Deck Shoes ?

[Vampyre Master]

ok guys and girls Deck Shoes pros cons makes cheap expensive ???
VM

 

[SurfGent]

As a professional sailor and shipwright of coarse I own a pair of Sperry's, many pairs over the years ranging from expensive to regular old school Topsiders. Which are still kinda expensive at 80$ a pair. So on to my expensive pair of a brand called Sebago.

 

[SurfGent]

 

[SurfGent]

 

[SurfGent]

 

[SurfGent]

 

[SurfGent]

So what you'll notice about professional sailing shoes is the relief cuts in the arch of the soul. Cause when you are on the deck of a rolling ship you are often standing in odd positions and on edges of the cockpit or bridge. The leather is super thick baseball glove thick. The lacing is usually canvas material or the same kind of material the ropes "sheets" what ropes are called on a boat are made of. There comfortable with or without socks. You are sockless alot cause you feet and shoes will be wet especially in fair weather with heavy wind and waves

 

[LuvMyMan]

So what you'll notice about professional sailing shoes is the relief cuts in the arch of the soul. Cause when you are on the deck of a rolling ship you are often standing in odd positions and on edges of the cockpit or bridge. The leather is super thick baseball glove thick. The lacing is usually canvas material or the same kind of material the ropes "sheets" what ropes are called on a boat are made of. There comfortable with or without socks. You are sockless alot cause you feet and shoes will be wet especially in fair weather with heavy wind and waves

Oh course you note the soles are sewn on the sides of the shoe....so they will last longer. Some deck shoes are just glued on soles which are junky.

Cole Haan has a line of deck shoes called Resort. Leather uppers and grippy soles.
Sebago makes a good deck shoe.
Some Bass brand deck shoes are also nicely made if you find the ones that the sole is stitched to the shoe.

 

[SurfGent]

You sail luvmyman

 

[Davy Crockett]

I don't think Sebago are a French company, I believe they are American, and they do make excellent Deck Shoes, I got a few pairs of the Horween leather ones in their sale and they were good value for money!

D

 

[Tiki Tom]

Am enjoying the thread, thanks. I grew up in Southern California and spent a lot of time sailing in Alamitos Bay and environs. Now I live in land-locked Austria. Had a pair of Perry Topsiders for a while during my Long Beach days, but always felt that spending that much money on a boat shoe was somehow missing the point. My thinking was along the lines that a good boat shoe/deck shoe is akin to a working shoe in that it should be something you don't think about and you subject to a lot of abuse and is, first and foremost, comfortable and functional and affordable. About 5-years ago I stumbled upon a pair of no-name boat shoes at a shoe discount store and they were in my hard-to-find canoe size. I figured "what the heck?" and bought them for --I'm not kidding-- 25 Euros. As I said, that was 5 years ago and I still pretty much wear them all summer long. We spend a lot of time in Hawai'i (I married a local girl) and this pair of shoes usually gets out on the bay and filled with water at least a couple of times a summer. And I wear them without socks all summer in lieu of flip flops. Those shoes are a marvel: the seams have become pleasantly loose but haven't torn/popped. They give a bit of support and toe protection but still feel like I'm going barefoot. Every once in a while I eye an expensive alternative at an actual boating supply store but always end up thinking "nah". Why mess with perfection? That is my pitch for the humble generic "cheapie" boat shoe. And I freely admit that it was a bit of serendipity that I stumbled upon them.

 

[Vampyre Master]

just out of interest have been informed by Sperry UK that Sperry and Sebago are the same company.
VM
ps. and all made in china (to a high standard)

 

[Davy Crockett]

I have a few pairs, most are made in China but I have a couple of pairs of Horween leathes ones which are made in the Dominican Republic.

D

 

[Trenchfriend]

Maybe, I will get a pair of the Timberland "Tidelands" boatshoes, for the next summer. The SensorFlex-soles are interesting to me. I will try them, on the next visit at the department-store or similar. Looking forward to it.

 

[LuvMyMan]

Maybe, I will get a pair of the Timberland "Tidelands" boatshoes, for the next summer. The SensorFlex-soles are interesting to me. I will try them, on the next visit at the department-store or similar. Looking forward to it.

You will like them we have a pair floating around here...haha!

 

[paxonus]

Expensive, but classy, and made in USA.

http://www.rancourtandcompany.com/read-boat-shoe-essex.html

 

[paxonus]

These just went on sale today at Allen Edmonds:


http://www.allenedmonds.com/shoes/m...F43502.html?dwvar_SF43502_color=43502#start=3

 

[William G.]

I have horrible back problems. Five discs bulged into the nerve, muscular atrophy, crazy muscular compensation putting stress on places it shouldn't have stress, a botched surgery... you name it. Sperry's Billfish shoes are about the only shoe I can wear comfortably for any period of time. Those of you more familiar with boat shoes can tell me, but it feels like my heel sits lower in the show than any other shoe I own. Occasionally I have to go places where the Sperry's aren't appropriate, and I always take my Sperry's with me so I can change into them if my other shoes start bothering me, and I always get instant relief when I put them on.

At any rate, I own three pair of Billfish, all in different colors, but the pair I wear the most are so old that the fabric has rotted out of the sides and the insoles are broken into pieces.