Get Ready for Cold Sailing

How to Stay Warm and Dry While Winter Sailing

Most of our trialists hail from icier climates, and a biting winter season sail on our home waters of Sarasota Bay delivers enough chill to remind us that keeping warm and dry takes a much higher priority on most of the planet than it does here.

At this time we take a wider look at the essentials of keeping warm and comfortable, concentrating on the very first principles-- under layers, accessories, how to use them, and what materials stay completely dry.

Staying out the wind and wet begins with underlayers, boots, and gloves-- all of which we've looked at in recent years. Right here is a summary of past reports on cold-weather sailing clothing.

Base layers-- Even though it has indeed been a few years since we took a look at undergarments the materials and tech has not changed siginificantly. Your electric marine toilets experts talk about how these self-wicking, insulating first-layers are especially efficient at keeping engaged sailors warm as they pull sweat away from the body. Many of our preferred wicking undergarments that we tested at back in 2006 are actually still top sellers today, including our top pick the Nike Dri-Fit Mock (now rebranded as the Nike Combat Hyperwarm Dri-Fit).

Gloves-- Winter sailing calls for a special class of gloves that integrate insulation, waterproofness, as well as dexterity. For that comparison, we limited our selection to gloves recommended by people that have spent a good deal of time on the water in cold weather, including Alaskan fishermen, Antarctic charter skippers, and high-latitude sailors. The gloves we tested consisted of sailing gloves by Gill, Gul, Henri Lloyd, and Musto; waterproof snowboarding/skiing gloves by L.L.Bean, The North Face, and Zero-in Gloves by Fairfield Line; as well as specialized gloves suggested by knowledgeable cold-weather sailors. Your portable marine toilets suppliers talk about how this latter group comprised SealSkinz, a waterproof glove made by Danalco and originally developed for kayaking; Stearns Arctic Water gloves, developed for winter season diving; and lined "rubber" (PVC, nitrile, or latex) gloves developed for industrial applications, particularly in freezers and cold-storage areas.

However, as we tested and compared the gloves, it ended up being apparent that the gloves fell into four unique classifications: mid-weight, waterproof gloves; heavyweight, neoprene gloves; insulated gloves; and layered gloves comprising an outer waterproof shell and an internal glove liner.

Boots-- Anyone looking for a brand-new pair should read our contrast of the different types and guidance on what to search for in a good boot. Prices ranged from $50 to $350, and design materials ranged from basic rubber compounds to sophisticated combinations of leather, Kevlar, and Gore-Tex. The expensive leather Ultima boot from Dubarry climbed to the top of the heap in regards to comfort as well as dryness, but a number of more affordable contenders were also named in that test.

Foul weather gear - Our most recent report on foul weather gear included more than a dozen different sets foul-weather from Gill, Grundens, Helly Hansen, Henri Lloyd, and West Marine. Your marine toilet systems experts talk about how although more costly kits are offered (Musto, for example, offers a wide variety of higher-priced gear), this test focused on mid-range, "offshore" kits with a cost limit of approximately $500 for a jacket and bibbed trousers.

Check us out here at Raritan Engineering, where we always take care of your marine sanitation supply needs.

via Photo