Bare feet on board

[lestersails]

I really like the 'fingered' water shoes on a boat. They give me great grip (much better than bare feet), some protection from injury*, but preserve the sort of prehensile sensation of bare feet - allows me to have a good feel for the surface I am standing on. Yes, they look dorky (but not as dorky as Crocs, IMHO) and are not easy to get on to those older, stiffer toes that seem to be found on my feet these days, but once on, they are super comfortable and very light.


*Protects from slivers, glass, etc., but you can still snag that little toe and they provide zero protection from any crush injury.

[AJ_n_Audrey]

I am still sporting a black toenail on my big toe as a result of being barefoot on deck. I have a pair of boat shoes that stay on the boat; I take off my land shoes when I come aboard and put those on. Except of course on the day I went from Ft Pierce to Canaveral and got caught in a squall, during which I jammed my toe while handling lines to reduce sail. I'm in favor of shoes.

[Coltrek]

One Midweek race, a then - Youngish construction worker, a tough guy, was running around bare footed - I suggested he put shoes on and said I have an extra pair below, but he said ahh, I'm fine! Well, halfway through a tack as he was walking across the bridgedeck, the Windward sheeting Main Traveler came flying across his toes. I watched in horror in slow-motion as it sliced probably 3/16" down, and watched for blood to come squirting out. None Did! After a bit it bled a little, but not nearly as much as I expected. He just said, 'Damn' and went about the jib sheet. I can't remember if it changed his attitude about shoes, as he was getting into the child rearing period of his life and his wife made it hard to crew, I just remember being relieved I didn't have a lost toes accident on my hands.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by lestersails

I really like the 'fingered' water shoes on a boat. They give me great grip (much better than bare feet), some protection from injury*, but preserve the sort of prehensile sensation of bare feet - allows me to have a good feel for the surface I am standing on. Yes, they look dorky (but not as dorky as Crocs, IMHO) and are not easy to get on to those older, stiffer toes that seem to be found on my feet these days, but once on, they are super comfortable and very light.
Attachment 281769

*Protects from slivers, glass, etc., but you can still snag that little toe and they provide zero protection from any crush injury.

I like them for summer kayaking and beach walking. OK for beach cat sailing. That's about it.

[iPiran]

I'll add my tuppence to the barefoot community. I find I slip and slide as much, if not more, in deck shoes or boots, so as long as weather makes it comfortable I go bare foot. So far no broken bones, and the minor injuries are on a par to footwear, so I go with the bare comfort .
I do have the luxury of building our forever boat, so can make the decks barefoot friendly.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by HeinSdL

When I was young I was always instructed to wear shoes on board mainly to prevent broken toes. There are after all enough places to catch a small toe behind and... break it.

These days I still wear shoes but the other day I had a lapse and hit my toe on the traveller. It hurt and now it's blue and it reminded me how easy it is to be injured like this.

But looking at other boats, especially the more posh examples, shoes come off before stepping on board. And these are often people on a one-off charter with possibly less awareness of deck fittings.

I am curious to hear of standards/rules applied on other boats, being genuinely surprised by the number of bare feet I see.

That greatly depends on your boat.
My old longkeeler ketch a VILM must have been designed by an orthopedic that was in desperate need to create clients :-) as soon as you leave the cockpit you needed closed crocs or boat shoes as minimum. Everything was positioned exactly right to smash your toe against or get trapped underneath=ortopedic visit guaranteed:-) to make the combonl perfect everything was at the mast...
The reason i put one line reefing and 2 additional whinches and rooted eveything into cockpit so i only need to get out outside cockpit if something is jammed or not working.
It had other qualities and a price you would have been dumb to say no...sold for double 2 years later...

My cat now a FP Lavezzi 40 Maestro is exactly the opposite, nothing on the boat where you could hit or trap or slide...absolutely perfect for barefoot and i only wear shows when weather/temps require it. Only exception is nightwatch on offshore passage, there i put shoes on as you never know what comes.

[Bowdrie]

Haha, reading this thread reminds me of Josh Slocum, I'll bet he was glad that the unruly miscreants that jumped on his boat weren't wearing shoes, they might have tracked some dirt onboard.

[Prairie Chicken]

No street shoes allowed aboard our boat. New, non-street shoes with soft white soles were encouraged for guests but mostly everyone, ourselves included, went barefoot. Yes, there were some stubbed toes, but more banged shins on the stairs. Bare feet feel good! (Unless the teak is too hot, necessitating socks.)

[KJThomas]

Shoes? Why not wrap yourself in bubble wrap? After all you can possibly injure yourself anywhere.

Hated being aloft in a square rigging in boots. A requirement on that ship. Felt so insecure compared with barefoot. Sudden loses of footing when the shoes lost grip.

[singlespeed]

Crocs on board. Not only are they not slippery on deck, but if you swim with them it's much easier to float on your back. Way too many broken toes on night passages through crowded channels, running up to the bow and back.

I keep closed toe sandals in the dinghy for use on shore. Got a hasty cut on my big toe from a buckled sidewalk in St. Martin. Protecting the toes when ashore is just as important as on deck. Also save the feet when walking in shallow water with rocks or broken coral.

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by KJThomas

Hated being aloft in a square rigging in boots. A requirement on that ship. Felt so insecure compared with barefoot. Sudden loses of footing when the shoes lost grip.

Thought about that a couple of days ago.
Yep, I sure wouldn't want to have to scurry up the ratlines and move out on the footrope of the main upper topsail in a blow with boots on.
We should all remember that wisdom the next time the bo'sun orders us aloft, or we have to walk out on the whiskers to "use the head".

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by KJThomas

Shoes? Why not wrap yourself in bubble wrap? After all you can possibly injure yourself anywhere.

Hated being aloft in a square rigging in boots. A requirement on that ship. Felt so insecure compared with barefoot. Sudden loses of footing when the shoes lost grip.

good point !

back in the days of timber ships and iron men it was only the namby pamby officers that wore shoes. real men had bare feet !

cheers,

[Leakie Marine]

My many broken toes, especially the big ones that have multiple breaks now come in handy as weather forecasters!

Change of pressure makes the arthritis play up, faster the pain onset, sooner the weather is coming, I have to get the calibrated :-D

I must be a slow learner

[Seabeau]

I wear shoes on board and require all crew and guests to do the same. Why? Almost all injuries to feet can be avoided by wearing shoes. I once had a guest on a day sail, who kept removing his shoes, even after repeated warnings. Sure enough, he stubbed his toe so severely that the skin of the entire top of the toe, from the nail forward, was laid backwards. Bleeding and in extreme pain, he received first aid, then he demanded that we return to shore. I and others pointed out, that it was his actions that caused his grief. We did NOT return to shore. He has never been invited to sail again.

[fxykty]

Barefoot (and mostly bare assed too). We are full time on our boat and have had her 6 years, so you learn how to move around without knocking yourself. Our decks aren’t particularly clear, but so what? Maybe it’s a cat vs mono thing?

If the temperature requires shoes, then we start with slippers and graduate to boat shoes then sea boots. We keep water shoes (basically strapped sandals with neoprene lining) in the dinghy in case of rough terrain.

On land it’s barefoot on the beach and flip flops/thongs/jandals for town and sport shoes for hiking and officials. Land shoes not worn on the big boat, but yes in the dinghy.

During racing (not our boat) - deck shoes. Visiting or sailing other peoples’ boats we stay barefoot, temperature-dependent of course.