How to Choose Sailing Footwear: Boots, Deck Shoes and Sandals

Pick sailing footwear by where you sail: boots for dinghies and offshore passages, deck shoes for day sailing and coastal cruising, and sandals for warm days on a calm boat. This guide compares each type, lists example products from Musto, Helly Hansen, Zhik and Rooster, and gives the foot-length chart of every brand.

Footwear by type at a glance

Type	Best for	Brands in our range
Boots	Dinghies, hiking out, offshore watches	Musto, Zhik, Rooster
Deck shoes and sneakers	Day sailing, coastal cruising, racing	Musto, Helly Hansen, Zhik, Rooster
Sandals and slides	Warm days at the dock or on a calm boat	Musto, Helly Hansen
Socks	Warmth and comfort inside boots and shoes	Musto, Rooster

How do I choose?

Ask three questions: how wet will your feet get, how long will you stand on deck, and what will you do on board? A dinghy sailor hikes and gets soaked. A cruising crew walks around the deck for hours. An offshore crew needs dry feet through long watches.

Which boots suit dinghies and offshore sailing?

Boots protect your ankles and keep your feet warmer than shoes. Hiking boots add support when you lean out, and yachting boots suit long watches.

Boot	Best for	Examples from our range
Hiking boot	Dinghies and racing	Zhik Zhikgrip II Hiking Boot - Unisex (Black) Zhik Zhikgrip II Lightweight Hiking Boot - Unisex (Black)
Ankle boot	Dinghies and warm water	Zhik Low Cut Ankle Boot - Unisex (Grey) Rooster All Purpose Boot - Unisex (Black)
Yachting boot	Offshore and ocean racing	Musto HPX Ocean Boot - Unisex (Black) Musto MPX Offshore Boot - Unisex (Black) Musto Gore-tex Ocean Racer Boots - Unisex (Black)

What are the best deck shoes and sneakers?

Deck shoes and sailing sneakers are lighter than boots and suit trips where your feet stay mostly dry.

Shoe	Best for	Examples from our range
Sailing sneaker	Day sailing and cruising	Musto LPX Pro Trainer - Men (Black / True Red) Musto Dynamic Race Trainer - Women (Navy / Off White) Helly Hansen Backshore - Men (Navy / Off White) Helly Hansen Skagen 2 - Women (Navy / Off White)
Race shoe	Racing and active sailing	Zhik Surge Performance Race Shoe - Unisex (Navy) Musto Dynamic Pro II Adapt - Unisex (Platinum / Gold) Helly Hansen Hydro Power Ahiga Classic - Unisex (Off White / Dark Blue)
Deck trainer	Dinghies and light keelboats	Zhik Fuze Shoes - Unisex (Black) Rooster SB2 Deck Trainers 2.0 - Unisex (Light Blue)

Musto LPX Pro Trainer - Men (Black / True Red)

Are sandals and slides suitable on a boat?

Sandals and slides suit warm days at the dock or on a calm boat. For work on the foredeck or in rough water, choose shoes or boots that hold your foot.

Style	Examples from our range
Sandal or slide	Musto Nautic Sandal - Unisex (Platinum / Gold) Helly Hansen Slide Sandals - Men (Black / Gunmetal) Helly Hansen Slide Sandals - Women (Black / Gunmetal)

Which socks go with sailing footwear?

Sock	Examples from our range
Wetsuit sock	Musto Champ 3MM Wetsuit Sock - Unisex (Deep Ocean)
Wet and waterproof sock	Rooster Supertherm Wet Socks - Junior (Grey) Rooster Waterproof Socks - Unisex (Grey)
Base sock	Rooster PolyPro Socks - Unisex (Grey)

Which brand offers what?

Brand	Footwear in our range
Musto	Yachting boots, sailing sneakers, sandals, wetsuit socks.
Helly Hansen	Sailing sneakers, slides and sandals.
Zhik	Hiking boots, ankle boots, deck and race shoes.
Rooster	All-purpose boots for adults and juniors, deck trainers, socks.

Which size should I order?

Measure your foot length from heel to longest toe and match it to each brand's chart, since sizes differ. As an example, the same EU 42.5 maps to different UK and US sizes and foot lengths:

Brand	EU	UK	US	Foot length
Musto	42.5	8.5	9 (men's)	27 cm (270 mm)
Helly Hansen	42.5	8.5	9	27 cm / 10.6 in
Zhik	42.5	8	9 (men's)	27 cm / 10.6 in
Rooster	42.5	8.5	9.5	26 cm / 10.3 in

Musto shoes and boots

UK	EU	US men's	US women's	JP / MM
3.5	36	4	5.5	220
4	37	4.5	6	225
4.5	37.5	5	6.5	230
5	38	5.5	7	235
5.5	38.7	6	7.5	240
6	39.3	6.5	8	245
6.5	40	7	8.5	250
7	40.5	7.5	9	255
7.5	41	8	9.5	260
8	42	8.5	10	265
8.5	42.5	9	–	270
9	43	9.5	–	275
9.5	44	10	–	280
10	44.5	10.5	–	285
10.5	45	11	–	290
11	46	11.5	–	295
11.5	46.5	12	–	300
12.5	48	13	–	310

Musto sandals and slides

UK	EU	US men's	US women's	JP / MM
3	36	4	5	220
4	37.5	5	6	230
5	38.7	6	7	240
6	40	7	8	250
7	41	8	9	260
8	42.5	9	10	270
9	44	10	–	280
10	45	11	–	290
11	46.5	12	–	300
12	48	13	–	310

