General tips.
Buying sailing gear can get expensive, but there are a few ways to avoid paying more than you need. Here are a few of our learnings:
- Most sailing gear is best purchased online. Sailing gear is fairly specialized and not available in retail stores (e.g. dry suits, life jackets/PFDs, gloves, helmets, rigging, blocks, bailers) so online stores are usually best.
- Wetsuits and booties are the exception (not gloves). A good general purpose wetsuit will work for sailing and you can usually buy locally - beware that diving and other water activity neoprene gloves will not hold-up well.
- It pays-off to buy all at once. Online stores charge for shipping (e.g. gloves are $30 but shipping may be $15). Most stores offer free shipping at $100, so it's best to buy your gear in one shot or work with other partners to place a group order.
- Gear swaps at regattas are great. At major regattas parents will bring their gear to sell. It's a great opportunity to buy used sailing specific gear at great prices.
- Online stores usually show up at regattas. West Cost Sailing and McLaughlin usually bring a mobile store to major events. You can order ahead and pick-up at the event if you plan with time. It's a good way to avoid shipping charges.
Not in a rush.
If you are not in a rush, it will be cheaper and you will have a lot more options. The best places to buy are online stores. Here is a good list that we have had good experiences with.
| Company |
Gear |
Notes |
| West Coast Sailing |
PFDs, Blocks, Line, Windindicators, Airbags, Watches, Blades, Spars, Sails |
They specialize in Dinghy sailing (frequenty sponsor our regattas), they also own Zim Boats. They are based in Portland, Oregon with an online store. If you are in Portland a good way to avoid shipping. |
| Watersportsoutlet.com |
Wetsuits, Drysuits, PFDs |
Based in the UK but they have US operations and an Amazon store. I usually buy all our wetsuits and dry suits from them. They are great with returns, repairs and exchanges. |
| Landfall Navigation |
Wetsuits, Drysuits, PFDs, Blocks, Line, Windindicators, Airbags, Watches, Blades, Spars, Sails |
Based in the east coast with an online store. They have a great dinghy selection including Opti parts and gear. They carry some Opti replacement parts. |
| Opti Parts by McLaughlin |
Bailers, Line, Wind Indicators, Replacement Parts, Airbags, Blades, Spars, Sails, Specialized Blocks |
Owned by Mclaughlin they specialize in Opti parts. A bit more expensive, but they have everything that goes into an opti. |
| Doyle |
Boat covers |
Great place to buy boat covers and not break the bank. |
In a rush.
If you need something quickly, there are not a lot of options and the selection is more limited. However, there are three places in the Seattle area that you can try.
| Company |
Gear |
Directions |
Notes |
| Fisheries Supply |
Blocks, Line, Windindicators, Hardware, Fiberglass repair |
Freemont Area |
They don't specialize in dinghy sailing, but they do have a lot of marine supply. We frequently use them to by Dynema sail ties, main sheet line, sprit halyard line, and shackles. They tend to be less expensive than other options. |
| West Marine |
Wetsuits, Drysuits, PFDs, Blocks, Line, Windindicators, Hardware, Fiberglass repair, Tiller extensions |
Ballard Area |
Itt's the best place to buy line. Ashley runs the rigging shop and can make anything you need. She is a well known sailor who knows lasers and optis very well. If you need help figuring soething out, I reommend going to see them. A bit more expensive, than online options but you get to see it first. |
| Seattle Sailing Club |
Wetsuits, Drysuits, Gloves, Booties |
Ballard Area |
They have a great selection of gear and they are right on Shilshole Bay. Most people don't realize they sell gear. I bought from them a great pair of very warm Gill sailing gloves that I would have had to buy online otherwise. They lend some their boats to our Youth Sailing Keelboat program so we also like supporting them. |
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