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January 18, 2007 - The Foulies
by Beth & Al Liggett

This subject rarely comes up in the "Cockpit Conversations" we have with fellow yachties at sundowner time. So I asked our last guests about it; they are Canadians, who started sailing when their four sons were still small. They had rain jackets themselves and dressed the kids up in black plastic garbage bags when it rained. Well, at least it was "one size fits all" as they say.

I've tried to remember what foul weather gear we used back in the covered wagon days aboard our first boat Bacchus. I know it wasn't a garbage bag, but nothing else comes to mind. I suppose we went to the local Army surplus store and bought PVC rain coats or some such. I do remember spending a lot of cold, wet watches as we crossed the Pacific. Bacchus had no self-steering gear, no auto pilot, and no dodger. You had to be out there; you were steering; if it was raining you were wet.

But in New Zealand we invested in some LINE 7 pants and jackets. Again, it was a PVC material, but with welded seams; it was heavy and hot, but the LINE 7 kept us reasonably dry and was more comfortable to wear. You must remember that back in 1968 the technology for fabrics, and the construction of wet weather gear for serious wet weather work, was not much past that of the Army surplus rain coats.

I think that when Sunflower was launched we still had the LINE 7 stuff. And that somewhere along the way we bought newer LINE 7 foulies - maybe Hong Kong? Before crossing the North Pacific? Wonder of wonder - bib overall trousers! Quite comfortable. Until you had to use the toilet. Basically, you had to undress. And then re-dress. Meanwhile the jacket is dripping water in the galley (or wherever) and the pants around your ankles are swishing wet streams across the floor.

Now we have Henry Lloyd foul weather gear that is 20 years old. It was really good for the first few years, then OK and sorta water proof for about another 10 years. But now the jacket seems to be just a layer of cloth between being wet on the outside and wet on the inside. I once heard it said that the only true way to stay dry on a boat was to completely vulcanize your body. Seems a bit extreme to me. So I get wet - even in my "foulies".

On our travels Stateside last year we had "New Foul Weather Gear" written on the buy list. It is a major investment, so we had a good look around. We only need to buy jackets. Since we are in the tropics, we rarely wear our HL bib overalls, so I expect that they are still "waterproof." West Marine stores are everywhere; we visited at least 5 that I remember. We were not pleased with the choices. Or rather, lack of choice.

First there is the color. Why are manufacturers making jackets in such dark colors? Especially on the sleeves and upper body. Nice fashion statement. But I want to be able to see Al when he is on the foredeck in miserable conditions. And I want him to be able to see me! Fashion doesn't count. I like yellow. Yes, yellow gets dirty, but it's visible. Our HL gear is red - a good choice too.

Then there is the fit. We tried on quite a few jackets. The sleeves are too long for me, too short for Al. Next size doesn't solve the problem, just creates others - too bulky, too tight across the chest, etc. I have a small head - hoods are enormous and will not cinch down properly for me. Nor will the neck treatments. You can have as many double flaps and velcro fasteners as you want, but there is this gaping hole between my chin and the jacket. THAT'S WHERE THE WATER GOES! The foul weather gear these days tries to bring up the neck piece to cover this gap, and all it does is envelop me in stiff fabric up to my nose. But - the gap is still there.

In the end we bought nothing. "New Foul Weather Gear" is still on the list. Or maybe we should just buy a lot of insulated plastic garbage bags with hoods!