Boat shoes: Research before you buy

June, 1999

By Tom Snyder

Boy, am I thankful for the Internet! This past spring, I came within inches of buying a pair of boat shoes on my own before a friend sent me to the ’Net to get the real scoop. Sure, you can go out and just buy a boat shoe all by yourself. But, really, why trust your instincts when the combined instincts of dozens of wealthy software executives with too much time on their hands is at your disposal?

Here is just a sampling of the wisdom:

On Sizes:

“With boat shoes, always go over-engineered. If you are rated to wear a 9 1/2 shoe and you’re going to be doing any serious offshore cruising, spend the few extra dollars to get a size 12 or 13. You’ll be glad you did at 3 in the morning when the wind is howling and the poor guy on the next boat is struggling with well-fitted shoes.”

On dryness:

“…You might want to consider drilling a 3/16” hole at the back of both shoes, right under the center of the heel. This will insure the drainage you need. By the way, don’t expect to drill both shoes with just one drill bit; I went through two good ones!”

More on dryness:

“I have seen plans for boat shoes with auxiliary hoses for fast draining, but to me that seems like overkill unless you have a lazarette big enough to stow the hoses (8 feet) plus anti-siphon gear (3 lbs.)…”

Even more on dryness:

“If shoe moisture accumulation is due to overheating, you might want to consider a cooling plate with hand-held compressor. This sounds awkward, but since the stainless steel plate doubles as radar reflector (whenever the soles of your shoes approach the vertical), it might just be a time saver!”

Pre-launch check:

“To ‘cruise-test’ your boat shoes, liberally ‘paint’ them with a mixture of dish soap and water. Blow on the foot opening. If you see any bubbles, especially around the tassels, immediately disconnect your mouth from the shoe and let it stand for an hour. Repeat. If bubbles persist, use a higher water/dish soap ratio. “

Cleaning your footwear:

“You can make your own boat shoe cleaner, essentially a retracting 1/8” shim that protrudes through a safety sleeve for cleaning deep inside wavy bottom grooves. For plans visit www.retracting.shim.wavy.

Alternatively, if you don’t feel like spending the time on a do-it-yourself boat shoe cleaner, you can buy “Mr. Spark Gap” at Auto Heaven. It does the trick, but IMHO, you might as well pay for full-price confidence at West Marine and get their marine grade boat shoe cleaner because it’s been degaussed (a must for boaters)!”

Common sense:

“Never connect boat shoes to shore power unless you know for certain that your zincs are all in place below the waterline. How many boats do we have to lose before this becomes conventional wisdom?”

See what I mean? Great stuff! How did anyone ever get anything done back in the days of relatively low-speed modems?

Television producer Tom Snyder (“Dr. Katz”) lives in Cambridge, Mass. with his wife, Anne, and children. He sails his Island Packet 350 Blue Moon out of Hingham, Mass. and Peaks Island, Maine.