Questions on wetsuits

R

RonM

New Member
I used to sail Lasers in the Chicago area over 10 years ago, and now live on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. I decided to get back into sailing and bought a Laser over the winter, and with the weather warming up I'm about ready to get on the water for the first time. I've been reading this forum to get prepared but I'm not sure about the water temperatures here compared to the midwest.

The averages for the season I plan to sail here are 50-55 degrees water temperature, 65-70 degrees air temperature. I'm sure I'm going to end up in the water, especially as I get used to the boat again, but I'm hoping I can right it pretty quickly and not stay in the water too long. I have a 3/2 full wetsuit and some questions:

- Do you think a 3/2 full wetsuit is ok, given the temperatures above and the occasional capsize?

- If not, can I wear anything else under/over the wetsuit to increase the warmth (for example, polypropylene underwear underneath, or a .5mm neoprene top over the wetsuit) ?

- Do I need to wear some kind of shorts over the wetsuit in any case, since it seems like the rough surface on the deck will damage the seat of the wetsuit pretty quickly?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
 
Hey Ron, a great topic to bring up, at least for me, as I am on the market too. I sail in MA and NH on lakes and we experience conditions a lot like that in the spring and late fall.

yesterday I sailed in my ronstan skiff suit, a technical shirt, and a spray top. one of the people i was sailing with got her mast stuck in the mud, so I was called on to lend my winter girth to the righting equation and had to spend a bit of time in the water. It was 54f air temp, and about 50 h2o temp. I wasn't cold until later when I got off the water, so I think I want to add some sort of top that insulated to the equation.
 
RonM said:
- Do you think a 3/2 full wetsuit is ok, given the temperatures above and the occasional capsize?

- If not, can I wear anything else under/over the wetsuit to increase the warmth (for example, polypropylene underwear underneath, or a .5mm neoprene top over the wetsuit) ?

- Do I need to wear some kind of shorts over the wetsuit in any case, since it seems like the rough surface on the deck will damage the seat of the wetsuit pretty quickly?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
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When I sailed last week in conditions similar to what you describe, I wore most of the above. 3/2 wetsuit, full underarmour, nylon windstop jacket, shorts to protect the wetsuit. I didn't capsize, but I was ready! I was fairly comfortable in the upper 50s air.

The air was warmer yesterday and I ditched the jacket and shorts. I was in a total sweat, but water at 50 was just too cold to do otherwise. I had plenty of drinking water and the 15 mph wind cooled me a bit. Went over once but managed to stay dry.
 
I have a 3m long john, in 60 deg. day. 50 h2o used a rooster hot top and their aqua
fleece, warmer days I got by with the hot top, went in the drink a few times. I was
ok was glad I got the hot top, cause the rash guard just didn't cut it.
 
Thanks for the information - I went to the Rooster site and it looks like the hot top is a .5mm neoprene/titanium, I assume like the ZhikSkin Titanium .5 top.

The Rooster site also has something called a Rooster Polypro top, which is a combination Spandex/polypro, I assume it would not be as warm as the hot top. Unfortunately, they're currently out of stock - would regular polypro long underwear work as well (although probably hard to get a wetsuit on over it), or does someone else make a similar item?

Merrily, I found the underarmour site but they have so many different types of clothing I wasn't sure which you were referring to. Do you know what yours are called?
 
RonM said:
Merrily, I found the underarmour site but they have so many different types of clothing I wasn't sure which you were referring to. Do you know what yours are called?
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Mine is just called long underwear. Black. It seems pretty heavyweight, but it's sleek enough that my wetsuit fits over it like it's a rashguard.
 
RonM said:
Thanks for the information - I went to the Rooster site and it looks like the hot top is a .5mm neoprene/titanium, I assume like the ZhikSkin Titanium .5 top.

The Rooster site also has something called a Rooster Polypro top, which is a combination Spandex/polypro, I assume it would not be as warm as the hot top. Unfortunately, they're currently out of stock - would regular polypro long underwear work as well (although probably hard to get a wetsuit on over it), or does someone else make a similar item?

Merrily, I found the underarmour site but they have so many different types of clothing I wasn't sure which you were referring to. Do you know what yours are called?
Click to expand...

I've been sailing w/my Zhik Titanium top and the microfleece pant in upper 50 degree water and lower 50 air temp with 20+ breeze w/no problems. I did not go swimming, but did get tea bagged a couple of times. The titanium top does a great job. I've been really impressed w/the gear.
 
Thanks, Merrily, I think I found it. It's their long underwear with Elastane (Spandex), which would make it a bit stretchy and tighter fitting so it would fit under a wetsuit - looks like it's similar to the Rooster polypro.
 
Ron,
I got the hottop thru jdemarine.com, cause Intensity didn't have the ex lg, I got a
large but at 180# 6ft, not big enough!! so gave it to my son for surfing. I seen the
polypro on their also. Hope this helps good sailing.
 
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