Footwear

[Captain Smollett]

Okay, so I realize this is going to be STUPID set of question of sorts, but here goes.

When you wear shoes on board, what kind do you wear?  How picky are you about the shoes guests are wearing when they board YOUR boat?  Do you wear the shoes you wear aboard just out and about on shore (so sand and oil and other goodies get taken aboard)?

I'm aware that some boat owners get wiggy about people coming aboard with black soled shoes (like my Etonic running shoes).  This got me to thinking about the SailFar, KISS, "Cost Concious" approach to decent footwear for boating.

What about in heavy weather?  Does ANYONE here buy expensive foul weather boots from WM or other supplier?  If not, what do you use?

[Adam]

I don't wear shoes on board, generally speaking...  If it's cold, I'll just throw on my sneakers...

I also discourage guests from wearing shoes aboard.

[AdriftAtSea]

I wear my harken or columbia boat shoes during the spring.  Often have my Keen sandals on during the summer.  Sometimes wear dinghy boots when it gets really cold and nasty.  All of my shoes put together probably cost less than $200, and the bulk of that was probably the Keen sandals, which were about $75.  :D

As for guests...I generally request they were tennis or basketball shoes, or cross-trainers, all of which usually have white soles and are usually non-marking. 

[Fortis]

On the first day of owning Fortis (then named Speed Of Night) we accidentally spilled a very small amount of diesel on the deck (about 3/4 of a cup)...Within a short while of setting off the entire deck was an ince-skating ring. The diesel just seemed to get around to coating everything and even the nonslip parts of the deck we trecherous to get around on. It was hellish.

So we found something that works really well....





The stuff is a stabilised poly-propelyene product that lays like carpet and goes down pretty easy after some deck preperation.

IT IS BRILLIANT STUFF!!!!

Firstly it is non slip in the extreme. secondly it adds a little insulation fomr the sunlight hitting the deck so that the cabin is noticeably cooler.
Bjarky's paws find it no problem to galavant aorund on, and it is a vast improvement over having 70+ kg of dog slide around in perpetual skid mode.

It is also much more confortable to walk around on bare footed as the deck is never too hot or too cold.

Really love the stuff. One of the best things we decided to do to the boat.

As far as footwear goes (Remember that this thread was initialy about footwear?) having this carpet down means that we do not have to care what guests wear on board as long as it does not involve stileto heals. The deck just doesn't get marked.

I second Adrift on the dinghy boots, my prefered cool weather footwear is a pair of meaprene dinghy boots with really nice grip, worn over a pair of woolen socks. My feet get a bit wet, but also warm...which is considerably better then sea boots manage.

I also have my "formal" yacht club shoes, which are a pair of Rivers casuals, with nuetral boat soles.

In one of the lockers is a pair of retired running shoes with holes cut in near the bottom which I put on if I have to walk across sharp rocks or gravel and would otherwise be barefoot.

That's it.

Margaret has her pair of dinghy boots, and a few pairs of nuetral soled shoes for "good stuff" as well as her standard (she is not the varefoot kind), a pair of Dunlop canvas shoes with white soles.


Alex.

[Adam]

 ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

[Fortis]

errr...I do not speak emoticon...Pardon?


Is this a dig about having a shag-pile boat?
I got presented with a set of fluffy dice to hang off the boom when I first explained what I was going to do to my boat to some fellow sailors.

Alex.

[AdriftAtSea]

errr...I do not speak emoticon...Pardon?


Is this a dig about having a shag-pile boat?
I got presented with a set of fluffy dice to hang off the boom when I first explained what I was going to do to my boat to some fellow sailors.

Alex.

ROFL---  Do you have a masthead disco ball too??

[s/v Faith]

Footwear.




Footwear?




  I am generally against it.  :P




Deck shoes in the winter, or duck boots if it is really cold and wet, but most of the year I wear some kind of open footwear that I take off when I step aboard.

[starcrest]

actually this is a good subject.what I wear/wore depends on the weather.on the ruff nites when I had to go topsides at 3am to shorten sail I wore sturdy foot wear indeed.of equal importance was what to wear under foot---no cotton as it would remain wet too long polyester and dacron was/is the way to go.also---during the hot mid day sun----least yee say all that was worn was foot wear----thats all---I remember whilste motoring long ways the tiller head fitting would etch against my ankles----making me wish I had some high toppers----also I distinclty remember having to repair the bottom of the soles with sikaflex---and it didnot hold long either.nuttin wirse than a tuff new 60 grit sand in paint surface to scrape yer' knees either.however let me say that probably the worst thing to wear would be steel toed boots.I cringe when I see yioung kids in-line skating down the gang ways.

[Joe Pyrat]

No offense intended, but this discussion always reminded me of people who put plastic covers on their furniture.   :)

If the boat is a show piece (like show cars at a car show that don't really get used and are built exclusively for show competition) then I could see it, but if it is a working boat then it kind of seems like wasted effort to me. 

I generally don't wear any footwear on board but when I do I wear the same Tevas I wear ashore.  I do check them before boarding if I suspect I may have stepped in something and I do avoid walking through oil and stuff like that. 

While I've never had someone with hobnail boots try to get aboard, I would put my foot down here.  ;)  Just a common sense kind of thing.