Helly Hansen men

US	EU	UK	Foot length (in)	Foot length (cm)
7	40	6.5	9.8	25
7.5	40.5	7	10	25.5
8	41	7.5	10.3	26
8.5	42	8	10.4	26.5
9	42.5	8.5	10.6	27
9.5	43	9	10.8	27.5
10	44	9.5	11	28
10.5	44.5	10	11.2	28.5
11	45	10.5	11.4	29
11.5	46	11	11.6	29.5
12	46.5	11.5	11.8	30
13	48	12.5	12.2	31

Helly Hansen women

US	EU	UK	Foot length (in)	Foot length (cm)
5	35	3	8.5	21.6
5.5	36	3.5	8.6	22
6	37	4	8.8	22.5
6.5	37.5	4.5	9	23
7	38	5	9.25	23.5
7.5	38.7	5.5	9.4	24
8	39.3	6	9.6	24.5
8.5	40	6.5	9.8	25
9	40.5	7	10	25.5
9.5	41	7.5	10.2	26
10	42	8	10.4	26.5

Helly Hansen kids

US	EU	UK	Foot length (in)	Foot length (cm)
6	23	5	5.11	13
7	24	6	5.39	13.7
8	25	7	5.7	14.5
9	26	8	6.02	15.3
10	27	9	6.37	16.2
11	28	10	6.69	17
12	29	11	7.08	18
13	30	12	7.48	19
Y1	31	13	7.87	20
Y2	32	Y1	8.26	21
Y3	33	Y2	8.58	21.8
Y4	34	Y3	8.93	22.7
Y5	35	Y4	9.29	23.6
Y6	36	Y5	9.64	24.5

Zhik boots and shoes

US men's	US women's	UK unisex	EU unisex	Foot length
6	7.5	5	38.5	24.4 cm / 9.6 in
6.5	8	5.5	39	24.9 cm / 9.8 in
7	8.5	6	40	25.3 cm / 10 in
7.5	9	6.5	40.5	25.7 cm / 10.1 in
8	9.5	7	41	26.1 cm / 10.3 in
8.5	10	7.5	42	26.5 cm / 10.4 in
9	10.5	8	42.5	27 cm / 10.6 in
9.5	11	8.5	43	27.4 cm / 10.8 in
10	11.5	9	44	27.8 cm / 10.9 in
10.5	12	9.5	44.5	28.3 cm / 11.1 in
11	12.5	10	45	28.7 cm / 11.3 in
11.5	13	10.5	45.5	29.1 cm / 11.5 in
12	–	11	46	29.5 cm / 11.6 in
12.5	–	11.5	46.5	29.9 cm / 11.8 in
13	–	12	47	30.4 cm / 12 in
13.5	–	12.5	48	30.8 cm / 12.1 in
14	–	13	48.5	31.2 cm / 12.3 in
14.5	–	13.5	49	31.6 cm / 12.4 in
15	–	14	49.5	32 cm / 12.6 in

Rooster boots and shoes

EU	UK	US	Foot length (cm)	Foot length (in)
35	2	2.5	20.5	8.1
36	3	3.5	21.5	8.5
37	4	4.5	22.5	8.8
38	5	5.5	23	9.1
39	6	6.5	24	9.4
40.5	6.5	7.5	24.5	9.7
41.5	7.5	8.5	25.5	10
42.5	8.5	9.5	26	10.3
43.5	9.5	10.5	27	10.7
45	10.5	11.5	28	11
46	11.5	12.5	29	11.3
47	13	14	30	11.8

Helly Hansen sizes are US-based by default. Full charts for every garment type are in the size guides for Musto, Helly Hansen, Zhik, Rooster and Henri-Lloyd.

Frequently asked questions

Should I wear boots or shoes for sailing?

Wear boots for dinghies, hiking and long watches, and shoes for short, drier trips. Boots protect your ankles and keep you warmer.

Can I wear regular sneakers on a boat?

Choose footwear designed for wet decks. Sailing shoes are made for that surface, while everyday sneakers are not.

How should boots fit?

Snug around the heel and ankle with a little room in the toes. If you wear neoprene socks, try the boots with them on.

How do I measure my foot?

Stand on a sheet of paper, mark your heel and your longest toe, and measure the distance. Compare it with the foot-length column of each chart.

Do sizes match between brands?

Not exactly. EU 42.5 is a US 9 for Musto, Helly Hansen and Zhik but a US 9.5 for Rooster, and the foot length ranges from 26 to 27 centimeters.

What size are kids' boots and shoes?

Helly Hansen lists kids' shoes from size 6 to Y6, and Rooster makes a junior all-purpose boot that follows its EU chart from size 35.

Do I need wetsuit socks?

Neoprene socks add warmth inside boots and are common in dinghy sailing. Try boots with them on, since they take up room.

Which brand should I pick?

Zhik and Rooster focus on dinghy boots and race shoes. Musto covers yachting boots and sneakers, and Helly Hansen makes sailing sneakers and slides.

Are sandals good for sailing?

They suit warm weather on calm water. In waves or for foredeck work, shoes or boots hold your foot better.

Can the same footwear work on any boat?

Sailing sneakers work on most keelboats. A dinghy sailor who hikes will want a boot, and an offshore sailor will want a yachting boot.

If you have additional inquiries or need help with anything sailing related, don't hesitate to contact our experts! We'll be glad to help.

You may also be interested in

Last updated: November 11, 2026.