I often find myself wearing the wrong gear especially when it's either slightly chilly or really cold.

I do have one of the very best suits, all singing and dancing, Musto HPX where I am more comfortable than I've ever been, but still not as good as I would hope for.    I'm of the old school i guess, where I grew up with cotton and wool as the materials for under and mid garments.      I have tried the modern mid layers from Damart to Musto/Henri Lloyd, but never feel really cozy warm as I used to in the traditional materials.  Sometimes i feel even a little cool in the modern materials yet occassionally I can easily get far too hot even if the perspiration is meant to be 'wicked' away it is not too pleasant.  I also find that if you are fairly still and on watch for around 3 hours at night, the cold gradually gets in around ones back.   With my traditional gear underneath I feel great until I have a burst of activity to contend with, whereupon i sweat buckets and of course the cotton undies are then less than pleasant.

Are there any suggestions please?  I have even been to the doc' to see if I need a new thermostat, but all checks out o.k.   Scotty

Get a deck house!-it was Bruce Roberts(steel Spray etc) who said that he could never understand how anyone in northern climes thought it fun to get wet and frozen! Since I got mine three years ago never looked back-luckily mine has zip out panels to back and sides and a knock out sun roof so if its nice you can enjoy the open air but if its nasty you can zip youselve in!-and as I head for my 60th  I am quite happy to be soft warm and dry!!

Phil

Went to a talk by a chap from Gill yesterday. He said it was pointless spending lots of money on high tech breathable oilies and then wearing cotton underneath them, as the cotton would soak up the moisture and stop the oilies working.

Of course, he was trying to persuade us all that we really needed to invest in the whole branded three layer system, which if you go for it adds up to quite a lot of money. All those who have recommended looking in skiing/walking/outdoor shops, where thermals, fleeces etc seem to cost a little less have a very good point.

I think a proper thermal base layer is the main secret to keeping warm. Our favourites came from Marks and Spencer a few years back. The tops are really long. For the mid layer my other half still has an original Musto "babygrow" (quilted all in one, long trousers, no sleeves) which seems the perfect answer to people who get cold in the lower back. I prefer fleece, myself, and the kit I can't do without at the beginning and end of the season is stretchy fleece trousers I got from a ski shop sale (£10, I seem to to recall.) A thin fleece topped with a thicker fleece seems to keep my top half "cosy warm" in most conditions, even under today's lightweight, unlined oilies.

And of course it's essential to keep the extremities warm: cheap fleece hat, cheap ski gloves, expensive Goretex boots!

I really appreciate the lightness of today's "technical" kit and would hate to go back to being weighed down by two Guernseys, and my first set of oilies: totally unbreathable plastic, which left you drenched and frozen inside.

Incidentally, the guy from Gill explained why oilies are unlined these days. It's obvious, but it hadn't occured to me before: if you use two thicknesses of material, it halves the breathability of the outer layer. He argued that all oilies, even ocean spec, were intended just to keep you dry (not warm). And it was then a question of deciding how much "insulation" you needed inside them, to suit any given conditions.

Hi Phil

after my recent voyage to Spain through most conditions that the June weather seems to throw up crossing Biscay, I can heartily agree that a 'deck house' or in our case a covered in central cockpit on the Nic' 38 ketch, keeps you far more cozy.

In fact my rather classy all weather gear was almost redundant. 

The main problem though to me, is that you are made to feel a little remote from whats going on outside.   Like seeing the world outside via a large cinema screen. 

On one occassion in a F5 and not wanting to come about into the wind, we reefed the main going downwind by scandalising the main, i.e. lifting the boom end up 2-3 feet with the topping lift.   We tried this after a recent article in a well known mag' advised upon it. (It worked well...but do have well lubricated tracks for the sail to be slid down. )     Before going out of the cozy cockpit, conditions seemed horrendous, but when actually out there with all the gear on and with my 3 way safety line on, and the temperatures being fairly warm, things were not too bad at all.   It really did give us a false sense of heightened risk being inside the cockpit and although I always take all the safety precautions I can, (probably more than many people do) I felt a bit cheated when I eventually got out there. 

In the cockpit, I was constantly undecided as to how much gear to have on.  Was I to be suddenly needed out on deck or was I going to spend many hours snug as a bug in the cockpit?     In the end, T shirt with fleece, oilee bottoms with shorts and sandals seemed to be appropriate with the side screens unzipped.  (Unlined breathables are a bit scratchy though!)

All in all, for us over 60's perhaps I have been convinced that a deck house is not such a bad thing. 

As an addendum regarding 3 way lifelines, I did have to show concern to my very experienced skipper who slipped whilst out on deck, that he wasn't clipped on close enough. A good 3 way lifeline, although heavier having the 3 clips and slower to make your way round,  is far safer and if used correctly gives you a very short distance to fall and that should not be .....overboard!   I always use mine when solo and recommend everyone gives them some serious consideration.