A cure for slippery soles on sailing boots

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TimfromMersea

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Boat at West Mersea, Essex. Live in Wivenhoe, Esse
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If your prized leather Dubarry, Henri-Lloyd, etc boots have soles that have become hard and slippery, or soles that have just crumbled away, then these people -East Coast based, of course! - can help:-

Dubarry Repairs - Repairs for Dubarry boots, shoe, coats and bags | Sport & Leisure Boot Repairs

i have just had my Henri-Lloyd Shadow boots resoled by them. The old sole was crumbling away and the boots were too slippery to wear on deck. They have completely replaced the soles with new Italian Vibram marine non slip soles. I tested them today on the boat and the grip is wonderful on both wet and dry decks. I’m really pleased with the repair.

Not a cheap service - my repair was £85 including return postage- but of course the Government‘s cut of that is £16 or so! - and a lot cheaper than new boots.

I can thoroughly recommend this service and of course I have no connection with the company other than as a customer.
 
TimfromMersea said:
If your prized leather Dubarry, Henri-Lloyd, etc boots have soles that have become hard and slippery, or soles that have just crumbled away, then these people -East Coast based, of course! - can help:-

Dubarry Repairs - Repairs for Dubarry boots, shoe, coats and bags | Sport & Leisure Boot Repairs

i have just had my Henri-Lloyd Shadow boots resoled by them. The old sole was crumbling away and the boots were too slippery to wear on deck. They have completely replaced the soles with new Italian Vibram marine non slip soles. I tested them today on the boat and the grip is wonderful on both wet and dry decks. I’m really pleased with the repair.

Not a cheap service - my repair was £85 including return postage- but of course the Government‘s cut of that is £16 or so! - and a lot cheaper than new boots.

I can thoroughly recommend this service and of course I have no connection with the company other than as a customer.
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Thanks for that recommendation. I’ve got a pair of Henry Lloyd boots which weren’t cheap ten years ago. Whilst the uppers are still in vgc the soles have hardened into lethal slippery surfaces. It would be very satisfying if I could get some new life into them.

Mike
 
Brilliant! Thanks for the tip.

My Shadow boots have gone hard and I've been very frustrated about not being able to get them re-soled. Now I can, yippee!
 
Please let us know in due course how the non-slip qualities last. My 20+ year old Dubarrys have just (last year) been re-soled again (and new liners I suspect) by Dubarry for £65 and are as good as new BUT, I strongly suspect that they’ll need doing again in about 4 or 5 years time.
 
ltcom said:
Does the black mark the decks?
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Good question. The patches are designed to go on a gunwale of a dinghy to provide grip when you sit on the gunwale. As such I’m not expecting them to mark. I have resoled two pairs but the two owners have yet to try them out. I‘ve asked them to get on with a trial and will report back.
 
Itcom, I'm back to report....success. The re-soled sailing shoes were given a good try out with some deliberate hard rubbing on deck and especially on white gelcoat. Not a mark anywhere and the grip really did restore the shoe to its good as new 'grippyiness'. The Admiral's shoes (not boots) are Dubarry and very comfortable. She's very happy to extend their life in this way.
 
TimfromMersea said:
If your prized leather Dubarry, Henri-Lloyd, etc boots have soles that have become hard and slippery, or soles that have just crumbled away, then these people -East Coast based, of course! - can help:-

Dubarry Repairs - Repairs for Dubarry boots, shoe, coats and bags | Sport & Leisure Boot Repairs

i have just had my Henri-Lloyd Shadow boots resoled by them. The old sole was crumbling away and the boots were too slippery to wear on deck. They have completely replaced the soles with new Italian Vibram marine non slip soles. I tested them today on the boat and the grip is wonderful on both wet and dry decks. I’m really pleased with the repair.

Not a cheap service - my repair was £85 including return postage- but of course the Government‘s cut of that is £16 or so! - and a lot cheaper than new boots.

I can thoroughly recommend this service and of course I have no connection with the company other than as a customer.
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An update!
I’ve just received a pair of Henri Lloyd boots which I had sent to this company on your recommendation. I am pleased to reassure you that I am not disappointed. They’ve made the boots look like new. In fact better than new because the new soles are a big improvement on the originals.
Mike
 
Another satisfied customer here. Slight delay as the soles were delayed coming from Italy but the result looks fantastic on very teenage boots.
 
Let's go back to 'yellow wellies'. O.K. they maybe not quite as warm as a pair of HL's or Dubarry, but they still lasted a few seasons and I don't remember the soles getting slippery, except when one spilled diesel on the deck.
 
Praxinoscope said:
Let's go back to 'yellow wellies'. O.K. they maybe not quite as warm as a pair of HL's or Dubarry, but they still lasted a few seasons and I don't remember the soles getting slippery, except when one spilled diesel on the deck.
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Rubber boots are rubbish now, the last pair of Gill sailing wellies I had lasted about 18 months before the rubber perished and my feet got wet; once upon a time you could get 5 years use and wear out the soles before they expired.
 
I still have a pair of very elderly Musto M1's from maybe 25 years ago.

I wouldn't wear them anywhere near a grp deck, suitable only for working in the boatyard when it's wet.

Ink
 
Not all perfect - asked if they could resole Musto boots size 13. Sent pictures, said yes, and after 5 weeks returned “unable to repair” - reason unspecified. Did do a very neat job on size 13 Dubarry deck shoes at the same time and had advised about delay due to a large shipment of boots coming in
 
Goldie said:
Please let us know in due course how the non-slip qualities last. My 20+ year old Dubarrys have just (last year) been re-soled again (and new liners I suspect) by Dubarry for £65 and are as good as new BUT, I strongly suspect that they’ll need doing again in about 4 or 5 years time.
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An update - two seasons use and still very non slip. Excellent repair, very happy indeed
 
I gave up on yottie boots years ago because of this issue. This season I noticed a similar problem with the fake-teak we installed in our cockpit seven years ago, and which originally was a good non-slip surface. Is it made of a similar material? I'm hoping that sanding will help. Even thought of using bath type non-slip spots, but that would look very odd. Anyone had experience?
 
Goldie said:
Please let us know in due course how the non-slip qualities last. My 20+ year old Dubarrys have just (last year) been re-soled again (and new liners I suspect) by Dubarry for £65 and are as good as new BUT, I strongly suspect that they’ll need doing again in about 4 or 5 years time.
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Thread resurrection! Four years later, the new Vibram soles are still as good as the day they were fitted. Very happy Hector indeed.
 
A walk and some foot twisting over Port La Forêt or Sainte Marine swinging passarelles :) They are made by a metallic antislip very rough surface, sort of Fein multitool carbide grouting blades, really excellent to revive adherence. I haven't seen that anywhere else over here, so I walked up and down until someone asked if I was lost, or killing ants :D
 
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