How To Store Your Waterproof Sailing Clothing

Whether you’re grabbing your lightweight waterproof sailing jacket for an evening blast around the coast or packing a full offshore clothing system for an overnight passage, how you store your waterproof sailing clothing matters more than you might think.

Most of us are pretty good at working out what to wear and how to wash it, but it’s the bits in between that often get overlooked. In fact, the way that you store your waterproof clothing can be the difference between kit that lasts and performs properly and kit that smells and wears out sooner than it should.

Fortunately, storing your sailing clothing doesn’t need to be complicated. It’s all about developing the right habits, both on the water and back at home. With this in mind, here are our top tips for keeping your Gill kit ready for the next time you head out on the water.

Why You Need To Store Waterproof Clothing Properly

Gill waterproof sailing clothing is built to handle demanding marine conditions. Across our range, we’ve used innovative waterproofing technologies such as XPLORE® to create a strong barrier against water while still allowing moisture to escape from inside. 

It’s that balance that makes our technical sailing clothing so effective, but it also means that you do have to look over your garments when they’re not being worn! This is because salt, moisture, dirt and body oils will still linger on your kit when you’re back on shore or no longer fully exposed to the elements. If your waterproof sailing clothing is then packed away still damp or dirty, these contaminants can affect performance and even comfort over time.

We like to think of storage as the final but crucial part of caring for your waterproof sailing clothing. Once your jacket or trousers have been cleaned and dried properly, the way you store them helps protect the performance you’ve invested in. 

Waterproof Clothing Storage Tips

The best way to think about how to store your waterproof sailing clothing is to split the process into three clear stages: when you first come off the water, and you’re dealing with wet clothing, when you’re on the go, and when you’re packing things at home.

1. Storing Wet Clothing

The decisions you make when your clothing is wet are some of the simplest but most important ones. After a long day on the water, it’s incredibly tempting to shove everything back in your kit bag and deal with it later. However, it’s almost guaranteed that your kit will still be wet when you’re in this position and leaving wet kit packed away is one of the quickest ways to end up with an unpleasant smell and unnecessary wear and tear.

As soon as you can after use, take your waterproof sailing jacket, waterproof sailing trousers, base layers, and any other wet clothing, and hang them somewhere ventilated so that they can fully dry before putting them away. This could be somewhere on deck, or it could be back on shore entirely. If you do have to initially stick wet clothing in a bag to find somewhere suitable, that’s fine. Just don’t leave it there and sealed for days on end; do so only as a temporary measure before you dry and ventilate.

It also helps to open up zips and empty pockets so that air can circulate through the garment.

2. Storage On The Move

From travel to a regatta to packing kit for a trip abroad, there are countless scenarios in which you’ll have to transport your waterproof sailing clothing, and storage on the move matters just as much as storage at home. 

The easiest way to get this right and protect your clothing on the move is to use the right kind of luggage. Rather than cramming every layer into one bag, opt for something waterproof that keeps spare layers protected and consider having a separate wet bag so that you can separate wet kit from dry kit if it’s not possible to let everything dry before putting it away. 

For your wet kit, our Changing Mat & Wet Bag is the perfect solution. It’s made from puncture-resistant, waterproof PVC tarpaulin fabric and designed to keep wet clothing and fabric contained without soaking everything else in your car or on board. This versatile wet bag also features an integrated changing mat, giving you a clean and dry surface to change on wherever you are.

For your dry kit, like spare layers and valuables, we’d then recommend using a waterproof duffel bag like one from our Voyager Duffel Dry Bag range. You can choose from 30L, 60L and 90L capacities depending on how long you’ll be out for. Each is built from that same puncture-resistant, waterproof PVC tarpaulin, while a roll-down closure also keeps everything sealed and protected.

3. Storing Waterproof Clothing At Home

When you’re back from your trip or out of season, extra care for your waterproof sailing clothing goes a long way.

The most important thing to remember is to make sure that your garments are completely clean and dry before storing them for any length of time. Even the smallest bit of trapped moisture could encourage the growth of mould and mildew, while salt left sitting in the fabric can gradually affect performance and clog components like zips.

Where possible, we’d also recommend hanging waterproof clothing rather than compressing it. Our XPLORE® technology is designed to move and flex naturally, so leaving your jacket or trousers tightly packed can put unnecessary stress on the fabric that might compromise its performance. 

In terms of where to store your waterproof clothing, go for a cool, dry place with good airflow. A wardrobe or utility room is much better than a damp garage or a loft!

If you’re putting away a complete sailing clothing system between seasons, it doesn’t hurt to give everything a good wash and once over before it goes into storage. Small issues like surface dirt and minor repairs are much easier to deal with now than when you’re itching to get back on the water again for the first sail of the season.

For more advice, take a look at our guide to caring for your waterproof sailing jacket or get in touch with us. You can also browse our full range of waterproof sailing bags online now.