Sailing boots

Philiz

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 Aug 2008
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Location
Staffordshire Moorlands U.K.
www.shabiera.co.uk
Can anyone recommend any boots that are warm as well as waterproof?

Liz has Dubarry Ultimas and I have Henri Lloyd, they're both waterproof but there doesn't seem to be any warmth in them at all.

It would also be good if they were high enough to let us push the dinghy out without getting wet feet!
 
go outdoors were selling welly's with fleece lining for about £28

welly boot fleece liners from ?millets or similar, not seen them since, about £7, in normal wellies

or mucker boots from stable supplies shops £17

sure other's will be along to give a few more expensive options soon :-)
 
Musto M1 - M2 wellies ( proper wellies not marina posing gear ) had thermal liners available as extras, don't know if they are still available.

If really serious about warm wellies I'd look at whatever they use on expeditions to cold places, but I doubt they're a sensible price.

I use M1 wellies and thick seaboot socks.
 
Musto HPX leather sailing boots.
Warm, waterproof and have superb grip.

Agreed. My HPX boots have kept my feet warm in all weathers over many thousands of miles and are still waterproof, if now a little tatty looking.

Rubber boots may be cheap but lead to sweaty, and consequently chilly, feet.
 
Toasted tootsies

Surprised that Philz finds the HL boots not to be warn enough. Don't know what vintage he has (or what vintage your tootsies are) but I have the Ocean outlast technology ones and have never had anything warmer on my tootsies - sooper toasty and certainly good for down to about minus 7c - (thats the coldest I have sailed in on Pleiades). Stating the obvious, ensure that they are suitably sized not to restrict circulation to the feet and that you wear loop stitch wool socks - no synthetics can match wool for socks. If you have cotton fibres in the socks the cotton will absorb moisture vapour quicker than the Goretex can shift it out and after a while the damp will chill your bones. Incidentally while others on this forum greatly favour the Seal Skin Socks I have a couple of pairs of their socks and gloves and find them hopeless. The socks are just not warm enough and cramp my toes - after a few hours my toes start to die. And I find the gloves are useless after a bit of sea time -they wick water up inside and then handy wandies freeze - impossible to dry em at sea so sorry Mr SealSkinz -they don't work for me.

Robin
Pleiades of Birdham
MXWQ5
 
+ 1, not that I know this particular kind, but idea.
There are rubber boot, 'wellies' - made of kind of neoprene, rubber foam.
Lightweight, they float, very warm. No need for lining in them, those I have are equipped with removable liners (also made of kind of foam + fabric) but I mostly don't use it. Inside is not covered with any fabric or such, so dries fast; or can be wiped dry if got water in.
I bought these in "industrial clothing" shop, however this is named in English, they are made for workers - foresters, agriculture. Green colour.
On sail trips to Arctic everybody envied, nothing else could match. Imagine normal "breathable", evaporating the water out in sub zero temps and strong wind - but hey, this is best method to chill the beer :D
Have them 5 years now, indestructible stuff. Henri Lloyds I got also, somewhere in the attic, don't use :)

Edit - Buy the simple kind (saw other models) that is all made in one piece of this foam, sole included. There was other model with heavier sole, this sole was not foam so not insulated so well, cold strikes from below...
 
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Expedition wear

...

If really serious about warm wellies I'd look at whatever they use on expeditions to cold places, but I doubt they're a sensible price...

Actually not that expensive, not being 'yachtie': Dunlop Purofort Thermo Plus are what's used frequently by farmers, cold store workers, high latitude sailors and professional fishermen. Several colours are available.

dunlop-purofort-thermo-plus-safety-wellington-orange-%5B3%5D-12022-p.jpg
 
Putting the boot in.

Doubt if expedition grade insulated wellies are going to get much use in UK sailing, even in the depths of winter. Proper sailing sea boots are lighter, more flexible and have a non slip sole more suited to the kind of surface found onboard. Chunky vibram grip is not best for smooth/wet surfaces. Same as tyres on your car - chunky for off roading - finer pattern tread for slippery wet/dry smooth roads. At sea you need boots that you can zip about in without clunking around in heavy wellies. Would you really want to go into the cabin in expedition grade wellies? I certainly don't want to have to take my boots off everytime I go into the cabin -thats the point of proper sea boots - werability 24/7. The breathabilty of proper sailing boots makes them perfectly wearable during the typical wet and windy days when you need boots on and you use the same boots day and night. The neoprene sailing wellies are a good compromise as even though not breathable they are cheap, light and flexible enough to tolerate for extended periods in wet and windy weather.
So I think find what suits your own tootsies - without necessarily eqiuiping for the arctic tundra.
Robin
Pleiades of Birdham
MXWQ5
 
Doubt if expedition grade insulated wellies are going to get much use in UK sailing, even in the depths of winter. Proper sailing sea boots are lighter, more flexible and have a non slip sole more suited to the kind of surface found onboard. Chunky vibram grip is not best for smooth/wet surfaces. Same as tyres on your car - chunky for off roading - finer pattern tread for slippery wet/dry smooth roads. At sea you need boots that you can zip about in without clunking around in heavy wellies. Would you really want to go into the cabin in expedition grade wellies? I certainly don't want to have to take my boots off everytime I go into the cabin -thats the point of proper sea boots - werability 24/7. The breathabilty of proper sailing boots makes them perfectly wearable during the typical wet and windy days when you need boots on and you use the same boots day and night...


Pretty much spot on I think, and in the UK I almost exclusively wear Dubarry breathable sailing wellies. However the Dunlop things really are a godsend when sea temp gets below about 10 degrees C: the Dubarries just don't cut it and the first 40 mins of off watch are spent trying to warm up. Switching boots meant my toes were warm again.

Only minor quibble with what you wrote is that knobbly tyres are mostly used only when off road it's not, I think, because slicks provide significantly better grip on on smooth surfaces but to reduce road noise and wear at high speed - factors which may not apply to my wellies! I find grip is really good even on smooth or dry decks.
 
Thinsulate socks - used to wear them with my drysuit & very toasty they were too. I had cold feet on our Sunday sail :( Dubarry Ultimas worn with cheap thermal socks = cold feet. I'm going to look out my Thinsulate socks right now!!

Di
 
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£90 a pair
not that expensive then
but equivalent to six days on the boat
As I commented earlier on price - the boots I got, but this in link is "elegant" version for 'sportsmen', with name on it :) - 20 pounds. http://images.sklepy24.pl/97549383/6421/medium/kalosze-meskie-arctic-875-eva-rozmiar-43.jpg They say this is "special EVA foamed plastic". Weight 700-1000 gram (with the inside sock, size depend). Yes, they are very light, no comparison to PVC or rubber, much lighter then normal leather boots. Warm, I used them on snow in -30 ;)
Very non-skid also, that is why I recommend, this foamed plastic is soft and holds to any surface, also wet.
Surely you can find such thing in UK.
After all Henri Lloyd (Henryk Strzelecki) is from Poland. Sadly he passed away this Christmas...
http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/32/17/c8/z13113138Q,Henryk-Strzelecki--zalozyciel-marki-Henri-Lloyd.jpg
 
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