MartinRF

Don't use Facebook! Problem solved. /Martin

Earlier this week I learned that even George Orwell sported a toothbrush mustache for a while. I don't know who those guys are, apart from my grandfather that is. /Martin

Bought my jacket in 2012 so more than 6 years old but it has not seen heavy use. But the real reason for posting again is to share this photo of my maternal grandfather trying out his new boat with some friends. I don't have an exact date, sometime in the second half of the 1930s I think. Not quite dressed like we are used to now /Martin

When you want a deluge they are far and few between... So I did some preliminary testing in my shower cabin: Better but no cigar. The shoulder part still leaks some so I opted for some reinforcement using a spray-on product. Before that I also applied some heat by means of ironing at lowest power. Both seemed to help. Tonight we got some rain, not heavy though, and I took a longish walk. OK, much better. It will keep me dry in non-demanding conditions, at least for a while. Inspecting the inside at home I see water is still coming through but much less. So Nikwax helps but it do

Right, I have pondered this smock thing for a while. Probably a better choice for me and my boat and my kind of sailing than a jacket. /Martin

Last time I heard about his, which was many moons ago, they got custom kits, not what is sold over the counter. /Martin

Day before midsummer must be June. Fire bans are in force when it is deemed too dry. /Martin

You think the days in August are long? That is when people here start to lament the shortening of the day. /Martin

No, I am not that old. Those MTBs were retired well before my time. One of these: Also retired. The remaining ones are used for taking paying guests on joy rides in protected waters in summer. There are tons of amateur videos on youtube. /Martin

I am not up-to-date with what they use today but when building my boat my building buddy was involved in a research project looking into the work environment for fishermen. His part was about sea-kindliness and how ship movement wore down the bodies of fishermen. Another group was looking into foul weather gear. They did look into new, high-tech materials but soon dismissed them. The solution (back then) that worked best was the PVC-coated stuff with good design taking care of ventilation. I did my military service in the Swedish navy a couple of years prior to that and the navy foul weat

My fault, sorry Hint: the Gulf Stream helps a lot. I have a colleague from Tromsö located at N69 plus change. Still ice-free. I don't think Norway has any icebreakers. In the Bay of Botnia and the Gulf of Finland icebreakers is a must have most years. /Martin

I guess this poll is not for me. At N59 we don't usually go sailing in January /Martin

Banned according to the care label. I have destroyed another jacket by not studying the care label (until afterwards). That time a washed in 40 C (label said 30 C) and tumble dried (label said not). I don't which part of this killed the waterproofing. Right now I am subjecting this jacket to to a mild (35 C) heat treatment. Then I hope for some real rain to test it. /Martin

Done this today. Drip drying as we 'speak'. I had some luck and stumbled on a particularly good deal (for being in Sweden) on a Nikwax wash and impregnating combo. Btw, I sailed mid-week using my Helly-Hansen overall (due to temperature, not wet ride). I had forgotten how nice it is and it is 30+ years old. Velcro strips are not in mint condition but hard to replace without compromising weather proofing. /Martin

Instructions says "Drip-dry or tumble dry on a low setting if the care label allows". Which did you do? Tumble dry is out of the question according to my jacket's care label. /Martin