Leather sailing boots

I recently bought these, very stylish all-white :D What a grip, they give the impression of being able to climb a glass wall; there are ones with metal toes but also without

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As leather ones I have these, quite warm though the neck is a bit tight it's a bit of a struggle to wear/unwear them, or maybe my feet are too big.
fypper.jpg
 
I’ve had my Dubarrys for a few years and these days, sadly, they don’t get a lot of use. I got them out for a surprise day trip last week and the soles were in tatters - one had completely come away, the other barely hanging on to the boot.
The material between the sole and boot had gone all powdery and friable.
I took them to my local shoe repairer who tutted under his breath, ‘Dubarrys, we see a lot of that’. Gallantly he said he’d have go at glueing them back on - the soles themselves are in very good condition, given their age, as I‘ve only ever worn them on board or for a few moments ashore whilst mooring up.
I went to collect them yesterday, as the chap was right; they couldn’t be fixed. I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to spend £250 to replace them!
 
My first Dubarry boots, (about 25 years ago) were great, well made and comfortable, but one of the sprung a leak after about 10 years use, as we were on a long cruise I needed to replace, surprisingly although in Ireland could only find a pair of Henri Lloyd’s, but these were comfortable, and were well made, but again after about 10 years they started to develop the odd fault, so I thought I would replace with a new pair of Henri Lloyds’s, ….but the whole construction seemed to have changed, and the shaft of the boots was so narrow I couldn’t get my feet into them, despite the fact that I always buy my sailing boots 2 sizes too large, (easier to get them off if you do fall in the water), so thought I would go back to Dubarry, what a load of rubbish compared to my old ones, welded rather than stitched soles (repair difficult or impossible), and nowhere near as comfortable.
Thinking of going back to ‘yellow wellies’ if I can find a pair.
 
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I wear dubarry shoes as normal day wear & I never have a problem with them not gripping the deck or going hard. I do not get wet enough to need boots, except when I am doing mooring work with my launch. In that case I wear wellington boots.
On the boat, if there is rain I put on a pair of long sealskin socks. These go well up inside my Musto outer layers & are warm & dry very quickly.
I find boots put too much weight on the foot, whereas shoes are nice & light for moving about the deck.
Mostly, I rarely find the need for boots. Even in F7 I get very little water in the cockpit & all my controls mean that I do not have to go forward, except for sorting fender, mooring lines & hoisting, lowering sails. I do not have a sprayhood either.
 
The Irish Rover said:
I’ve had my Dubarrys for a few years and these days, sadly, they don’t get a lot of use. I got them out for a surprise day trip last week and the soles were in tatters - one had completely come away, the other barely hanging on to the boot.
The material between the sole and boot had gone all powdery and friable.
I took them to my local shoe repairer who tutted under his breath, ‘Dubarrys, we see a lot of that’. Gallantly he said he’d have go at glueing them back on - the soles themselves are in very good condition, given their age, as I‘ve only ever worn them on board or for a few moments ashore whilst mooring up.
I went to collect them yesterday, as the chap was right; they couldn’t be fixed. I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to spend £250 to replace them!
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I have an old pair that went like that a few years ago, I got in touch with Dubarry's in Ballinasloe and they said send them back and we'll repair them for €60, which they did, but they'r no longer as waterproof as they used to be.
 
Spirit (of Glenans) said:
I have an old pair that went like that a few years ago, I got in touch with Dubarry's in Ballinasloe and they said send them back and we'll repair them for €60, which they did, but they'r no longer as waterproof as they used to be.
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I called in to the factory shop in Ballinsloe last week on the way to Galway and got a pair of for €170.00. Cant go wrong!
 
