Wet suit as foul weather gear
 

Does anyone have an opinion on the practicality of using a wet suit as
foul weather gear?

Being a diver I have a couple of suits, they provide bouyancy and help
with thermal protection. I'm pretty comfortable in them for long
periods of time, and if no one is around to complain about the odor its OK.

Admittedly they do not provide the head and neck support of a PFD but
I'm thinking that they may be a viable, or perhaps more practical,
alternative to a PFD. All things are a compromise, right?

And of course there is that zipper in the front issue.

Many thanks,

Howard

Howard Peer wrote:
Does anyone have an opinion on the practicality of using a wet suit as
foul weather gear?

sure
I sail on Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and the North Channel. The water is
cold in mid-summer. If it's rocking and raining, I wear a wetsuit. It
keeps me functional in adverse conditions.
My $0.02

On Wed, 11 May 2005 21:09:49 -0400, Howard Peer
wrote:

Does anyone have an opinion on the practicality of using a wet suit as
foul weather gear?

Being a diver I have a couple of suits, they provide bouyancy and help
with thermal protection. I'm pretty comfortable in them for long
periods of time, and if no one is around to complain about the odor its OK.

Admittedly they do not provide the head and neck support of a PFD but
I'm thinking that they may be a viable, or perhaps more practical,
alternative to a PFD. All things are a compromise, right?

And of course there is that zipper in the front issue.

Back in the 1960s when my wife and I were self-teaching to sail on a
5-0-5, we did just that, but we still used Flotherchoc vests over the
wetsuits. We did a lot of swimming the first season. :-)


Rodney Myrvaagnes J 36 Gjo/a


Kansas--working to become a science-free zone

Howard Peer wrote:

Does anyone have an opinion on the practicality of using a wet suit as
foul weather gear?

Being a diver I have a couple of suits, they provide bouyancy and help
with thermal protection. I'm pretty comfortable in them for long
periods of time, and if no one is around to complain about the odor its OK.

Admittedly they do not provide the head and neck support of a PFD but
I'm thinking that they may be a viable, or perhaps more practical,
alternative to a PFD. All things are a compromise, right?

A wetsuit might keep you warm but it has nowhere near the bouyancy of a PFD.

Stephen

In article , r says...


Howard Peer wrote:

Does anyone have an opinion on the practicality of using a wet suit as
foul weather gear?

Being a diver I have a couple of suits, they provide bouyancy and help
with thermal protection. I'm pretty comfortable in them for long
periods of time, and if no one is around to complain about the odor its OK.

Admittedly they do not provide the head and neck support of a PFD but
I'm thinking that they may be a viable, or perhaps more practical,
alternative to a PFD. All things are a compromise, right?

A wetsuit might keep you warm but it has nowhere near the bouyancy of a PFD.

How much bouyancy does foul weather gear have? I don't count the PFD as foul
weather gear.

Howard Peer wrote:

Does anyone have an opinion on the practicality of using a wet suit as
foul weather gear?

A wet suit will not keep you dry when you are on deck. Usually what
you want foul weather gear for is to keep dry. Staying wet for long
periods of time (hours) isn't usually good.

Being a diver I have a couple of suits, they provide bouyancy and help
with thermal protection. I'm pretty comfortable in them for long
periods of time, and if no one is around to complain about the odor its OK.

Admittedly they do not provide the head and neck support of a PFD but
I'm thinking that they may be a viable, or perhaps more practical,
alternative to a PFD. All things are a compromise, right?

A wet suit does NOT substitute for a PFD.

And of course there is that zipper in the front issue.

Many thanks,

Howard

If I were in a very wet boat where I thought I might go overboard and
had no way to prevent it (like jacklines) then a wet suit under a PFD
might work for me.

That's what wind surfers, and surfboarders and kite surfers wear after
all.

grandma Rosalie

Gogarty wrote:

In article , r says...


Howard Peer wrote:


Does anyone have an opinion on the practicality of using a wet suit as
foul weather gear?

Being a diver I have a couple of suits, they provide bouyancy and help
with thermal protection. I'm pretty comfortable in them for long
periods of time, and if no one is around to complain about the odor its OK.

Admittedly they do not provide the head and neck support of a PFD but
I'm thinking that they may be a viable, or perhaps more practical,
alternative to a PFD. All things are a compromise, right?

A wetsuit might keep you warm but it has nowhere near the bouyancy of a PFD.


How much bouyancy does foul weather gear have? I don't count the PFD as foul
weather gear.


Maybe it was a typo, but he said:

I'm thinking that they may be a viable, or perhaps more practical,
alternative to a PFD. All things are a compromise, right?

Stephen

prodigal1 wrote:
Howard Peer wrote:

Does anyone have an opinion on the practicality of using a wet suit as
foul weather gear?


sure
I sail on Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and the North Channel. The water is
cold in mid-summer. If it's rocking and raining, I wear a wetsuit. It
keeps me functional in adverse conditions.
My $0.02



I was planning to buy one if I had kept my CL14 daysailer. Probably
won't bother now that I have a bigger mini-cruising sailboat.

As a USN EOD Diver, I had opportunities to use a "Submarine Deck Suit".
These things were VERY warm, fairly comfortable, as buoyant as a wet suit
and provided great protection from rain and spray.
The suit is a day glow orange outer nylon shell (with pockets), neoprene
core throughout, with a nylon liner. Not a PFD and won't win any points with
the yachty crowd, but warm, dry, and highly visible.
Big problem I see with a lot of high end foul weather gear is the colors. If
you go over the side, you want to be as visible as possible; so colors like
blue, white, yellow, green, and even red are for the clubhouse, not bad
weather on a small vessel.
My 2 cents.
MMC
"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 11 May 2005 20:32:22 -0700, Stephen Trapani
said:

A wetsuit might keep you warm but it has nowhere near the bouyancy of a
PFD.

I haven't been in a wetsuit since my days as a Navy diver 35 years ago,
but
I recall the wetsuit's providing plenty of buoyancy. That's why you had to
wear a weight belt. The difference is that the buoyancy is spread out over
your body, instead of being concentrated in the upper part, so there isn't
the same righting moment keeping your head above water and feet down.
Could
be significant if you're unconscious.

In article s.com,
says...
Does anyone have an opinion on the practicality of using a wet suit as
foul weather gear?

Being a diver I have a couple of suits, they provide bouyancy and help
with thermal protection. I'm pretty comfortable in them for long
periods of time, and if no one is around to complain about the odor its OK.

Admittedly they do not provide the head and neck support of a PFD but
I'm thinking that they may be a viable, or perhaps more practical,
alternative to a PFD. All things are a compromise, right?

And of course there is that zipper in the front issue.

Many thanks,

Howard


As a diver you should be aware of the fact that the wet suit is called
wet for a reason.

A wet suit insulates by containing water between the body and the
neoprene, limiting the water circulation, and allowing the body heated
water to keep you warm.

How well a dry wet suit may act as foul weather gear is questionable but
a possibility. However, as a substitutee for a PDF there isn't much
question that it's a lousy idea coonsidering that, should you lose
concisness, you are going to end up floating face down. In a survival
contex that is not a good thing.


--
Mike G.
Heirloom Woods

www.heirloom-woods.net