Boat Shoes

[Jens]

I'd like to know more about sea kayaks. They appeal to me.

There are a lot of different approaches to sea kayaking: slow and easy, hard and fast, everything in-between. Nice thing is, you can put a kayak on your car's rooftop and pick your water of preference on a given day.
Coming from a sailing background, what especially appeals to me is sea kayaks' sea-worthyness. Rough waters is no obstacle, and there is a lot of skill to more advanced sea kayak paddling. The motto of my kayak association, "a smooth sea never made a skilled paddler".

To get a sense of what a sea kayak will allow you to do (given skills and desire for adventure), take a look at the videos linked below.
Of course, there is always the option of just lounging in the surf-zone, where not many other vessels can go because the kayak's draft is so low. Or, you can go "swimming" with it, practicing some of the many "Greenland roles". And of course, there are various old kayak traditions and "build yourself" to catch up on too, if that appeals to you.

__ The "Hurricane Riders" in rip tides of the Puget Sound/Gulf Island area of the Pacific North West:

__ Adventure kayaking along the West coast of Skye (Scotland):

__ Greenland Rolling:

 

[Spy Car]

There are a lot of different approaches to sea kayaking: slow and easy, hard and fast, everything in-between. Nice thing is, you can put a kayak on your car's rooftop and pick your water of preference on a given day.
Coming from a sailing background, what especially appeals to me is sea kayaks' sea-worthyness. Rough waters is no obstacle, and there is a lot of skill to more advanced sea kayak paddling. The motto of my kayak association, "a smooth sea never made a skilled paddler".

To get a sense of what a sea kayak will allow you to do (given skills and desire for adventure), take a look at the videos linked below.
Of course, there is always the option of just lounging in the surf-zone, where not many other vessels can go because the kayak's draft is so low. Or, you can go "swimming" with it, practicing some of the many "Greenland roles". And of course, there are various old kayak traditions and "build yourself" to catch up on too, if that appeals to you.

__ The "Hurricane Riders" in rip tides of the Puget Sound/Gulf Island area of the Pacific North West:

__ Adventure kayaking along the West coast of Skye (Scotland):

__ Greenland Rolling:

Very cool videos. Thank you!

I surfed and especially bodysurfed (in addition to sailing) so sea kayaking definitely has an intrigue for me for the same reasons it appeals to you. Hmmm.

Bill

 

[something better]

At 65, I have a selection of very nice dress shoes (including some classic Allen Edmund and Church shoes) that I've had for decades and treated well (stored with shoe trees) that I expected would serve me for the duration of my existence.

But they are now too small to really wear comfortably. With silk-thin socks they are a "maybe" (at best). Good thing that my 19 year old is just growing into the size.

My shoe size has crept up over the years.

Bill

Just out of curiosity when you say your shoe size grew, was there any accompany weight gain or is it just simply your feet growing? It makes me kind of anxious to buy huge quantity of shoes realizing that in 10 years it might be too small.

 

[something better]

I was a barber and a floor nurse for a lot of years. At about 40 my feet went from 8.5 D to a 10EEEE. And this was WITH support hose. Now I'm back in a D and the size ranges from 8.5 to 10. Mostly 9..... But I am on disability now (thanks to my Cardiologist) and get to elevate my feet. Lol, gravity is not my friend!

Too bad as we get older only our ears, nose and feet grow longer, and not other body parts.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Just out of curiosity when you say your shoe size grew, was there any accompany weight gain or is it just simply your feet growing? It makes me kind of anxious to buy huge quantity of shoes realizing that in 10 years it might be too small.

A note about weight. If we don’t change anything, we’ll start gaining around 4 pounds a year as our metabolism starts to slow after, say, 40 or so. That is independent of nose, ears and feet.

Throw in the occasional inactivity some of us had during Covid and it can spell disaster. I had to be on the lookout for Japanese trawlers when we were walking on the beach.

I’m down 80 pounds now with another 10 to go. The last 10 are taking forever. Down three, up three, etc..

 

[luvmysuper]

I wore a size 10 shoe at the age of 17. It has crept up to a size 12 now at age 65.
This could be a foot thing, or it could be a changing standard size thing. (some manufacturers were selling jeans normally sized at 38" as a size 34 because some folks didn't want to admit to themselves that they wore a size 38 - it's so prevalent there is a name for it: Vanity Sizing).
For reference, I weigh the same now at 65 as I did when I was 17, and I am the same height.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I've been looking at boat shoes since this thread was started as I'm down to one pair. The Margaritaville Men's Anchor Lace Boat Shoes I bought in 2020 are toast. The Sperry's I had for non work days are now being used for work.

I ended up buying a pair of Rockport Ports of Call Perth from Zappos. They were on sale for 43% off. I have had Rockports before and these are made in Brazil, not China... so we'll see.

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