"L D'Bonnie" wrote in message
m...
I sail on a large Northern lake. There are many days when all I need
is shorts and a T shirt. There are also days when that sort of dress
would be a bit inappropriate. My boat is a 21 foot weekender. I'm not
concerned with sinking, but there is always a possibility of going
into the water. I live on the shore of the lake and intend to have my
boat in the water as soon as the ice is gone. I see no reason why I
can't sail just because it's 32 degrees and raining. Not as many
water skiers and Sea-doo's to dodge on those days.

I've never owned any sort of foul weather boating gear and would
appreciate some advice on what is practical before I make any
purchases. There is a wide choice of gear available with prices to
match.

At the lower end is this paddlers jacket in the $200 range

http://www.kokatat.com/product_detail.asp?code=tta

At the other end is this jacket that's nearly $800

http://www.pineapplesails.com/musto/...1647jacket.htm

I don't mind spending money on products that are worth their value.
Is a jacket like the $200 one adequate for cold weather sailing or
is it worth considering the $800 price range?

I would expect on a really cold day I would still need additional
layers of clothing with either jacket as well as suitable gloves,
boots and pants.

Sailing is the bottom line. What do I need to get out there and
sail in reasonable comfort while the rest are hiding indoors?

LdB


I'm in a position now where I don't care what it is, I buy the best for the
job. I refuse to buy compromise stuff and "bear with it" any longer.

For sailing stuff, I now buy Musto. I'll be buying one of those jackets in
a couple of years, too (don't need it at present)

Funnily enough, even though I live in Western Australia, I've bought stuff
from Pineapple too. They were great first time around but recently when I
tried to buy something it wasn't so good.

For a middle layer, perhaps you could consider what the other posters said
about end-of-season ski clothes - since there is no snow in Western
Australia as a rule, I don't know much about that but the others seemed to
be knowledgeable on the topic.

Hoges in WA