Questions about boots for liveaboards

[goligher]

Okay I need some kit advice from some older/more experienced sailors who depend on their kit. I'm on track to complete my yachtmaster, I am near enough 19 and plan to sail for a living.

With this in mind what boots would you recommend that I buy? I will most likely spend the first year doing sh*tty deliveries around the uk, then gradually head off to warmer waters.

I looked at Dubarry Ultimas but I get the feeling that they are fashionable rather than functional.
So I'm leaning more towards hpx ocean boots. I used a lot of musto kit dinghy sailing when I was younger and it never let me down, plus I have the mpx offshore kit which has preformed beautiful in the rubbish weather around Ireland.

 

[KellysEye]

>hpx ocean boots

Yachting Monthly had a boot test recently, the HPX boots were a best buy.

 

[alandee]

Originally posted by goligher.

"I will most likely spend the first year doing sh*tty deliveries around the UK..."

Now there's a novel way to drum up business!

 

[goligher]

Originally posted by goligher.

"I will most likely spend the first year doing sh*tty deliveries around the UK..."

Now there's a novel way to drum up business!

I suppose I should clarify on that! I mean unpaid delivery jobs. But I suppose you have to start somewhere.

And I'm staying clear of the cheap rubber boots route. I had a pair of gill sailing boots that I picked up for £30 and my feet were drenched after a trip back from Cherbourg because of the sweat. And this was in december in the middle of the night. I'm leaning towards the Hpx ocean boots with the gore-tex as musto are bringing out new boots with outdry, which mean I will hopefully get last seasons a bit cheaper.

 

[AndrewB]

Best thing for me - simple rubber boots made from rubber foam
Provide protection, insulation and non-skid

Yes. Not living in Poland, I just use regular black wellies - the type with whiteish soles which don't mark.

- They last forever. Yottie boots are disgracefully shortlived, specially for a liveaboard.
- A fraction of the price.
- No qualms about going ashore in them, on muddy beaches and lanes, tarry asphalt roads etc.
- When I fell overboard once, they were very easy to kick off to aid recovery.
- On my InterDeck painted deck, they grip every bit as well as yottie boots.

Unless you race, this is what I also recommend. The only downside is that snotty yotties do get, well, rather snotty about them, so they might not suit a delivery skipper.

 

[lurob]

For warm, dry feet - I'd go for Goretex + leather every time. I've had my Dubarry's for years and would never go back to rubber.

 

[maxi77]

Another vote for the Dubarry boots. I wish I had had them years ago when bridge watchkeeping on submarines. Do make sure they are a comfy fit though.

 

[RobbieW]

Another vote for the Dubarry boots. I wish I had had them years ago when bridge watchkeeping on submarines. Do make sure they are a comfy fit though.

+1 - especially the comfy fit so try on as many types as you can - each one is different. Take some walking socks when you try too, Bridgedale are good.

 

[Tidewaiter2]

Try the farmers friend

...Muckboots
A UK coy, n they do a safety (midsole plate n toe cap) which i am trying to find among all the 'civilised' uk stockists-horse and gun versions.Also work safety boots VAT free as H&S kit-useful when yer young- I remember being skint too ;>(
Also worth checking out the fishermens coop store for branded kit where-ever you have a job/ stop over- not overpriced-33degrees N, Guy Cotten etc fishing gear will do the job and LAST.

In a workaday/ commercial marine environment, a mid sole plate is worth it's weight in gold, more than a toe cap-IMHExp that is! The amount of spiked ****, from nails to blackthorn branches, left about

http://www.muckbootco.co.uk/
http://www.wellie-web.co.uk/wa/1/40...b7efba0e5faf&gclid=CLCqgOyk3a0CFUVTfAodzlR5mw qoutes some prices!!
and if you get to the USA,
their stuff is cheaper & more choice;
http://www.muckboots.com/workboots.htm

For prancing round the Solent-I got a pair of dubarry's wiv the blue cordura tops about 5 year ago- i need a wide calf, and DB do them, bless em- all those years getting overtopped in the tender in shorties/ turning down site wellies :>"
Must confess, i've lived in them the last couple of weeks, even drove in them when that storm hit!( Plus Micheal at DB's does a fast turnround- (SWMBO has tiny(3) but broad wiv narrow heels feet )and resoled her deckies in about 8 days tops inc. post. DB seem to have her last- don't ask about her day to day shoes and trying to get posh ones!

 

[saltylegs]

+++1 for dubarry I finally gave in last year and put them in the skip but then I did have them from 1994 and even used them when i was white water kayaking

 

[duncan99210]

My Dubarry's are comfy, dry and toasty warm. After years of cold, damp rubber boots of one brand or another, they are a revalation. Great for long dark night watches as well as stumping round town to buy beer. Worn with one or two pairs of thick socks, you can't beat them. Oh, and they have a bit of 'quay cred' as well......

 

[Talbot]

I have wide feet, the only choice for me is to get some that are at least one size larger, and they are then very uncomfortable. So I dont bother.

The only time in the last 20 years that I have needed to wear boots onboard was
1. When washing down
2. When sailing with a friend in their mono.

 

[Euryale]

Ok, here's a vote for the HPX boots. With reservations however. I'm on my third pair!
I got my first pair after getting fed up with continuously sodden feet offshore (as bowman - racing) and they were brilliant but they only lasted two seasons before they had massive holes in the toes (strangely they were still waterproof) That's two seasons of *hard* use racing inshore & offshore though. When I replaced them with another pair of HPX which leaked like a pair of sandals. Musto provided another pair which I'm using now and they're just fine.