Gloves are for pansies?

Am looking throught the Murrays catalogue for some gloves for me and my wife. After sailing more and more aggressively (have only owned the cat for 18 months) I can now see that my hands are getting worn out after each session on the water. We are only recreational sailors but are wondering if any old glove will do the trick or should we spend a bit more to get a glove that will perform better? What do others use/recommend?

Are you high!? Does "rope burn" mean anything to you? There is no downside to wearing gloves. Get a good pair of gloves soon, and not some cheap, clumsy, leather work gloves, but some proper, close fitting sailing gloves. I like the gloves with the finger tips removed for summer sailing.

All it takes is one time - just one time - of losing that main sheet and have it burn a gash across the palm of your hand to know a glove is worth its weight in skin and time off the water. I'm sure there are guys out there who will give you the tough guy response, but I'm not sure they are looking out for your interest.

As you get better sailing a Hobie the chances of losing the main decrease, but as you get more aggressive the need for a little extra protection increases. Also, by protecting your hands you save wear and tear on them and can spend more time on the boat.

I agree, gloves are awesome. Rope burn is aweful and it when it happens, it happens quickly. I also use the ones with the fingers cut out. There are plenty of things on a hobie that require those fine motor skills, like those darn ring dings. I'm planning on getting some nice sailing gloves soon but I've been using some of the water skiing gloves that a buddy gave me and they have worked great. They are thick in the palms and inside fingers and stretchy and airy on the backhand.

_________________
James
86' Redline Hobie 16
Sail # 76909

Try these guys, they might have something:

Address: 51 Barry's Point Road Takapuna Auckland
Phone: 0011 649 489 6475
Fax: 0011 649 486 2422
Website: http://www.boatbits.co.nz/index.html

I like the Ronstan sticky race gloves myself.

_________________
Sail Revolution
Join us on our new FB Page!

I have only once (my first season) ever sailed without them. After having my hand and fingers burned I couln't write or sail for about 2 weeks. the burn isn't the worst part. It's afterwords when you still have to sail to get back to shore and the burn gets wet. Especially in salt water. It is not a pleasant experience.

You can order decent gloves from Hobie or you can try your local sailing store. They have to have some kind of sailing store somewhere near you. If you want local advice, you can talk to dinghy sailers as well.

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

I got my Harken black magics from ebay, saved a few dollars and not sure how many rope burns. Get the short fingered ones.

I've never gotten a burn from a sheet in 30 years of sailing. I wear gloves to help with the crushing my hands get from holding the sheets. I wear the Harken black magics and have done so since they were introduced. They tend to last me 2 seasons or so before replacing. Without gloves my hands will ache after a day of sailing.

Everone has a preference on what gloves to wear. I have Ronstan full finger gloves that have held up well. Full finger gloves don't scrunch up to leave part of the fingers exposed.

_________________
1989 Hobie 18 Worlds Boat, Magnum Wings & Spinnaker
1987 Hobie Holder 20 #273

dale.vanlopik"at"att"dot"net

very new to this still, but i have to agree with ncmbm: i've been out in 20kt. winds and held on through gust up to 25kts. and never gotten a rope burn. i don't cleat the sheet in heavy winds, though, i just hold it so i can let go quickly if i need to, so maybe that makes some kind of difference. i noticed the aching that he noticed and actually purchased a pair of crappy used gloves for four bucks, but still haven't worn them. Most of the time i'll just give them to my crew if things look heavy, but it's nice to know i have them if i need them.

so yeah, sailing will make your hands hurt, but it will also make them tougher, and a little toughening up never hurt anyone. a lot of different activities require that the participant decide what equipment is a neccessity, and what is a luxury. you can get by without them so technically they are a luxury, but they are a minor expense (unless you're a real sucker), so maybe classify this an inexpensive luxury that is almost necessary.

actually, i take that back--i have worn them. once when i was really having a hell of a time getting the main up. but since then, i've starting rubbing the luff with gulf wax once in a while, and the main goes up like a dream, now.

I got weight lifting gloves (Harbinger w/double thickness palms) from the local Big Five for about $7.99. This is my third year using them. Wouldn't leave the beach without them.

Happy Sailing,

David

Say KiwiHobie,

Do they have "Big Fives" in New Zealand ???

David

We've got lots of big things in New Zealand (like the All Blacks, Team New Zealand) but I haven't heard of a Big Five. Does it come from Texas (where all things are big)? Is it similar to a high five?

_________________
Anthony
88 H16 "Moonshine"

No, it's just a "Sporting Goods" store. You should be able to find weight lifting gloves at any sporting goods store.

David

Thanks for that. I was going to put my money on it being a hardware store but there you are. We've got sproting goods chains in New Zealand so I'll check them out.

Thanks everyone else for their suggestions - it certainly looks as thought the black Magic gloves are more popular than any other sort of glove, but I guess everyone has their own preference, huh?

By the way Skipshot, I was joking when I titled this topic Gloves are for Pansies. I did that title mainly to get everyone's interest. I thought more people might look at the topic than if I named it something like "Glove info"! I was certainly aiming to get some gloves very soon - my hands were worn out after sailing in 20 knot winds so I realised something had to be done. And although I live in an area where getting high is a regular past-time you'll now realised I wasn't smoking anything!

_________________
Anthony
88 H16 "Moonshine"

I wear gloves for all but the most calm days. Aside from preventing rope burn, wearing gloves reduces hand fatigue and that equates to more sailing. You can go the cheap route with a pair of leather work gloves (I've tried it years ago), but found I get a much better fit and wear out of a good pair of sailing gloves. I like both Rolstan and Harkin (black magic) fingerless gloves. I use fingerless gloves so I have full finger tip dexterity. I also have a pair of Gull full fingered gloves, but only use them in cold weather.