Shoes I wear for boating

[Scotty_Tradewind]

Seeing t'other thread made me think of the shoes I bought this spring and have been extremely chuffed with.
Being someone who keeps things 'til they literally fall apart and even then , as 'old friends', they often get found by SWMBO in the back of a cupboard, it takes a great deal of courage for me to go into a shoe shop and buy.
I must admit I was desperate though and even small stones were hurting my feet through the twice repaired 10year old relics I wore.
I wanted a pair of shoes that did it all. I could wear them to work and look tidy and reasonably smart, I could wear out to go walking in most weathers on most footpaths marked on O/S maps. I could wear them in my waterlogged inflatable getting to and from my swinger, and wear aboard whilst sailing and feel safe and dry.
Not much to ask I 'spose but I reckon the Clarks Active Air are the bees knees. They are GorTex lined, they grip superbly without marking, they are warm and smart. They've been through the washing machine and still shine like a new pair when polished.
I have no connections with Clarks shoes..... just a happy customer.

 

[BrianH]

I wanted a pair of shoes that did it all. I could wear them to work and look tidy and reasonably smart, I could wear out to go walking in most weathers on most footpaths marked on O/S maps. I could wear them in my waterlogged inflatable getting to and from my swinger, and wear aboard whilst sailing and feel safe and dry. Not much to ask I 'spose.

Eh, Whaaat? You actually wear road shoes on your boat? Hiking boots to boot? No One, anyone, sets foot on my boat with anything they have trodden the mucky, grit-strewn streets with.

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

Yes, I've always got people to check their shoes and made them get all the grit etc from them.
But, check out the soles on these shoes. They are excellent and do not have a tread that holds dirt or grit at all easily. They have a wide tread and I feel safer than I do with my Dubarry Clipper deck shoes or my Musto HPX boots.

 

[Moonshiners]

Just for ref. Don't put your shoes in the Washer or on the Radiator, they will de-grade quicker... Most glues used in shoe make ups will degrade when exposed to heat and washing machine chemicals.

- No need to reply saying you've been doing it for 10 years with no harm, if you hadn't they would have lasted longer, this includes the support and cushioning system which gives out long before the actual shoes.

Bad back...? Change your old shoes!

Right back on topic Musto Deckies, day and night, I usually buy 2 pairs when I find ones i like. Break one set in quick, keep the other for smarter then by the time the first are worn out the smarter pair are nicely just broken in and buy a new smarter pair...

Hate the bloody laces though. Whish Musto would sort out their useless elastic always undo themselves stretchy laces!

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

ah, I forgot to add, they went into the washing machine on just the cool rinse cycle to get the salt out

Those leather laces on Dubarry deck shoes also keep undoing. I knot them so tight and yet they still undo??

 

[spynappels]

Wetsuit Boots! Always when on the boat, can also be worn when nipping into town for some lunch when pottering up and down the lough.

 

[Moonshiners]

Re: Laces, I' think i'm going resort to Para-Cord if they don't sort it out or just replace them with normal DM style ones off the cobler.

 

[bilbobaggins]

D'you think we could persuade Pauline to model some of her fabulous 'deck shoes'....?

 

[chart5011]

Had a nice pair Sebago deck shoes until a few weeks ago when I left them on the pontoon at the Yealm (took them off to bail the dinghy and forget them), thought they would be still be on the pontoon, only gone a few hours.

Now have to resort to two deckshoes (can't call them a pair) that I bought at Beaulieu Boat Jumble, tried one of the pair on which fitted fine, when I got home I found one was size 9 the other a 10.

One of them is very comfortable.

 

[jason -and the arguenauts]

I have no connections with Clarks shoes..... just a happy customer.

I'm not . I used to rely on them for shoeds in width H fitting but now they have stopped doing wide shoes altogether. Ever since they went foreign.

They dont sell ladies size 3 either so SWMBO has a problem too.

