Hi everyone,

For those of you that go sailing in winter I was wondering if you would recommend a wet suit, semi dry suit, or dry suit (or neither?). Winter is getting closer here (Melbourne, Australia) and I'm keen to keep sailing throughout as I only bought my boat a couple of months ago. I believe the waters here are around 13 or 14 degrees Celcius in winter - is a semi dry suit the way to go? Or is wearing these things too restrictive on a cat?

Cheers,
Michael

In water a few degrees warmer than that, I have been happy with a spray suit with poly-pro underneath. That works well for sunny days with dark colors. I think dry suits are too uncomfortable to have fun wearing.

--
Greenville SC

Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans
--

Bacho, I am in the northeast and we have a shorter season , we have a couple people that wear dry suits I dont like them, I prefer Gil dinghy gear over my three mm wet suit.. The Zihke supper warm is nice I have worn that once .... I like foul weather gear over wet suit I like layering better to not over heat more versatile can mix and match for weather . I do hear good things about the breathable dry suits from Gil and Magic Marine think its all preference. I am lucky I sail with over 200 people I get to try out allot of things before purchasing ... Hope this is some help to you ... not like my last reply lol .. I do apologies for that rant on your last post ,you would be welcome to race at our club any time ....We encourage it .... No matter what you bring ..

the best i have seen are Kokatat Gore-TEX® Whirlpool Bibs (around $550)

http://www.foldingkayak.com/sportswear.htm#Bibs

you can add a spay top

not restrictive like a dry suit, but 100% dry/warm ( with a zipper)

they have a non gore-tex one (also sans zipper) for under $200

I prefer a drysuit when the water is that cold. I don't know about eveyone else, but I get wet while sailing in moderate wind. The spray off of the hulls will get you wet even if you have a spray suit. Plus, without a drysuit and you get capsized, the cold water will sap your strength pretty quickly.
Yes, the drysuit is a bit more constricting than just poly underlayers and spray suits but you quickly become accustomed to it and you don't even notice it after a while.
The only downside of my Gil drysuit is the rubber booties that are attached. My feet are huge (13-14) and it gets a bit tough fitting a sock, a lycra sock and my feet into the booties. Then, I have to fit all of that into a regular sailiing boot. By the time I get my boots on, I'm sweating a bit.
Other than that, I would say that if you can afford one, go ahead and get it. It will extend your sailing day by a few hours and your sailing season by a few weeks.
Regards!

13-14C or 56F ain't that bad. I think your gear is more dependent on the weather. Things like wind speed and air temp. I can tough out most anything in neoprene shoes gloves and a windbreaker.

--
Nacra 6.0 NA
Ogden Dunes, IN
--

We sail all seasons , in fact we went out yesterday;
Wind 5 beaufort (19 knts)
Watertemp 3 degrees Celsius ( 37 F)
Airtemp 9 degrees Celsius ( 48 F)
Windchill factor 0 degr C ( 32 F)
The modern dry-suits are not uncomfortable any-more, my suit has
latex socks and is 100% waterproof. Under the suit was one layer
of thermo-underwear and 2 layers of thick fleece .
8mm neoprene boots , 5mm gloves from a kite-surf shop and
a thick wool hat completes my cold water gear.
Even was completely in the water for almost 5 minutes due to a
stupid manoeuvre and was feeling quit comfortable temp-wise.

Wetsuits are used in the summer, a 3mm shorty when the weather
is really good. 21 degr C ( 70 degr F).
And a 4mm longjohn for medium weather.
When airtemp drops under 15 degr C (59 degr F) I always use
the dry-suit with a simple T-shirt and jogging-pants.
There are thicker wetsuits available 5.5 mm, but they are not
very comfy.

Another consideration is how long you're sailing in one haul,
Chancing clothes after 3 hours plus in a thick wetsuit is like
waking up in your bath-tub after you fell asleep in it.
While a dry-suit is more of a hassle getting out of it, your
skin likes it better.
And always remember catsailing is a wet sport while you're
out of the water, so windchill-factor is a consideration.

For dry-suits, look at the kitesurfers sites, these are designed
for maximum manoeuvrability and protection.

Greetings from a cold, wet and windy Netherlands
André



Edited by catmodding on Mar 02, 2012 - 01:21 AM.

--
Tornado (80's Reg White)
Prindle 18-2 (sold)
Dart 16 (hired and hooked)
13 mtr steel cutter (sold)
Etap 22, unsinkable sailing pocket cruiser.

Amsterdam, the Netherlands
--

Thanks for your answers guys. I see some inexpensive semi-dry suits on ebay - i understand that they're wet suits that are abit more water tight. Do you think these would be any good? I wonder if they'll still keep me warm even if i dont plunge into the water (and fill up with water on the inside)

Cheers,
Michael

Hi again,

Do any of you guys use a rostan skiff suit like this one?

https://www.whitworths.co…=18729&intAbsolutePage=1

I'm thinking that one of these is the go, am very interested to hear your opinion

Cheers,
Michael



Edited by michaelg on Mar 14, 2012 - 12:38 PM.