I have never had a problem with the deck on any of my boats due to footwear damage.   Time and tide do eventually take their toll and new paint is needed, but so far foot traffic hasn't been a problem.

As to my entire shoe collection, bare feet, Tevas and a pair of sea boots.

[CapnK]

When I stub one of my toes, the air turns deep, dark blue for hundreds of yards around me, and I exercise every bad word in my entire vocabulary. I'll even make up a few words if it was a particularly hard whack.  ;D

So, I wear footwear on board usually. Over time, it has been whatever was my current footwear of choice. Right now, that means Crocs.

Crocs *rule*. :D I've never had more comfortable or more convenient footwear of any type. AFA shipboard use, they don't leave scuff marks, and I wear the style which has lots of holes in them (the "Beach"), so they drain fast. They are *very* slip resistant, to the point that sometimes they even 'catch' on a surface I am walking across, which in effect results in a stubbed toe. Now, that kinda defeats their purpose, but lets me exercise my vocabulary... :D

[Fortis]

Is it mandatory they be purple?
:-\


What material are they made from and do they "breathe"?


Alex.

[Joe Pyrat]

When I stub one of my toes, the air turns deep, dark blue for hundreds of yards around me, and I exercise every bad word in my entire vocabulary. I'll even make up a few words if it was a particularly hard whack.  ;D

Sounds like you mastered this sailorly art Capn, good on ya.  More grog!!!   ;)

[CapnK]

Alex -

They have lots of different colors, mine are tan, the pic of the purple ones was just easy to link to. :)

The material is some type of foam, they are very lightweight. The material itself doesn't 'breathe', but with all the holes in the shoe it ventilates well enough that they don't cause sweaty feet.

[Cmdr Pete]

Boat shoes. Don't really like the Sperrys. They bleed color. They also seem to get stinky fast (although I can't blame the shoes entirely for that :))

Timberland boat shoes are very tough. But, they take forever to break in. I think I liked the Sebagos best.

Have a pair or two of sneakers, Harken and
Rugged Shark (Sportsman's Guide) Work fine

Also have some water shoes (draining sneakers) for the liitle boat because I need to jump in the water. These just end up being sand filters, with the sand collecting inside. Don't know if there is a better option. Never did like sandals

For wet and cold I wear dinghy boots.

Just ordered a pair of these boats, a half size larger. Seemed like a good deal. Getting cold around here 

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=300419

I've never bought anything that wasn't on clearance sale.

I prefer if my guests wear some type of sneaker, only because somebody is going to step on their toes. Actually had one gal cry like a baby

[CharlieJ]

Summer time we wear what we wear around the house- nothing- bare feet.

Cold weather we wear wade fishing boots- the neoprene kind.

I have some Sperry topsiders for dress type wear- only good shoes I own other than western boots or sandals. Only thing is, they've changed the insoles from the old leather ones to some sort of composite with nylon like covers- they slide, slip around ball up under your feet, etc- I took 'em out and tossed 'em.

[Fortis]

Well, Both Margaret and I really liked the look of the Sportmanguide boots in the link....They are about the only sea boots that do not look more at home ona  slaughterhouse floor ("sailing across the world...in little white rubber boots").
The problem is that when I contacted the company I was told that they do not deal with international orders. At least this lot refraimed form accusing me of being some kind of terrorist (which really did happen when I tried to order a 12volt cigarrette lighter socket charger for our GPS. Some US folks really have gone all the way off the deep end in the last few years). Anyway, so while we may want or indeed even lust after the boots....we can't get them without a) a US bank account (The notion of just paying by Visa and having an account at Australia's major bank, seems insufficent nowadays). Paypal also yields a cold response.
I also would need to pay double postage as they would mail out to a US address I nominate, who would then in turn have to mail it to Australia...Adds about $60US onto the cost, no thank you.

So there you go folks. You have homeland security....no one on the outside need ever get a hold of the dangerous secrets contained in your commercially available sea boots. Unless they are in Canada, of course, in which case they will happily ship there, for an extra $10 handling fee.

Grrrr.


Alex.

[Captain Smollett]

Alex,

I don't want this to degrade to political side tangent, but that is just plain nuts.  ESPECIALLY when you consider Australia is part of the GWOT Coalition, fcol.

AND, when you consider those boots are imported anyway, it just gets ridiculous after a point.  Sperry Top-Sider is a division of Stride Rite, and I found this tidbit on their corporate site:

The Company imports substantially all of its products from independent resources in the Far East which manufacture footwear

Maybe there is an importer in Australia that brings 'em in under a different name?

[Norm]

There are only two issues with footwear that really matter.... I posit with complete and utter confidence....
1.  have a pair of sneakers or moccasins on board that never "go ashore."
2.  leave the darn things on deck... upside down so they don't collect dew.... at night.

The first I learned from an experienced old guy.  The road dirt and oil ruins traction of the footwear and makes the deck slick.

The second I read in a book by another experienced old guy, whose name I cannot recall.  He was a serious voyager and wrote  a couple of books.

When I was a kid we had a very cool boat but no sailing shoes  (credit mom and dad with cool priorities).  I split my foot open a few times and then learned where all the tow-stubbers were.  These days, I am mostly shoeless and not limping.  In chilly weather, nothing beats those outrageously expensive leather booties.

More to follow.
Norm