Boat Mocs

[Hello Below]

My “shoe” locker holds footwear for various purposes.
Crocs Beach Line - every dry day shoe for over 10 years. Light weight and still very grippy
Xtra Tuf leather 6” ankle boot - mildly wet weather
Xtra Tuf 15” latex neoprene boot - yard work and scrubbing boat
Dubarry Sailing boot - worn most days for off season sailing
All are always worn with socks.

 

[Ward H]

Nowadays I use my Keen 'walking shoes' and their sole compound and tread pattern seems fine for sailing, even off shore.
Perhaps this might be called "thinking outside the (shoe) box!"

Comfortable and they have excellent traction, but one little caution is that the larger sole is a little bit more likely to catch on protrusions, whether on deck or walking down the sidewalk.
That's one Plus about the "'moc" type of shoe construction; perhaps semi-related to the comfort of owning proper "driving shoes" when on trips or campaigning your rally car, or doin' the heel-n-toe on the autocross course. (?)
View attachment 226278

That's the same show I use when sailing in cold weather. They offer great traction on the deck, even in adverse weather conditions. The local REI store has an artificial rock climbing set up. The salesman suggested I try them and others on the rock climbing platform and the Keen's won out over all the others for traction and comfort. I bought them for the winter cruise with @jssailem and @LeslieTroyer back in 2019 and have been wearing them since, especially in snowy conditions.

 

[Jacktar]

7 dollar water shoes have best non skid and are cheap/.

 

[Ward H]

My favorite boat shoes are Teva sandals with toe caps. They have great traction even on wet decks, are comfortable and the toe caps prevent stubbed toes. They last 2-3 years before the bottoms harden and become slippery, Then they get down graded to everyday use and I buy a new pair which stay on the boat.

 

[jssailem]

I love Keens. They have an open-toe box to prevent pinching, and the toes are covered and protected from being stubbed or sliced open on the deck.

 

[thinwater]

...The local REI store has an artificial rock climbing set up. The salesman suggested I try them and others on the rock climbing platform and the Keen's won out over all the others for traction and comfort....

Traction on rock and traction on deck do NOT dirrectly correlate. The adhesion mechanism is quite different. I have done these tests, side by side. Pure climbing shoes are average on deck and the best deck shoes just plain suck on rock. Tile is a better test. Put one on each foot and lean into something. And that doesn't tell you anything about wet traction.

Also, many climbing-type shoes leave black-heel marks. 5.10s, for example.

There are, of course, shoes that are pretty good all-around. Keens are one.

 

[thinwater]

Another option is indoor court shoes. They have to grip tile when it is sweaty. The tread even looks like a deck shoe. Convergent evolution?

 

[Scott T-Bird]

You have to use sandals that adjust to fit your foot and have a back strap keeping the sandal in place. Those then become just like shoes, except they have less material on the topsides.

The only sandals I ever wear have a back strap. I don't wear flip flops at all. It's not keeping them in place that is the problem. I just seem to catch open toes on things too easily. Just yesterday, I was wearing sandals as I was unloading the boat. Sure enough, I caught a toe on a furling line attachment. Damned if I didn't curse a storm because I jammed my toes and could have dropped my arm load! It only happens with sandals on my feet and I'll never seem to learn! My foot just cleared up, too. Half of the foot and the toes were purple because of the blood thinners I'm still taking. I'm pretty sure the bruise originated the same way.