Clothes and personal stuff taken....?

[Wavewacker]

I'm sure there are some nudey cruisers out there, but those more inhibited in civilization, how much stuff do you take?

Not so much specific items, let's assume a casual cruise (no tux or blazers for the club) wet wear, jackets, jeans, shorts, T-shirts, polos, tennis and deck shoes and hats, etc.

My GF is having fits thinking she "needs" all kinds of stuff, me I'll take a razor and my tooth brush.....but I was wonder if we could convert the storage of clothes and personal items into cubic feet and pounds.

Looking at your needs as to pounds and cubic feet (like the airlines do) seems to be the best way to set limitations. It also sets aside the space needed for the size of a boat.

So long as you have laundry facilities I'd say I can pack for a year, 4 seasons in an Army duffel bag, since I've done it before. I think she thinks she "needs" 4 duffel bags.

Ladies?

Oh, North America, four seasons.

How much interior room is really needed for personal stuff?

[zeehag]

many items are findable in places to which one will cruise. i live on my formosa, so i have a few more items than most vacation and part time cruisers....

[daddle]

I would sooner face down a typhoon than discuss the clothing subject with a woman. Yikes! You are brave.

Warn her that the natural fibers don't survive well in many yachting locales. I.e. denim, wool sweaters. That's all I would do.

[sushirama]

My daughter and girlfriend have the some problem, its a genetic thing. My daughter came down to spend a week my 30' Iroquois since the big boat was in refit. I said bring 7 or 8 t-shirts, 4 or 5 pair of comfortable shorts or skorts, a lot of bathing suits and maybe one nice sundress or something like that. Nothing that requires ironing or maintenance. and you dont have much space. She shows up with almost nothing like that. Every thing needs ironing. One t-shirt. one bathing suit, and all skinny girl shorts(not for comfort) By the end of the trip she is ironing her clothes with a flat iron so we can go to the pool. My g/f is the same way. She has no khaki shorts or skorts. "I only wear skirts and dresses" I told her to prepare to give a lot of free shows if she is going to go at it like that. No clue on how to dress on a boat.

[atoll]

most cruising girls in the tropics get by with bikini,nickers ,teeshirts and a sarong.

on passage ,nickers ,bikini top and tshirt when it gets cooler in the evening.

going to town,cotton trousers or shorts,tshirt ,reef sandals and day pack are pretty much all the girlies need

[zeehag]

what atoll said--and if one wishes to remain sweat free as much as possible here in tropics, do wear cotton. is only fiber that will feel comfortable without causing one to sweat more than a horse.

[Seaworthy Lass]

I have a foot and a half of hanging space, two tiny drawers (French lingerie does not take up much space LOL), one small shelf and two jackets and goretex pants in the wet weather locker. Can't imagine it takes up much more than a big duffle bag's worth and that's for all 4 seasons. If I buy anything new, something existing needs to be thrown out. This principle keeps the clothes budget low as well .

[mcarling]

Originally Posted by Wavewacker

My GF is having fits thinking she "needs" all kinds of stuff, me I'll take a razor and my tooth brush.....but I was wonder if we could convert the storage of clothes and personal items into cubic feet and pounds.

I tell the girls they can bring anything they want, but it has to fit in one bag that they can carry in one hand. The first time, they all bring things they don't need and don't have the things they need. On subsequent trips, there are no problems.

[Wavewacker]

Thanks to all, I'm leaving what she wants to take up to her, cotton, silk, wool, I figure if she is uncomfortable she will learn quickly and fall in line to more appropriate clothes.....

By North America I meant the United States, gulf, ICWs and such, but good to know you can get by with much less in the tropics.....LOL

But it's the space/pounds that we are trying to figure out.

I do realize that one may have a 50' catamaran and may have a walkin locker, but what would be appropriate for the monhulls, say 26 to 36 footers.

Just trying to figure out how much room is really needed to cruise and liveaboard.

I'm trying to tell her to be able to fold everything, I see the stoarage under settees and under the berths as the primary clothes stash, wet gear in a locker. Drawers might be limited but if there are any I'm sure she will fill them with makeup and hair stuff.

