Thursday December 29th, 2016
A post on FB from ‘Flying Pigs’ this morning generated some thought. Some thinking about my personal boat wardrobe and of course what to pack. On Fracas I am lucky to have a couple of cupboards for my shorts and t-shirts. I don’t need any more than that. My clothing is separated into work clothes and clothes not yet christened (sufficiently) to become work clothes. I don’t have any dress clothing with the possible exception of a couple of ties that either have cartoon characters painted on them or they light up.
I have a lot of clothes that are in the ‘work’ clothes cupboard. It’s not that I am a slob, but it might be. I choose to think it is I forget what I am wearing when a task presents itself and I jump in without removing the formerly non christened clothing. As boaters we spend a lot of money and time finding the best paint, coating, or glue to last the longest. 
My current favourite is Sikaflex. Sikaflex has variants that bed teak, glue things together and seal others. Clothing is immediately sent to the work area if I make contact. If you get this on your hands, you have a pet for at least a month.
Lots of guys have the option of clothing moving from ‘work’ clothes to rags. I don’t have that option as ML is concerned (with merit) that I will wear them at least one more time.
If you are having battery issues clothing worn then may end up in the work area as it slowly disintegrates. Initially this battery acid exposure makes clothing risqué, but on a 63 year old not so much.
When we are leaving the boat I get the once over inspection by the Admiral. I watch as her eyes dart around my shirt and shorts doing a quick inventory of stains (patina) on my attire. Sometimes I am told to remove the offending fashions in favour of something in my other cupboard. Other times she accepts my choices and doesn’t stand near me or admit I’m with her when we are ashore.
Elastics also lead to a migration of my clothing from wearable to work to a third stage I call preservation. ML starts to make comments about certain garments, “throw them out” or “I’m taking them to Value Village”. The elastic in underwear lasts about a year in the tropics. I’m not sure if it is the sun or the heat but when you consider staples or tape to hold them up you need to make changes. Possibly using sikaflex might hold them up for a while (at least 30 days) but that might be a bad choice related to odor or is it odour?