing, you can use any number of high quality waterproof insulated gloves, but for warm weather in extended wet weather, I have yet to find an essentially un-insulated waterproof glove.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by DarwinHolmstrom

I ended up getting Gill OS24 jacket and bibs, which were freaking expensive, but after spending almost four hours sailing in the rain today, I'm not complaining about the price. I may have made a mistake with the boots, though. I got deck boots because I have a messed up ankle that makes putting long boots on difficult, but the deck boots were too short for a long day in the rain. Luckily I was able to seal the cuffs of the OS24 bibs tightly over the tops of the boots and my socks stayed dry all day. My gloves, however, were completely soaked. The captain of the boat on which I will spend the next three nights on Lake Superior (I'm buying the boat from him, but when he's on board he will always be her captain) told me to get two pairs of gloves. He was not wrong about that.

Gill is good stuff. I've had the OS2 jacket and bib/pants for a long time now. Never lets me down, although most of the time I'm fine with a thin windbreak and layers.

I often wear a touque when cold weather sailing. Amazing how much warmth you can retain that way. As for gloves, I think I mentioned that I now use motorcycle gloves. Those are the only ones I've found that give the warmth, waterproofness and dexterity. Although, again, most of the time I don't wear anything.

For footwear I too have a screwed up ankle that precludes a long boot. I've gone a different route. I use neoprene booties with a flexible non-marking rubber sole. I wear insulating socks to keep warm, then gortex socks to keep my feet dry. The booties have good rubbery soles that stick to the deck, and make it easy to run (or crawl) around when needed.