Bare feet on board

[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.

[deltaten]

I'm OK with shoes aboard. No hard shoes or hi-heels; but whothehell wears them any more?
Most unforgivable is flip-flops of any design, followed closely by nearly every sandal design. I've seen and had waaaay too many trips, falls, skids and near-to's that such open/loose footwear is verboten.

Our much ignored-by-mgmt docks are fulla splinters and uprooted nails, so I wear shoes or flips going ashore. As soon as I hit the deck or before, floppies come off and bare feet prevail.

[pesarsten]

After may years of telling guests onboard to wear shoes, I broke my own rule. I managed to break my index toe by jamming it walking on deck! I hobbled along solo for the next 800 miles of AICW cursing at my own stupidity. When I finally got medical attention, the doctors comment was "that's a hell of a compression fracture".

[Kettlewell]

I rarely wear shoes onboard. They come off when we arrive onboard and usually don't go back on unless we are going ashore. I often just leave a pair of shoes in the dinghy and take them off and put them on there. It is amazing how much dirt comes on the boat from shoes. Have I stubbed my toes? Yes! More than once, but over the years I have learned where all the stubbing places are and I like to keep my decks clear of most obstructions. We do put shoes on when bringing the boat into a dock because we want maximum traction and the ability to jump ashore onto splintery and hot docks, and in that rush one is likely to stub a toe on an unfamiliar surface.

[Ziggy]

I usually didn't bother to wear shoes on board while at anchor or on a mooring. Under way I always put shoes on. I normally kept my boat shoes (inexpensive sneakers, really) on board and never took them ashore. For going ashore, I kept another pair of waterproof sandals in the dinghy. I never wore the shore shoes while on board.

[NorthCoastJoe]

We are bare feet all the time. And yes, I have banged the toes a few times, but then you learn how to walk. For us its bare feet or if its cold boots not much in between.

[rbrazil]

We always wear shoes on board. Too many land mines on deck.

[Bowdrie]

It might be interesting to find out how many of the recent participants in the Golden Globe around the world race chose to run around on their boats barefooted.
I'm guessing somewhere between very few and none.
If your sailing solo a broken toe might not be much fun.
A calm/lazy day with little wind is one thing, when things are more exciting I will not be without shoes.

[Gudgeon]

I have a no street shoe rule on board if you wear them other than the boat they pick up old dirt smalll stones. On day sails I am normally bare foot, if it is a bit sporty I put a pair of shoes only worn on the boat. for offshore work it is a good pair of quick drying lace up boat shoes. In cold weather I wear boots. When we were racing everyone wore some type of boat shoes.

[landsend]

I've snagged and broken my little toe twice on board. 17 waves of pain.
Like north joe said,you learn to walk barefooted on board. I walk barefooted on the islands as much as possible,just feels good.

[David Mathis]

Unless we have cold weather, I rarely wear shoes on our boat but when guests come aboard, unless we're heading to the beach for a swim, they are always encouraged to keep theirs on. Why? Think about toenail fungus, ring worm, athlete's foot, and other nasty stuff you would rather not get from nice person who is asked to remove their shoes. Would you rather have a little dirt on your teak or have a few fungal spores or some bacteria spread around?

[Jammer]

It's a bad idea to go barefoot aboard. I do anyway because I like it. My guests can do whatever they want, and most wear shoes.

[rslifkin]

Generally on my boat or others, it's either sneakers or barefoot. Depends on what I'm doing and the temperature. Sometimes shoes are for foot protection, other times because it's cold. But I'd say in warm weather I'm barefoot most of the time on board.

[Chotu]

My opinion:

No shoes.

If you spend a lot of time on the boat traveling, it ends up being that it’s just more comfortable and you feel more sure footed without shoes between you and the deck. Your feet also “spread out” a bit and become much more relaxed and happy compared to spending all their time in foot prisons

As for breaking toes, I’ve done it countless times, but not from the deck. It’s always from playing games with a cat or a carelessly placed suitcase unseen.

I’m at around 8+ breaks now. My toes are mangled, internally, but still working just fine.

Never needed a doctor.

Once you have broken them enough, you know the second it happens just from the hollow snapping sound. Later the swelling and discoloration

Shoes are probably a good idea on unfamiliar boats though.

[Be Free]

Weather permitting, I'm barefoot most of the time when I'm on board. It's probably just years of habit, but I feel more "connected" to the boat when I can feel the deck under my feet. I've never broken a toe but I have tripped over deck fittings more than once when I had shoes on.