The Irish Rover said:
I’ve had my Dubarrys for a few years and these days, sadly, they don’t get a lot of use. I got them out for a surprise day trip last week and the soles were in tatters - one had completely come away, the other barely hanging on to the boot.
The material between the sole and boot had gone all powdery and friable.
I took them to my local shoe repairer who tutted under his breath, ‘Dubarrys, we see a lot of that’. Gallantly he said he’d have go at glueing them back on - the soles themselves are in very good condition, given their age, as I‘ve only ever worn them on board or for a few moments ashore whilst mooring up.
I went to collect them yesterday, as the chap was right; they couldn’t be fixed. I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to spend £250 to replace them!
Click to expand...
AFA776AC-E5D5-442E-AE72-1C79EB4E4D2C.jpeg
 
The Irish Rover said:
I’ve had my Dubarrys for a few years and these days, sadly, they don’t get a lot of use. I got them out for a surprise day trip last week and the soles were in tatters - one had completely come away, the other barely hanging on to the boot.
The material between the sole and boot had gone all powdery and friable.
I took them to my local shoe repairer who tutted under his breath, ‘Dubarrys, we see a lot of that’. Gallantly he said he’d have go at glueing them back on - the soles themselves are in very good condition, given their age, as I‘ve only ever worn them on board or for a few moments ashore whilst mooring up.
I went to collect them yesterday, as the chap was right; they couldn’t be fixed. I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to spend £250 to replace them!
Click to expand...

Plot twist and a happy update!
I found my old Doobs lurking in the shed a month or so ago and, after a bit more googling, sent them off to The Boot Repair Co.’, the recommended repairers for all things Doob. Three weeks later they reappeared repaired. They look a bit different (someone rather unkindly said that they now look like ‘platforms’ - if you were around in the ‘70s, you’d understand…..), but they are comfortable and, for £135, I’ve got a functioning pair of sailing wellies again! Result!! 6AF7C6A7-44D5-4921-A53B-4FED36C5B3EB.jpeg
 
Babylon said:
Well done. Where is this company?
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I think it might be this one.
Dubarry Repairs

I contacted them last year as I had a pair of Dubarry boots which needed repair (Dubarry Newport boots). They have a small rubber toecap which goes over the sole/upper joint, and the rubber had perished. The Dubarry repair people said can't be fixed. I sent pictures to the Dubarry factory and got the same response.
Then found a boot repair company in London, sent them pictures, said they would give it go. I sent the boots to them, a week later they came back repaired at a cost of £25 including the postage. The chap who did the repair said it was disappointing that a company like Dubarry would use inferior material when making the boots.
If you have no luck with the Boot Repair Co, you could try this outfit.
Vibram London Academy
 
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PabloPicasso said:
How so?
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Because they've got a new business-model now from the one they built their original reputation on: one that now requires their products to be "throw-away" and "buy-new -from -them-again" in the shortest time-frame acceptable to their customers, while relying on the brand presence created by their old business-model... which was to make things to both last and be repairable.

Dubarry's sole shareholder is FLWG Enterprises, based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) controlled by Dubarry directors led by Eamonn Fagan and Michael Walsh. Contact them if you want more information...
 
Babylon said:
Because they've got a new business-model now from the one they built their original reputation on: one that now requires their products to be "throw-away" and "buy-new -from -them-again" in the shortest time-frame acceptable to their customers, while relying on the brand presence created by their old business-model... which was to make things to both last and be repairable.

Dubarry's sole shareholder is FLWG Enterprises, based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) controlled by Dubarry directors led by Eamonn Fagan and Michael Walsh. Contact them if you want more information...
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Putting this in context a bit, the 'new' business model is at least 10 years old and probably a few more than that. The difference between the old and new has been commented on here for a very long time. Whilst I appreciate not all purchasers are users here its not really an unkown circumstance.
 
You're right Robbie in that it isn't brand new (forgive the pun), I just meant to illustrate how things have changed over the last decade or so.

I don't blame Dubarry, all the manufacturers are at it - which is why for most activities like walking and everyday leather shoes as well as deck boots etc I now only buy inexpensive footwear (with unreplacable soles) and don't expect to get more than a year or two of use before binning.
 
Roberto said:
I recently bought these, very stylish all-white :D What a grip, they give the impression of being able to climb a glass wall; there are ones with metal toes but also without

botte-s4-agroalimentaire-.jpg

As leather ones I have these, quite warm though the neck is a bit tight it's a bit of a struggle to wear/unwear them, or maybe my feet are too big.
View attachment 109078
Click to expand...
Where did you get the leather ones? How much, are they waterproof?
 
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