At the last count I had six different sailing smocks and so have
pulled out two of the better conditioned for a closer look. As I look around I see
every conceivable form of dress is worn on board a sailing boat today. And
throughout the last 40 or so years of technological advancement in waterproof
and wicking clothing, with all the big name brands that spend huge sums of
money on advertising in the monthly mags, there are those sailors, boating
types and people in general who withhold an affinity with nautical things of
old and still favor a simple piece of cotton that is the traditional fisherman
type smock.
This simple smock remains a staple garment of choice for fishermen
and boating enthusiasts, artists and manual workers and evolved from fishermen
around our coast hundreds of years ago who would have a heavy-duty work over garment,
often made using the same canvas material as the sails on his fishing smack (boat).
Both smocks appearing in this review retail at around £25.00 and are made in England, and
are, respectively, the Yarmo smock (Breton red) and The Smock Shop smock (Navy
blue).
The Yarmo smock material in this review and pictures is 100%
Sailcloth. Yarmo are based in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk and sell a large selection
of sailing and fishing wear as well as work-wear.
The Smock Shop smock in this review and pictures is made
from 100% drill cotton. The Smock Shop in Penzance, Cornwall sells a
comprehensive range of traditional and contemporary smocks.
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Traditional sailing wear - smocks |
The style of both smocks is V-Neck and both have a 4 inch
collar which can fold down or up to suit your mood or the weather. Both of the materials
are hard wearing and tough and withstand, quite remarkably, the abuse they can
get in the everyday working aboard my small cruiser and yet retain enough softness
so is comfortable to wear over a tee shirt and against bare skin. The seam stitching
is close knit and straight with both smocks having reinforced stitching on the
tops of pockets.
The Yarmo smock has a 1.5” easing in the lower sides whereas
the Smock Shop smock has not. In use, while beating or close hauled, the V-Neck
can feel open and a little exposed without a neckerchief on and after one
chilly northerly passage I fitted a teak toggle button to the Breton red Yarmo
smock, while sat at anchor awaiting a tide, to give the option of closing it. I
also just happen to like adapting things like this but it would be no problem
to slip a scarf round ones neck for a time if you felt it is needed.
Both garments are made of one piece front, back and sleeve
panels with collar and pockets sewn on and are, if laid flat, T shape. What I have found with my smocks in general is
the reinforced stitching is so thorough at the pocket tops that if you do get
them caught in anything the tendency is to rip a small hole in the main
garment cloth as opposed pulling undone the stitching.
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Breton red sailcloth Yarmo smock |
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Navy blue Smock Shop drill cotton smock |
Both smocks have two front pockets; the Yarmo: 7” wide x 6”
inch deep. Smock Shop: 7” wide x 7” deep therefore are roomy and come in very
handy for small tools like pliers, a torch or a knife, food and nibbles even,
while working around the boat. I find the pockets so handy in fact that it’s
hard not to overfill them and end up with a swinging weight around your mid-section.
For the maintenance season, and doing
any painting, smocks make a great overall and the big pockets are useful for spare
brushes. For sailing, I wear a round neck smock as well. This traditionally has no
pockets and you might find this type is better for working around the boat in
confined spaces or when doing any kind of wood-work as there is nowhere for any
wood shavings to collect and nothing to get caught on those awkward fittings on a boat such
as a cleat or bungee hook.
Sizes: Smocks are an over-garment so are meant to be roomy therefore
be realistic when considering the size you choose. If you are around six feet
tall and average build a Size Large will suffice to wear as a shirt would be
worn, however, when the weather turns chilly and you put a woolly jumper on under
it, when hoisting sail or shipping 10 fathoms of anchor chain, you could do
without any restriction in shoulder and arm movements therefore Size Extra Large
would perhaps do you a better service.
V-Neck collar detail Smock Shop |
V-Neck collar detail Yarmo (custom) |
As far as 'wear' goes a smock becomes similar to a favorite pair
of denim jeans. They fade in colour and can last for years. If you have a few
in rotation they will last indefinitely. A smock can also become like an old friend that
has seen adventure with you - the good passages and the bad, and in this respect
it can become a part of you…
Custom toggle |
Pocket detail |
If you are unlucky to be holed through your beloved smock
being a natural material this can easily be stitched up again or, as I have done on
one of my smocks, I have used one of the pockets as donor cloth to patch over a
tear that happened getting off the boat one night while sliding over a cleat in darkness
with my heavy backpack on.
Aesthetics: Well, that’s a very personal thing to each and
every one of us but, personally speaking, a smock has a timeless look about it
and an old boat coupled with a skipper in an old smock will, perhaps, always have
a certain old England charm that continues to appeal. If, or when, you slip one overhead
and ‘smell the cotton’, take a moment’s thought before you set about the deck,
for wearing your fisherman’s smock you are partaking in a seafaring tradition
that has carried on for centuries. Good sailing, Tony
Side relief in Yarmo smock |
Pocket detail |
No relief in Smock Shop smock |