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Hanging "dress clothes", suits and such, in the boat

17K views 58 replies 25 participants last post by  sloss321 
#1 ·
A big impediment I have right now to living aboard is the fact that both me and my girlfriend are professionals, and we need more than the usual hanging locker. I wear a suit every day, and I can't reduce the amount of shirts/suits that I have, at least not by enough to fit in a standard little hanging locker.

Does anyone have any creative ideas for hanging up dress clothes in a boat? And for how to secure them underway, so they don't all get wrinkled after a daysail?

I am currently looking at boats in the 30-37' range to liveaboard. I don't mind doing some minor interior carpentry. I am hoping to get a boat with an aft cabin but I'm not certain about that yet...
 
#42 ·
Talk about the 'blues' TDW. Get over the 7 years in a row loss and toughen up . Iron your own shirts....
Having just discovered tethering this is my first post from the Womboat at anchor. Oh dear. What have I done.

Toughen up ... you mean HTFU surely but it was cruel of you to mention the blues arsehat. What's more you concussed poor old Robbie so the tigers were creamed by the effing Bulldogs last night. Oh woe.

Anywho I do iron my own shirts but for now here I sit in wrinkled spendour. eff its cold though.

:p:p
 
#45 ·
To offer a different way to approach the problem...

Buy clothing specifically designed for travelling professionals.

I spent 10 years living in hotels all over the country in my previous career, sometimes for a weekend, sometimes I would be there for a few months.

And whilst yes a hotel room is not the same thing as living aboard, I have learnt one or two things along the way!

As soon as I started reading this thread I wondered if anybody would mention this? nope!

travel clothing tends to have 3 particular features, lightweight (for packing), quick drying and wrinkle resistant.

The latter 'can; mean wrinkle FREE and no need to iron at all, IF you hand the shirt to dry in such a way that any crease will fall out.

Rohan makes some very, very good quality clothing designed to do just that.
________________________________________________

The chaffing thing, is a new one to me and will have to leave that one to percolate...

This may or may not help but I have found that the best way to prevent creases when packing a suitcase, is to out lay out all of your clothes flat (completely flat, nothing folded).
Biggest first, then getting smaller in size. then pile smalls and socks in the middle, then wrap the socks/smalls in the sleeves etc of the clothing one layer at a time, much like "pass the parcel" game that children play, but in reverse.

This method invariably means that clothes are bent into curves around the centre parcel rather than being folded (a deliberate crease) and tend to stay pretty much wrinkle free.

But definitely go the route of technical fabric travel clothing, Rohan (i love their stuff) have a range of shirts which look just like a normal office dress shirt but perform far better.


Just went onto their website to get that picture and they currently have a sale on!
 
#47 ·
I'm like David B - bought Travelsmith clothing when I needed to look professional. Washable (no dry cleaning) and wrinklefree. Another tip: buy everything in one set of colors, then you only need a single set of accessories (belt, shoes, socks, purses for those of us who need 'em), not a complete set of black, and duplicates in brown or navy.
 
#50 ·
David, from what I saw when I skimmed both sites, Travelsmith.com is a little dressier/more professional level clothing, blazers & suits, targets an older and pricier demographic. But you don't need to buy very many pieces, either. I had when working 2 pairs black pants and 1 pair of gray, 5 sweaters/blouses (black, white, gray, red), 2 blazers and a few scarves, that was all I needed - pick a boring style and nobody will remember that you wore the same thing twice. Hell,if what I'm *wearing* rather than what I'm *saying* is the most important thing you remember about me, I'm in trouble anyway ...

Dan has a tan suit of theirs, very classic style, it's been working for him for 6 years, and counting.
 
#49 ·
Hanging "dress clothes", suits and such, in the boat

Wingnwing,

Living aboard is still a dream, but your advice of sticking to one color pattern is key. I currently do that because I hate all of the clutter of extra stuff that you end up accumulating. All of my dress shirts are Non Iron wrinkle free as well. Trying to do everything possible to make living aboard a reality before I am to old.
 
#51 ·
Re: Hanging "dress clothes", suits and such, in the boat

Wingnwing,

Living aboard is still a dream, but your advice of sticking to one color pattern is key. I currently do that because I hate all of the clutter of extra stuff that you end up accumulating. All of my dress shirts are Non Iron wrinkle free as well. Trying to do everything possible to make living aboard a reality before I am to old.
Hang in there sloss. BTW, don't know how old "too old" is, there's a guy on our dock in his mid-70s who lives in a 40-ft C&C, he hasn't owned a home on land for >20 years. Another guy in his late 70s finally gave up sailing ... and moved aboard a trawler.
 
#53 ·
I'm not sure what you mean by "I must admit I don't thing their stuff is a patch of the Rohan kit, but maybe I have been seduced my the blurb..." Help! Could you translate from UK English to American English please?
 
#54 ·
ha ha ha ha!
Wow the old adage of "USA & UK, to nations separated by a common language" is coming into play!

I simply meant that the impression that I got having reviewed the TravelSmith site was that their products were not as 'high-performance' as Rohan garments.

I think that the Rohan garments are more versatile, my impression was that the Travelsmith garments I looked at did not go beyond 'easy iron' whereas the Rohan garment are designed to offer demanding performance garments that could also be worn with dress shoes and jacket.
 
#55 ·
Ah, okay, got it. You're correct - the clothing I required was not "high-performance" in the outdoor or sport context. I needed some higher-end business & professional clothing for work in downtown Washington DC (very conservative clothing style). The climate challenges I faced were political rather than atmospheric ;)
 
#56 ·
I'm in a similar situation ... you might want to try Costco for their wrinkle-free dress shirts (button-down collar) ... they ARE wrinkle free and finally coming in some more 'distinguished' colors ... for $20.
 
#58 ·
While fine for many, some people need to be careful with wrinkle free shirts in general and Costo wrinkle free in particular.

Anyone driving on route 6 in MA last summer may have seen someone pull to the side of the road, leap from the car and rip their shirt off. Yes, that was me and yes, that was a Costco wrinkle free shirt.

As I understand it, the usual way to make cotton wrinkle free is to treat it with urea and formaldehyde (really!). Either Costco uses more or they use something else. I've always found wrinkle free shirts could be a little itchy until they had been washed a bunch but, when traveling, I was willing to put up with it for the advantages. The Costco one was in a league of it's own - drove me nuts and I couldn't wash it out. I've since discovered a way to get rid of the treatment but then the shirt is no longer wrinkle free.

Yes they are really wrinkle free and great for most people but you might consider trying one before you buy a bunch.
 
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