Didn't realize I was being that brave....LOL

[Hudson Force]

I've always been proud that my wife's most expensive outfits are her weather gear">foul weather gear & her wetsuit. As you said, much depends on the boat and much depends on the person too! I just took a tape measure forward while posting and I have this data for a woman that has lived aboard in comfort for over forty years: Six cubic feet of folded clothes; 15 inches of hanging clothes; twelve pairs of shoes. I was surprised at the shoe count,- 'didn't know there were that many! Actually, the number must be thirteen because she's out Chrsitmas shopping now and likely wearing shoes!

I look back at earlier posts and see terms like, "bringing" things; "packing" things; "taking" things....... These all imply spending a time on a cruise and not a lifetime aboard. My accounting of clothing is for people who own nothing that is not on the boat. I'll add my own data as I did for my wife: Five cubic feet of folding clothes; 8 inches of hanging clothes; four pairs of shoes

[zeehag]

shoes?? what are these things you call shoes?????
french undies?? hhmmmm..mebbe i need some of that....
i live in tanks and shorts...bare feet and such, but i have a boat full of stuff to ditch....but, what should i ditch???????
hhmmmm........

[daddle]

My GF has a rollie carry-on size suitcase. All her stuff is in there. Mostly tiny shorts, tees, and slippers (flip-flops). Excepting the seashell collection. That we need to have a talk about But then I have the worlds most perfect GF.

[Conchfritterz]

Ok, I am a woman and I live aboard. This is the way I do it on our 38 monohull sailboat. First, we each have a space bag for winter stuff that we keep separate buried under the V berth. I have two dresses aboard that I have not worn yet but just in case we ever need to class it up I keep them aboard. I live in my bathing suits and have found that usually a long sleeve tunic top and (believe it or not) cute cheap boxers (Old Navy)are what I wear for bottoms because they are comfortable and easy to slip over a suit. I have found that my cotton shorts are too hot. 1 pair of jeans, 4 l/s columbia shirts and a few cute going out tops. I find offshore passages I generally wear suit bottoms and a beater t shirt the whole way. And when we are in and around town I wear almost the same outfit for a week because we do a lot of swimming. Making and doing laundry is an issue, so we try not to dirty up a bunch since it is a hassle to take it in and find a laundromat. Let her do that a few times and she will lighten up on the clothes. Everything has a hard life on a boat and I now buy most of my stuff on ebay, because it is just a matter of time before it will get stained, torn or fall apart. Basically , loose shorts and something to give me sun protection on my arms are what I wear most.

Take this from a designer and clothes horse. She will lighten the load after having to dig and dig through it all. Same with makeup and hair products, I have not used any of that in over a year!

Good luck...

[River Cruiser]

I keep 3 pairs of jeans, 3 hoodies, 6 pairs of socks & 5 long sleeve tees these are for early spring & late fall. For the warmer months 6 swim trunks, 10 tee shirts, 4 pairs of shorts & 6. briefs. 1 shirt with a collar & 2 slacks that get very little use. I'am going to get vacuum storage bags for extra bedding & towels that are onboard for use when the kids & grandkids visit, I hope this will free up some space. My wife comes over on weekends & brings a large roll around bag, has to have a couple changes a day, may cool down in the late afternoon you know;-) I do laundry once a week to 10 days. I go back home during Dec. Jan. Feb. & part of March so don't need any winter wear.

[Khagan1227]

Space saver bags, well save space! They are also sealed against mildew, the inevidable bug and are handy for those things, like warm wear clothing that is used 2 or 3 months out of the year.

We really like the roll up type, but the vacuum type work best if you have one.

When we move off the boat, they also make it easy to unload.

3 pairs of swim trunks, a few old tees, a couple of "dress up tees", one button down shirt, several long sleeve tees. several pairs of columbia convertable pants and hiking shirts (long sleeve and wickable), heavy set of foulies and a light set of foulies, two sweat shirts, one is a hoodie, warm sweater. Flip flops, dock siders, old sneakers and sea boots and way too many ball caps and bandanas.