Sun Protection... How do you deal with it?

[Cheech]

Even though I only have a small boat (4.5) I have rigged up a full canopy about 2m high so that I can freely move about the boat and always be in shade.

But at the end of every day I still end up quite red. Not sunburn as such, but red. And that is with using sunscreen and have skin that is not necessarily prone to sunburn.

But so many other boats I see are open and have no or very little cover.

How?

Do those with open boats just go out for shorter periods?

Do they just put up with over exposure?

Just curious.

[Jack_Lives_Here]

I fish an open boat and the way for me is PLENTY of sunscreen about every 4 hours, long sleeve shirts are a must for me also. Drinking heaps of water to state an obvious.

[mackmauler]

cover up to avoid any wind contact going out and coming home. this is my usual attire(when fishn)

[Mudcrab]

Also of interest is that the only two products the Oz Skin Specialists will recommend are Hamiltons and Sunsense 30+.
All others are made overseas where the SPF factors are totally different to those in Oz. Forget all the Banana Boats 50+ stuff and stick to ours. For those old codgers like me with spots and "things" all over your arms, if you splash on a dob of Sunsense morning and night you will find they all disappear after about six months. Same for your dial! And remember that it is the glare off the water that is the killer even under a broad brimmed hat! And you do burn on cloudy days!

[jaybee]

Mackmauler
cover up to avoid any wind contact besides no one can see who you are eh ROFLMAO. or you could try wearing lycrs. ;D
cheers
Joe.

[NQCairns]

I guess a person has to do something to stop scaring away all those surface feeding fish like the one he is holding ;D ;D. Is it John Howard or peter costello?

[bidkev]

cover up to avoid any wind contact going out and coming home. this is my usual attire(when fishn)

What do you wear when you're robbin' banks? ;-)

[dazza]

the sun can really ruin a good trip if you are not prepared. i wear a long sleve shirt, sun gloves, long cotton pants, and an adapta hat. with all of this clobber on, the only exposed parts are my feet. i put sunscreen on before i go, even if it is 4am. and reaply every couple of hours. the pic is of my wife with her sun clobber on.
cheers
dazza

[basserman]

i guess i'm lucky! or mad!
i go out fishing for the full 12 hours up the rivers in my nice open 385 bass boat wearing only a short sleeve shirt never appling sunscreen and still come home unburnt ;D must just have good skin

[sir_noelus]

No desire to offend but I believe that ANYONE who exercises no precautions at all is dare I say it 'mad'. Regardless of our so called skin quality, and I'm pretty sun tolerant, none of us are exempt from sun exposure damage a bit further down the line. If anything, those of us who have good sun tolerant skin may not know of serious and permanent (sometimes very permanent) sun damage for a long time. Others with less sun tolerant skin can be affected by skin cancers and learn of them early and in time to fix the problem. Just a point of view. We have three boats. a 19 footer in the mountains where UV is worse than at sea level, and it has nothing to do with temperature. It has walk under canopies to the motor well. Our 15' tinnie has a full canopy set inc side curtains, and am building up a 12' tinnie to travel with. It will have at least a bimini and preferrably detachable side curtains as reflected UV is no less deadly than direct sun rays. Noel

[CQ_Fisher]

Basserman, you may think your not getting harmed but it will come back to haunt you in your later years. I have been cursed with fair skin and a love of the outdoors and it took me the 1st 25 years of my life to accept the fact that if i want to enjoy the outdoors without copping a dose of sunstroke i would have to cover up and cover up well. Like Dazza i too wear long sleeve shirt, sun gloves, broad rimmed hat and loads of sunscreen. Have copped a lot a flack from my browner mates over the last few years since i have been going to such lengths to protect myself, but i come home now and dont feel so completely shagged from sitting in the sun all day long. Bimini cover for the tinnie is on the wish list but i want to get a good custom fitted torno cover first as i my boat has a habbit of loosing things while highway driving. So if anyone finds a boat seat or a shimano baitcaster on the Bruce Highway between Rocky and Gladstone, let me know.

