Sailing boot soles have gone hard and now slip in the dry. Is there a cure?

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NPMR

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I have had a pair of Henry Lloyd, leather sailing wellingtons for a few years now and they fit very well (unlike replacements I've looked at).

Sadly, the rubber soles have become hard(er) and now, when I wear them, I slide about on both the dimpled plastic deck and the teak decking where it is fitted, if is dry. If it is wet under foot, the problem is less noticeable.

Are they 'curable' (I've tried sanding, very coarsely, the top layer off to see if they are better further into the rubber), but otherwise have no clue. Someone suggested putting the soles in boiling water? Any ideas?

Do I have to junk them?
 
NPMR said:
I have had a pair of Henry Lloyd, leather sailing wellingtons for a few years now and they fit very well (unlike replacements I've looked at).

Sadly, the rubber soles have become hard(er) and now, when I wear them, I slide about on both the dimpled plastic deck and the teak decking where it is fitted, if is dry. If it is wet under foot, the problem is less noticeable.

Are they 'curable' (I've tried sanding, very coarsely, the top layer off to see if they are better further into the rubber), but otherwise have no clue. Someone suggested putting the soles in boiling water? Any ideas?

Do I have to junk them?
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I had same problem with my cheapo Quayside boots.
I filled the large parts of the groove pattern with Sikaflex,Left it well proud of the groove.let it day for a week,worked well.
Lasted two seasons but needs doing again now.
 
I have had this trouble with all my sailing shoes and boots. Luckily, my teak deck is fairly forgiving, but my pair of Dubarry shoes which were lovely when new, went hard in less than two months use, and I got a refund from the shop. About two, or maybe three years is about as much a I ever get from shoes. My current pair is very lightweight Chatham and I was told that they were not tough and wouldn't last long, but I have never ever worn out a pair of deck shoes before they became unsafe.
 
My Musto goretex ones have gone, too. I almost went over the side in the north Minch due to the loss of adhesion. I contacted Musto who seem to have a stock reply (below). I didn't get 5 years out of mine. Although they are v comfortable, I think I'll just go for cheapies in future rather than the expensive brands.

"Thank you for your email. I’m sorry to hear you are experiencing a problem with your Musto boots.

There are many variables which contribute to the hardening of a rubber sole. These include exposure to UV, which is the main cause, storage and the natural age deterioration of all rubber products.

We use a shore hardness compound of A 50 – 55 on our Sailing Boots. This is softer than most non-technical sports footwear; the softer the sole, the more grip you have. This of course is essential on deck and we have chosen this compound for our HPX boots through years of experience in the field. However, unfortunately there is always a slight trade off in durability. When softness increases, durability decreases. Softer soles wear much faster. Therefore we have tried to combat this in two ways: -

1) We use a compound that has a high rubber content, to increase grip.

2) We have a much higher UV resistant chemical in the compound, to reduce the damage that UV does to the outsole, which subsequently makes it hard and brittle.

We would expect the rubber to harden through normal age degradation (rubber unfortunately does degrade, it is inherent in its compound makeup) and exposure to UV. These factors are lessened by keeping the rubber supple, using products that care for and maintain the outer membranes. Rinsing the boots after every use ensure salt water does not dry out the sole and controlling the environment and temperatures the boots are stored in also affect their long term performance. On average, we would expect about 5 years’ worth of use from this product.

Unfortunately there is nothing we can professionally advise to rectify the problem. We are aware some forums online discuss this particular subject, which does affect all brands of sailing footwear, but we regretfully cannot endorse any of the procedures suggested.

If you feel your boots have not provided you with an adequate working life, you are welcome to send them to us for assessment. If you kindly advise your address and contact details, I will send you some Return Forms."
 
I cannot speak for sailing shoes specifically, however I have come acoss this 'shelf life' issue with other rubber soled boots. In that case at least it is indeed a shelf life issue not a usage one. So if your boots have been on the shelf for say a couple of years of a six year 'shelf life' you will only get four years use out of them. The walking boot type soles with which I was dealing had a 10-12 year life but could spend many years in store and this fail virtually on issue,
 
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I would contact HL and ask if they can re-sole them. I had a problem with my HL boots when they were about 4 years old and HL replaced them at no charge. Superb customer service.
 
I give my deckies a quick going over with a 40 grit disk on an angle grinder to remove the top polished plastic on the sole.

Mind you, the non slip that Nowman put on my decks might rip the skin off your knees if you fall and retain dirt unbelieveably but it certainly provides good grip
 
dgadee said:
My Musto goretex ones have gone, too.
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Last weekend I was clinging on on the foredeck of a neighbour's boat thinking:
* And we call this "fun"?
* Roller reefing is nice isn't it? Glad I've got it on my boat
* I wonder if blood comes off dacron easily?
* I do like these boots. They're very grippy.

The latter is the relevant bit. My musto HPXs are over 8 years old now. I don't wear them every day: only when it's cold and wet so they're tucked own the wet locker most of the time. Still very grippy and waterproof. Sounds like I've been lucky here and this won't help the OP but for those wondering if it's worth buying expensive boots if they only last 5 years: sometimes they last longer.
 
I have exactly this problem with my Dubarrys. Was slipping round like an ice skater when heeled over and down below. Will try the temporary sikaflex idea and get em re soled over the winter.
I tried soaking them for 2 days and the boots took on water but did not soften Seems to be pretty poor for a quality item like Dubarrys.
 
Gave up and bought some new boots. Retailer said HL had had an issue a few years ago with the boot sole material but they now use a different compound.

Bought Orca Bay as they were cheaper and the £100 ones at our nearest Force Four are a 200 mile round trip for us and they might not have fitted anyway!

Found that the new HL and Musto boots were a very poor fit for my wide feet. So got an oversize Orca Bay and am hoping for the best.
 
About three years ago I had exactly the same problem with my HL leather Goretex boots which were only about four years old at the time. They repeatedly slipped and once I nearly broke my neck.

I took them in to a HL shop (Cowes when visiting), who agreed they weren't fit for purpose and took them in to send back to HL Central, who posted me a brand new pair of their equivalent current design, free of charge.

Proper customer service!
 
Topcat47 said:
I have the same problem with my Dubarry's. I"m just glad I didn't spunk for the leather ones
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I did have it happen to my Dubarrys, leather ones. I was between boats for a while so the soles became hard, lethal on a deck. Use them or lose them.

On a related point I have been using for the spring spring season a pair of Scruffs Mistral work boots from Travis Perkins building supplies. They have white fine ribbed soles and blue suede uppers. Very pleased with them for when it was colder, but not wellies weather.
 
sailorman said:
Dubarry offer a re soling service, the boots cove back almost as new with new goretex lining too, cost about £60 sent via the Oxford office
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I thought I was buying a premium product but my Dubarry's boots went slippy after around 3 years of little use,
Dubarry could only suggest that I sandpaper the bottoms. I don't think the newer boots can be resoled by Dubarry like the older ones.
I went to a local shoe repairers and she stuck a new sole over the old one but they are still not as grippy as I would like.

I won't be buying anything else from Dubarry and certainly would not recommend them after my experience of them.
 
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