Stephen Trapani wrote:

prodigal1 wrote:

Stephen Trapani wrote:

I strongly suggest the original poster test his theory by trying to
float for an hour or so in his wet suit, *without fins* which is
something he's probably never done before.

Upon completion of this task put on a PFD and note the difference. I
contend this will end all thoughts of substituting his PFD with a
wetsuit.


I don't think you've given any thought to the different thicknesses of
wetsuits. If you're thinking about the fashion-skins worn by
blasphemyjet-skiers/blasphemy then you're right -little to no
bouyancy- but anything actually made for diving will keep you at the
surface comfortably for _long_ periods of time.

I am thinking of thick wetsuits. Mine is a 5/4 and I can tell you
without a doubt that without a floating device or fins it's not much
easier staying afloat with a wetsuit than it is without anything at all.
I swam competitively for seven years, played waterpolo, and surfed for
years with and without the wetsuit in heavy conditions, losing my board
on occasion.

Divers always use swim fins which are a huge help to staying afloat. Try
it without the fins.

How about without the fins AND without the weight belt.

I can easily stay afloat even without the wetsuit or a PFD and without
paddling or finning or anything unless I wear a weight belt - a weight
belt makes it harder.

I suspect that you have a typically low body fat and high muscular
development of a fit man, and I have the high body fat that hides
whatever muscles I have as an unfit old woman, and that will make a
difference in how much floating we do.

Having a wet suit WILL help you survive in cold water if you get
washed overboard whether you wear a PFD or not -- provided of course
that you are not knocked unconscious by the boom so that you can't
keep your head above water. IMO one of those auto-inflate PFDs would
be the boating equivalent of a BCD. I would not want to use a wet
suit of whatever thickness as a substitute for a PFD even though I can
float easily.

However, my preference would be to stay on the boat.

Whether a wet suit will work as foul weather gear (as in the title) -
well maybe. In our case the wetsuits are so much harder to put on
than the foul weather gear that it wouldn't be an attractive option.
Also it would be difficult for me to use the head with it on.

Because we don't actually wear foul weather gear much. Mostly we have
a pretty dry boat with a complete cockpit enclosure. So if we had to
wear foul weather gear to go out on the deck (and it would be pretty
rare unless we were possibly anchoring or something), then it could be
left to dry in the cockpit (I usually hang my coat on the wheel) and
we wouldn't have to drag it through the saloon or the aft cabin. So I
don't see that there is any advantage to it - at least for us.




grandma Rosalie