JD

[bay_firey]

Long sleeve shirt, legionaires cap (long flap down the back covers neck and ears and side of face) sunglasses and plenty of 30+ sunscreen every couple of hours

[nonibbles]

If you're driving the boat its also a good idea to make sure you put the sunscreen on before you leave for the ramp. Its all too easy to get caught up in the process of launching, parking, boating etc and forget to put the sunscreen on until you see everyone else applying their 2nd coat of paint which will be too late. I wear long sleeve shirt, sun gloves, long pants (linen = light) and an old pair of sneakers. I used to wear reef sandles but kept getting my feet & toes burnt! With diabetes I have to be very careful of my feet so I always wear sneakers on the boat. The shirt is the thicker type so I can soak it & stay cool (kuta lines).
I now have a really good broad brimmed cap that is ventilated on top and has a brim that comes right around to cover the ears and then there's a legionairre's style flap on the back that comes around to also cover the ears from behind. It has 2 straps on it one goes under the chin and the other tightens the hat around the back of the head so it won't blow off while under way. Looks pretty funny but its the best fishing hat I've ever had. I got it from Fish-O-Rama for $19 (Barra farm at El Arish near Mission Beach) when I was there recently. Incidently, this is a top spot to stop off at if your on the road in North Queensland and it doesn't cost the earth.

[Zeeke]

i wear long pants, and long sleeve shirts, tho sometimes i go only short sleeve shirt, dont get burnt but i do feel it, wear sunglasses as much as i can, carry 2 pairs!! wear my bundy rum cap, but need to upgrade soon to a wide brim hat as soon as i can find one i like

Tim

[PinHead]

I used to go out surfing a lot in my younger days..no mention of skin cancers back then...at age 32 had my first malignant skin cancer removed from my arm. Have had many burnt off and get checked regularly now. Don't risk it guys...the damage is done now...you pay later. Cover up.

[Cheech]

Interesting that last night I went out for fish, left just before dark, and still ended up a bit red.

Must also be a mixture of wind burn in there.

[Fitzy]

Having a dark complexion I'm a little lucky I guess. I try to keep covered as much as possible but dont always succeed. Spending alot of my life outdoors tho has done some damage, I'd had one cancer removed in my early 20s. Had a check-up not long ago & asked the doc about the face getting burned even when I wear a hat & sunscreen. He recons alot of the problem is actually wind burn at times. ???
Dont know but it cant be the best either, can it?

Cheers,

fitz

[mackmauler]

Get your balaclavas out boys.

[Maria]

Lol....balaclava's the way eh. Especially around this time of year, can get away with wearing it out on the water all day. I wouldn't really reccomend trying it while you're landbased, as you might draw a few looks and maybe provoke a few phone calls....especially if there's kids around or something lol.

All jokes aside, skin cancer aint good shit and I certainly don't want it later in life. Fortunately Mum's a registered nurse and has been for 30 years. So, the past 20 years I've had sun smart stuff drilled into me left right and centre. I must admit, I get a bit lazy with the cream and long sleeved shit when I'm out there. Generally always wear long pants and boots, so lower half aint a problem. Unfortunately though, I tend to prefer the singlet on the top half and forget, as I said, to reapply the cream.

Ben

[Dug]

Grow a beard too! it is great sun and wind protection.
a-wrap-a-hat and long clothing. Apply sunscreen well before you head out and give it a chance to soak into your skin.

To those who saw they don't burn don't let that fool you either skin damage is still occurring Bob Marley died of a melanoma on his foot, you don't get a second chance.

Slip slop slap and drink plenty of water (Not purified with alcohol)

[charleville]

I wear an Adaptacap which is a brand of cap with a big French Foreign legion sort of "curtain" which hangs down around back of neck and side of face. Can be adapted to various shapes.

Cost me $32 a few months ago but bought a second for my son at the recent Tackle & Tinnie show for $25.

Works really well for my bald old head. Is an open weave fabric so it lets the air pass very easily but is also rated at 50+ protection and the brim is quite big. A repat Hospital nurse once told me of old diggers who lose an ear on one side due to cancer from the upturned diggers' hats so I have always been a bit conscious of ear protection under a cap.

I also use 30+ sunscreen on the face.

Also I wear old long white business shirts (new $14 at Lowes) and fishing gloves.

I never have any sunburn problems except when I am a bit slow putting on the sunscreen. Really needs to be applied before leaving the boat harbour.

All of the above stuff is really comfortable even it may sound like it is not. Have always found hats to be a nuisance because they blow off.

[Sportfish_5]

Long sleeve shirts, adapta-cap, good quality sunnies and shoes #;) or just dont forget to put the 30+ on the tops of your feet if not wearing any #;D

Learnt that painful lesson #:'(