Dry suit?

[Mirror Painter]

As always apologies for asking what must have been asked many times before. I'm dinghy sailing at the weekend noticed today it was a bit nippy. I have a 'shorty' wet suit but have this evening googled and seen a dry suit available for £200:

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sour...&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#tbm=shop&q=gul+gamma+drysuit

That's quite a lot less than I though a dry suit would cost. Anyone here got one like that? Any other advice?

Thanks.

 

[Saguday]

Cheap drysuits are non-breathable, expensive one's are breathable. Like you, we bought our first (non-breathable) drysuits for dinghy racing in winter. What happens is you do in fact stay warm and keep all the cold water out but all your sweat and moisture stays sealed up inside the suit. That's ok until you come ashore for lunch and unzip to go to the loo, when all that damp on your fleece or polar bear gets exposed and cools down, then you climb back into a *cold* damp drysuit...

On balance, we found a non-breathable drysuit was better for winter sailing than a wetsuit, but not by much. When we had saved up enough cash we bought a pair of breathable ones and never looked back, well, until we moved into cruisers...

 

[Iain C]

^Wot he says.

I've raced dinghies for years and I've had many dry suits. I'm steering away from them now unless it's absolutely bitter. Wetsuit technology has come a long way recently, as has "layering". I picked up a very nice Gul Response 3mm from Westuit Outlet on ebay for about £50 last year, and Rooster are doing Aquafleeces on eBay for £30. With a hat, that will see you well into autumn, then you can either beef that up with a neoprene rashie or a full 5mm steamer.

Dry suits are good, however they are restrictive around the neck, they are easily caught/ripped, the breathable ones do seem to delaminate after a few years, and when the seals go they are difficult/costly to fix.

 

[prv]

when the seals go they are difficult/costly to fix.

Really?

My experience is with diving drysuits rather than sailing ones, but in the diving world seal replacement is a routine task involving a coke bottle (or football, for the neck seal), some contact adhesive, and about a tenner's worth of new seal. Are dinghy suits that much more complicated?

Pete

 

[Kelpie]

At the OP's budget you can actually get a breathable drysuit- try Mailspeed Marine.
One of these days I will take the plunge, my £5 eBay wetsuit has its limits...

 

[Iain C]

Really?

My experience is with diving drysuits rather than sailing ones, but in the diving world seal replacement is a routine task involving a coke bottle (or football, for the neck seal), some contact adhesive, and about a tenner's worth of new seal. Are dinghy suits that much more complicated?

Pete

By costly, I mean costly if you get it professionally done. However it is a PITA as a DIY job. Inevitably you end up with a badly perished seal, that is still "taped" into the suit at manufacture, so you have to either peel the tape off (difficult) or stick the new seal over the top. I've always struggled to get the two bits to match up (one thin and non-stretchy, one thick and stretchy, and with different diameters) and get them to match properly without gaps, or glue everywhere. I'm a handy kinda chap but I hate doing drysuit seals!

But if there are any tips, please pass them on as it's that time of year again soon!

 

[prv]

But if there are any tips, please pass them on as it's that time of year again soon!

Only tip is as I said - insert a bottle/football/etc of appropriate size into the sleeve or neck opening so that the suit side of the joint becomes a rigid cylinder rather than a floppy piece of fabric. Then you can apply the glue to the two sides and finally snap the seal into place on top of it.

I am talking about the diving drysuits of 10+ years ago though, where the suit is one layer of fairly stiff membrane with no cuffs, clever shaping, or other frills. I don't remember seals being taped on either, just glued. So maybe modern dinghy suits are harder to do.

Pete

 

[Mirror Painter]

Thanks all for the info. I was ignorant of Aquafleeces until this thread, but have now ordered one. That and the existing wetsuit will do for this w.e. and then I can consider options and try things on another time.

Cheers.

 

[DinghyMan]

Only tip is as I said - insert a bottle/football/etc of appropriate size into the sleeve or neck opening so that the suit side of the joint becomes a rigid cylinder rather than a floppy piece of fabric. Then you can apply the glue to the two sides and finally snap the seal into place on top of it.

I am talking about the diving drysuits of 10+ years ago though, where the suit is one layer of fairly stiff membrane with no cuffs, clever shaping, or other frills. I don't remember seals being taped on either, just glued. So maybe modern dinghy suits are harder to do.

Pete

Diving drysuit wrist and neck seals are easy to repair, neck one takes a bit of time to get right but use a neoprene one or fit a silicone seal adapter and they are much more comfortable than the old latex ones, as you say using a bottle makes the wrist ones easier but you can do them without.

I have replaced wrist seals between dives on both of my membrane drysuits and neck seals on an evening on both for someone else, they aren't expensive to get done professionally either.