• Untitled Document

    Join us on March 29rd, 7pm EST

    for the CBEC Virtual Meeting

    All EYO members and followers are welcome to join the fun and get to know the guest speaker!

    See the link below for login credentials and join us!

    March Meeting Info

    (dismiss this notice by hitting 'X', upper right)

Boat Shoes

Pat O'Connell

Member III
Hi Respected Sailors.... Any suggestions on a good boat shoe? I have been using Nike Air Monarchs for a few years and the price is right at about $45. Need a shoe/sneaker that I can hike when ashore too. Typical three or four hole shoes do not have very much support. The Leather Air Monarchs last for about a year then the soles harden up just a little and they get frisky on wet decks or after bailing out the old Avon. Discovered my last pair in the clearance section soo they may not be there next year? Any good products work for you?
Best Regards
Pat
1981 E28+ Universal 5411
 

Slick470

Member III
For the goal of hiking ashore and for use on the boat, I'd recommend heading over to your local REI or equivalent and look at what they call "water shoes" and find one with lots of ventilation and a somewhat aggressive sole for traction on and off the boat. Most of the ones that meet those requirements have plenty of support for anything short of backpacking.

Keen is a brand I see a lot on boats that has a line of shoes that would probably meet your needs. http://www.keenfootwear.com/water/f/men/

I have a pair of Teva water shoes that lasted a long time until the soles finally started separating. It doesn't look like they make that one anymore, but it was also a good option. This appears to be their latest equivalent http://www.teva.com/men-shoes/omniu...&prefv1=Water+Friendly&start=1&cgid=men-shoes
 

Pat O'Connell

Member III
Hi Andy
Thanks.. Very nice of you to provide those links! Will any of those shoes function as a beach shoe too? I can imagine how cool it would be to have a deck and hike shoe that I could just walk out of the rubber boat on to the beaches. That would sure be worth the extra price.
Now I keep a little kit box with the beach only shoes under the Avon Seat. Like to be able to stop doing that.
Thanks again.
Best Regards
Pat
1981 E28+Universal 5411
 

Slick470

Member III
The Teva ones I have would be fine as a beach shoe too, not sure about the new version or the Keens without looking at them.

The Tevas I have, you can slip out the insole and rinse any sand out of them pretty easily. Afterwards they dry relatively quickly.
 

G Kiba

Sustaining Member
Crocs for me too. Best deck shoe for comfort, grip, cost, and wear in that order. Going on my 3rd season and it's almost time foe new ones.
Oh yeah. You don't have to buy the ugly ones! My old pair were called a "canvas" style something or other. Take a look at the "Santa Cruz" and others. New styles every year. Mostly plastic so they handle the wet well and non-scuffing.

http://www.crocs.com/c/men
 
Last edited:

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Canvas slip ons!

Canvas slip ons. With soles that grip well. I avoid anything with shoe strings because I have had them get caught or un-tied by deck hardware. I have owned all types of canvas slip ons from expensive Sperry canvas slip ons to Vans and Sketchers and even $12. Old Navy's. No leather, they don't mix well with salt water. The Old Navy's are a great value!

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/produ...8479490,Matchtype:,tid:onpl000000,kwid:1,ap:7
 

Attachments

  • 0457374_1_1200x735.jpg
    0457374_1_1200x735.jpg
    30.8 KB · Views: 195

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
+1 for Crocs, Natives or any of the Sons of Rubber. Especially for going ashore in a dinghy. They stick well and wipe dry. I like the ugly ones--you can wear socks if it's cold.

I do still wear Topsiders for actual rigorous deck work, but in a year or so the soles become hardened and no longer grip well. I have some older pairs that will kill you in an instant, on a dry hot deck they're ice skates.

Topsiders once wet with salt water stay wet for the duration. They are really pathetic, despite tradition. The company has change hands so many times that any vestige of nautical heritage long since departed, and beware that the department store versions are currently designed for washing BMWs in Boston driveways. The West Marine versions are better, but still suffer form wet leather and hardening soles.

Any running shoes that happen to stick to a wet deck--and trial and error is the only test of that--are probably the best bet, in the end, for actually working a boat.

Yeah, just opinion. But there are long threads on other forums, and we all seem to come to the same conclusion: try shoes until something works, and remember not to wear the ones that don't.
 

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
+1 for Crocs, Natives or any of the Sons of Rubber. Especially for going ashore in a dinghy. They stick well and wipe dry. I like the ugly ones--you can wear socks if it's cold.

I do still wear Topsiders for actual rigorous deck work, but in a year or so the soles become hardened and no longer grip well. I have some older pairs that will kill you in an instant, on a dry hot deck they're ice skates.

Topsiders once wet with salt water stay wet for the duration. They are really pathetic, despite tradition. The company has change hands so many times that any vestige of nautical heritage long since departed, and beware that the department store versions are currently designed for washing BMWs in Boston driveways. The West Marine versions are better, but still suffer form wet leather and hardening soles.

Any running shoes that happen to stick to a wet deck--and trial and error is the only test of that--are probably the best bet, in the end, for actually working a boat.

Yeah, just opinion. But there are long threads on other forums, and we all seem to come to the same conclusion: try shoes until something works, and remember not to wear the ones that don't.


I agree that rubber sole boat shoes do get hardened to a very dangerous and slippery state.


I purchased a pair of Keen' s a couple years ago that hardened and Keen sent me a new pair free of charge. I've also stopped leaving my boat shoes onboard when we are away from the boat. I theorized that the Florida heat down below caused the slippery sole. So far, so good.
 

Pat O'Connell

Member III
Hi Respected Saillors
There was a lot in your remarks that I didn't know I didn't know. Thanks.
Best Regards
Pat
1981 E28+ Universal 5411
 
Top