how much clothing

[QuickMick]

just wondering how much clothing you guys keep on board? ive got all my foul weather gear, and a couple of changes of clothes but i pretty much spend all summer in flops and swimtrunks. ive got a conference room in my office where i keep suits etc, but was wondering how much stowage i need to plan for for clothing for extended cruising? heck, maybe one 'nice' outfit, couple of pairs of jeans, tees shorts and flops one pair boots? what do you guys keep on board?

[remetau]

When we moved aboard, each of us got rid of about 70% of our clothes (good reason to move south). We have a couple of nice clothes at each of our parents for funerals or whatever. On board, we have a few sweatshirts, jeans, foulies, long sleeves, but mostly shorts, swim gear and t-shirts. She also has quite a few sun dresses.

We have 1 hanging locker that we share which is about 4 feet long. We have 6 drawers each that are about 1 foot by 2 where we store under clothes, shorts, jeans, tees, etc. We have about 2 vacuumed closed storage bags under our berth for our "winter clothes".

[kd3pc]

When I was working and living aboard, I kept the good suit and clothes in the suburban, as my boat was older and had a smell that invaded everything, and changed in the bath house. Your conference room would be ideal. Now that I retired and have a less smelly boat, I live in swim trunks and wicking tshirts. One nice pair of boat shoes, one ratty pair of boat shoes and a decent pair of sneakers (we walk and cycle a lot). Foulies become the jacket/rain/windbreaker. I do keep some sweatshirts on board for colder winter days, and some socks to go with the sneakers. I still keep a dress pair of slacks and polo shirt in the truck in one of those vacuum bags for big events, but seldom use them, anymore.

Winter I go with jeans, and keep a pair of hiking boots (in case of snow) in the truck - everything else stays the same..

We are gearing up for scuba gear storage and a true set of foulies/boots this year.

[lunaticfringe]

I live aboard a 36 foot 73 vintage with not very much hanging locker space. I work as a consultant so I keep my suits and dress shirts on board -- it is a challenge but I find I can make do -- I am on the gulf coast so I keep my winter clothes in storage until I need them and then swap shorts and what not for sweaters and fleece -- I am looking forward to the day when I can get a larger boat with more storage... I also always keep two sets of foulies on board as you never know when you will need them.

[mysticsailor]

We don't live aboard, but we do spend every weekend on the boat. My wife has come to the conclusion that fabric choice is more important than the amount of clothing. We have alot of sport performance type clothing. Cotton always feels damp and takes forever to dry after washing.

[St Anna]

Originally Posted by QuickMick

just wondering how much clothing you guys keep on board? ive got all my foul weather gear, and a couple of changes of clothes but i pretty much spend all summer in flops and swimtrunks. ive got a conference room in my office where i keep suits etc, but was wondering how much stowage i need to plan for for clothing for extended cruising? heck, maybe one 'nice' outfit, couple of pairs of jeans, tees shorts and flops one pair boots? what do you guys keep on board?

I think you answered yourself perfectly.

Most things are not used. Sailors seem to wear with pride a shirt or shorts with an oil or rust stain. We actually have an iron on board, but it only appears if my work clothes need to appear.

You can often 'spot the yachty' prowling the markets by their clothes and hatwear, unshaven, suntanned and happy!!

[eryka]

How much you keep is as often a function of laundry cycle as anything else. If you expect to cruise in area where you won't be able to do laundry but every two weeks, you either need enough clothing to last until you see a laundromat again, or things you can hand-wash in the sink with minimal water use. (Note that jeans are heavy & bulky & use a lot of water - we've had more success with medium-weight chinos.)

That said, it might be more effective to think about packing based on activities you might be doing, because its really all about your lifestyle. Clearing in and out of customs on many islands, respect seems to dictate at least long pants and a collared shirt. We each packed something suitable for a New Year's Eve party or clubbing (for me, a lacy top and shimmery pants - both washable). I've also got a brown pantsuit that I could use for a funeral or business meeting (luckily, neither of those happened in the last year), and an outfit that I can wear for something celebratory like a wedding or a shower. And, being a girl, after all, a little black dress. All of these, hand-washable, non-wrinkle synthetics. For everyday wear: 4 pairs of water shorts, 8 T-shirts/Hawaiian shirts, 4 long pants, 2 pairs of nice shorts to wear walking around in a city, 2 sun dresses, 2 long-sleeve sunblock shirts, 2 turtlenecks, 1 sweater, 1 fleece sweatshirt, 1 long underwear, 1 complete set foulies, 1 fleece jacket, tennies, Keens (hiking sandals), sea boots, nice shoes to go with dressy outfit above.

[CaptainForce]

All my variety of clothing can fit in two regular size washing machines and my wife's, in three. In addition we have foul weather gear and wetsuits that I did not include in this volume. I also have four pairs of shoes and my wife has about ten pairs. This is the approximate same volume we had when we moved aboard 39 years ago. Take care and joy, Aythya crew

[oceanscapt]

Foul weather gear (jacket, pants, boots, gloves, thermals); 3pr boat shorts; 1pr good shorts; 3 long sleeved boat t-shirts, 1 long sleeved good shirt; 2 loud short sleeved Hawaiian shirts, 2pr flops; 2pr water shoes (Merrills w Vibram soles for water and light shore walking); 1pr med duty hiking boots; 1pr sorta good shoes, 4pr socks; 3pr sailing gloves; 2 Tilley hats; 1 baseball hat; 1 sweater; 1 light water resistant jacket; several handkerchiefs.

The good clothes are stored away in a waterproof bag and are designed for shore times. Boat clothes are clothes that have degraded from good to don't wear ashore unless you want to be razzed.

I wear flops most of the time (arches and age) or the Merrills if I need good traction and foot protection whether aboard or on shore. I really like the Merrills and since they're hard to find and fit to my big feet, I have a spare pair. The Merrills aren't what I'd call adequate hiking boots, so I have a pair of those for long walks, long shopping trips, or excursions. I will walk the shore or sand barefoot but will not, under any conditions, walk the dirt streets or paved roads barefoot.

I wear synthetic clothing most of the time as it seems to last the longest, be economical to wash, and isn't expensive. A spare Tilly, baseball hat, and rest of the gear for when temps drop below 75F or the rain's not hard enough to warrant the foul weather gear.

[Serendipitous]

Originally Posted by St Anna

We actually have an iron on board, but it only appears if my work clothes need to appear.

I'm actually looking for some type of iron or travel steamer for use on extended cruising. Anyone come across something that's small, effective, and either uses very little power or works on batteries? I know non-wrinkle fabric would be the best choice, then I wouldn't need anything to get the wrinkles out, but I've got some cotton fabrics which I will need to get the wrinkles out.

Oh, and although I'm sure the first post would be 'wear clothes with wrinkles, no one's going to care', I'm still a little OCD about that and want to see if I have any options.