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January 20, 2023 3 min read
Getting the right sailing top to wear with your skiff suit will ensure you are not only comfortable on the water but are also set up for a warm days sailing.
The beauty of owning a skiff suit is that you are not locked into one wetsuit with the same thickness for your sailing, you can chop and change your tops and layers for the day ahead of you.
In this article we are going to explore some of our sailing top recommendations which can be combined with your skiff suit.
If you are anything like me then you probably can't wait for spring to arrive, for me it signals the start of the main sailing season for those of us (me included) who are not brave enough to battle the winter elements on the water.
For spring sailing, you have two main options for tops, the Microfleece and Hydrophobic Top. We will talk more about the Hydrophobic sailing top later on.
The Zhik Microfleece range is 1 to 2mm thick neoprene that is designed to keep water out and away from your body. The Super Stretch Neoprene and Zhiktex II offer high levels of durability without sacrificing flexibility and abrasion resistance.
The Microfleece is obviously a thin top, so on those blustery days you might want to explore the Superwarm tops which are covered in the Winter section of this article.
Summer has arrived and last time you were on the water you were hot, bothered and sunburnt. This leads to you making mistakes, sailing the wrong side up the windward leg and doing other silly things you wouldn't usually.
The ECO Spandex Rash Vest sailing top is one of the pioneering rash tops now made from 100% reusable and recycled materials. The Repreve fabric is lightweight, durable and breathable with an incredible 4 way stretch that becomes one with your body. The SPF 50+ protection keeps your skin safe from harmful UV rays.
The Hydrophobic sailing top is one of Andrew's (Founder of Sailing Chandlery) favourite and most used pieces of sailing kit.
The Hydrophobic top can be used all year round but is perfect for autumn as the temperature starts to fall. The hydrophobic fleece sailing top is a spandex top with a fleecy lining that also repels water away from your body. Combining this top under your skiff suit and top gives you the perfect base layer for all conditions. It keeps you cool by taking moister away from your skin and repels water from the outside.
You might also find you love sailing with this during summer as it is slightly warmer than a spandex top.
The Superwarm top is the ultimate sailing top for sailors and our customers love this range.
Constructed from 2/3mm neoprene the top at first may not sound the best for winter however, once combined with your 2/3mm skiff suit you have 5/6mm of neoprene on your core yet the flexibility of a summer wetsuit.
The Zhik Superwarm wetsuits work differently from other brands. Zhik focus on keeping the water away from your body which keeps you warmer and drier for longer. This approach also helps when drying your kit in time for the next sailing weekend, or in fact the next day - these wetsuits dry very quickly. The materials in these tops help to ensure your body heat stays with your body and is not wasted warming up the cold water near your body.
If you've got further questions about any of the sailing tops in this article please get in touch with our friendly team, we are always happy to help.
You can email info@sailingchandlery.com or pick up the phone and give us a call on 01268 222912.
Much better than those we previously got from a large DIY super store. Stronger and easier to fit.
Just used my new launching trolley for the first time.
Super easy to assemble (about 3 minutes). Fits my laser perfectly and very easy launch and recovery.
What more can I say....other than I would happily recommend.
My local chandlery were unable to supply a white inspection hatch and so it was amatter of looking online. Sailing Chandlery had the cover I needed in stock at a good price and delivery. I had never used them before but the service I received was excellent with the delivery on time and the hatch is now fitted.
I will definitely return, especially with the discounts on offer. Thank you Sailing Chandlery!
I have a old but still fast Laser from the 70s that I have been gifted, I am doing some tidying up, and have noticed that the toe strap elastic was tied to the traveler. So I have changed it to the Laser Anodised Traveller Cleat, this great idea secures the elastic and stops interference to the traveler by keeping each part separate.
Perfect size, shape and works well
Needed 5m of a low stretch rope to act as a mast raising / lowering tail on my Wayfarer forestay as the existing 5mm rope was a bit thick to pass under my reefing spar attachment. Now it fits snugly and the mast raises and lowers better than it did before because of less friction and "bounce".
The top cover was delivered on time as expected. The cover fits perfectly and hopefully it will last forever … Thank you
Bought this for my son so can’t personally comment as I’ve not used it. However he was very pleased with the purchase and said it’s great quality.
Always happy with my orders from Sailing Chandlery. They are quick to post and very helpful when I have had a question.
Jason delivered the boat on time at Hayling Island Sailing Club. The boat was new and all the spars were in perfect condition. Jason came to pick up the boat and return the deposit which I gave at the time of the delivery. Every interaction with Andrew and Jason were handled very professionally. I will recommend to any sailor Sailing Chandlery in the future. I really appreciated how easy it was to charter this boat. Thank you very much. Jacques Kerrest
This was a birthday present for a sailing daughter (i don't sail!) She was delighted, it hasn't been out on the water yet but she's looking forward to trying it out and says it's just what she wanted... so looks like a good choice by me after helpful advice from Sailing Chandlery staff!
I bought the 2.5mm dyneema for a special winch/pulley project which needs to pull two sides of a cradle exactly simultaneously for about a meter. Originally I was going to create loops on both the LHS and the RHS, then loop them together onto a 3mm dyneema rope. This gave me two issues : firstly the "knot" would be large and may rub on the cradle (not much room available), secondly there was no redundancy if the 3mm dyneema was to fail. So I then looked at splitting the drum on the winch into 2 halves so I could wind on both the RHS and LHS 2.5mm ropes on together. This would give redundancy if one leg was to fail but it would not guarantee simultaneous pulling.
Then I had a brainwave. I spliced the 2 x 2.5mm together and then fed a 1.5meter tail through the middle creating a combined rope of approx 3.5mm diameter. I then wound this onto the drum of the winch as a single rope. This would ensure simultaneous pulling, and also provide redundancy if say the outer sheath was abraded and failed - also there was no significant "knot" so it fitted in neatly in the space available.
It was a bit of a fiddle pulling the tail through but not really difficult with the D-splicing tool.
All in all, I am very impressed with the dyneema and I am glad I did not choose a wire rope for this application.
Quick and easy to fit on to the end of the sail and work perfectly.
Thank you 'Sailing Chandlery' for your quick service and easy website which helped me pick the correct part I needed. I am back sailing when the weather allows.
Prompt delivery, with helpful updates and time slot spot on. Perfect new sail at a great price and the number fixing service is well worth it. It even won its first race! Thank you.
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