 

[Chris_Robb]

Seeing t'other thread made me think of the shoes I bought this spring and have been extremely chuffed with.
Being someone who keeps things 'til they literally fall apart and even then , as 'old friends', they often get found by SWMBO in the back of a cupboard, it takes a great deal of courage for me to go into a shoe shop and buy.
I must admit I was desperate though and even small stones were hurting my feet through the twice repaired 10year old relics I wore.
I wanted a pair of shoes that did it all. I could wear them to work and look tidy and reasonably smart, I could wear out to go walking in most weathers on most footpaths marked on O/S maps. I could wear them in my waterlogged inflatable getting to and from my swinger, and wear aboard whilst sailing and feel safe and dry.
Not much to ask I 'spose but I reckon the Clarks Active Air are the bees knees. They are GorTex lined, they grip superbly without marking, they are warm and smart. They've been through the washing machine and still shine like a new pair when polished.
I have no connections with Clarks shoes..... just a happy customer.

Crox mate - every time - SWMBO hates them but great for wet dinghys etc. But on boat I hate wearing shoes.

 

[BrianH]

Yes, I've always got people to check their shoes and made them get all the grit etc from them.
But, check out the soles on these shoes. They are excellent and do not have a tread that holds dirt or grit at all easily. They have a wide tread and I feel safer than I do with my Dubarry Clipper deck shoes or my Musto HPX boots.

But that's not the point, anything that has had contact with street surfaces is contaminated with non-visible silica particles that are going to damage and scour into your deck surfaces or dirty your cockpit and cabin sole. Not to mention the many other nasty things like traces of canine faeces that will inevitably come into contact with outdoor shoes.

Perhaps it is because wife number two was Japanese and her culture, which I have adopted, was strictly no street shoes allowed inside the house - seems logical to me. The present lady that graces my life is equally fastidious and visitors have a selection of slip-on footwear to choose from when entering.

This policy is continued aboard and 99.9% of our time there is bare-footed (advantage of the Adriatic climate). We, and our visitors, leave our shore-going shoes on the dock. I am not alone in this and most of my sailing friends have the same policy. In fact, I have always thought it normal yachting practice not to step aboard in shore-going shoes.

For a time in my working life I was practically commuting between Europe and SE Asia and my carrier of choice was Singapore Airlines, which dispensed some washable slippers in their on-board pack; these are perfect aboard and I have a large selection for anyone needing footwear. They are also useful when the teak deck becomes burningly hot in the noon-day sun.

 

[PeteCooper]

I'm not . I used to rely on them for shoeds in width H fitting but now they have stopped doing wide shoes altogether. Ever since they went foreign.

They dont sell ladies size 3 either so SWMBO has a problem too.

When did they stop doing wide fittings? I bought a pair recently that are a wide fitting.

 

[Chris_Robb]

But that's not the point, anything that has had contact with street surfaces is contaminated with non-visible silica particles that are going to damage and scour into your deck surfaces or dirty your cockpit and cabin sole. Not to mention the many other nasty things like traces of canine faeces that will inevitably come into contact with outdoor shoes.

Perhaps it is because wife number two was Japanese and her culture, which I have adopted, was strictly no street shoes allowed inside the house - seems logical to me. The present lady that graces my life is equally fastidious and visitors have a selection of slip-on footwear to choose from when entering.

This policy is continued aboard and 99.9% of our time there is bare-footed (advantage of the Adriatic climate). We, and our visitors, leave our shore-going shoes on the dock. I am not alone in this and most of my sailing friends have the same policy. In fact, I have always thought it normal yachting practice not to step aboard in shore-going shoes.

For a time in my working life I was practically commuting between Europe and SE Asia and my carrier of choice was Singapore Airlines, which dispensed some washable slippers in their on-board pack; these are perfect aboard and I have a large selection for anyone needing footwear. They are also useful when the teak deck becomes burningly hot in the noon-day sun.

I wish I could get my crew to do this.... SWMABO is not a fastidious as yours, so I haven't managed to persuade her that the teak decks need protecting. Besides, the dog brings copious quantities of sand on board no matter how much we wash him down, so I suspect the shoes would have minimal impact compared with dog. Role on the bill for new teak deck £25,000 plus.... !