Drysuits

I have a RipCurl 5/3mm steamer which i generally wear with dinghy boots, a rash vest and a spray top. I can honestly say that I have never been cold wearing it (obviously hands get a bit nippy but the rest of me stays warm).

Most important accessories are good gloves and good boots as it's your extremities which get cold first, then the impaired movement causes you to make more mistakes which when sailing a boat like a cherub causes you to get wet... very wet! Gill Extreme winter gloves and wetsuit socks are a must for winter sailing.

... anyway Iain, you can surely wait till next winter to sort out the Drysuit problem as it's nearly summer eh? Crack out the shorty!

Contender443 got a MM Thermo suit a couple of years ago and he's got mixed feelings about it. Despite good layering, he didn't feel very warm and his feet especially were frozen. But the worst problem was the zip: despite good maintenance, it deteriorated fast and, one memorable Sunday afternoon, hubby couldn't get out of his suit! It took 3 people 20 minutes to prise the zip open.

At the Dinghy Show he's switched to a steamer and Aquafleece and he'll give it a try on the 1st April, when the season starts. It's bound to be easier to take off!  

ive had a typhoon drysuit for 2 winters so far and all the seals seem fine and the seams dont leak. i dont know what make it is but its blue and its got a zip on the back. i like the zip on the back cos its comfy and i can get it undone myself. i c**t a winter as form some time in october to start of march. im now back in my nackered 3mm wetsuit and spray top and no complaints.

I had the MM Thermo - I wouldn't get another.

In general, I thought it was warmer than a conventional suit, certainly didn't need to wear as much under it.  But....

Your feet get cold, even if you use neoprene socks.  The seals leak, not much but enough to be a pain.  And to make it that good you need to use MM boots and gloves with double cuffs (one goes under the drysuit, the other over it).  And you need to have velcro straps round your ankles/wrists.  Far too much hassle considering you don't get particularly good results.

Replaced mine with a Lomo suit from ewetsuits.com - top spec, excellent value for money and good customer service sorting out a minor problem (they sent me an "S" instead of an "XL".....)

Can't speak for it's longevity yet - but my Crewsaver HyperDry ProNeo dry-suit is GREAT.  Lighter and less restrictive than my old 5mm steamer, you can put it on over your day clothes when you just want a quick bash round the lake and best of all ....

... no more freezing cold seepage up the legs during launching or down the neck on the first capsize!

Unfortunately, not much use for scuba diving.