The Coastline Blog

Nothing ruins a perfect day on the water like forgetting the one thing you actually needed. We have spent enough days on boats to know the drill, so here is the checklist we run through before leaving the dock. Bring the right gear, wear the right layers, and the day pretty much takes care of itself.

The Essentials: What to Bring

Start with the stuff that keeps everyone safe and comfortable.

• Life jackets. One properly fitting PFD for every person on board, no exceptions.
• Sunscreen and lip balm. The sun hits harder on the water because it bounces off the surface. Reapply every two hours, and do not forget your ears and the backs of your knees.
• A cooler with water and snacks. Hydration matters more than you think. Bring more water than you expect to drink.
• A dry bag or zip-top bags. Phones, wallets, and keys do not mix well with splash and spray.
• Towels. At least one per person, and maybe a spare for the ride home.
• First-aid kit and a basic tool kit. Bandaids, antiseptic, pliers, a knife, and a few spare line ties. Small things that fix big problems.
• Trash bag. Leave the water cleaner than you found it.

What to Wear: Sun Protection First

What you wear matters as much as what you pack. The wrong clothes mean sunburn by noon and shivering by sunset.

The single best thing you can wear on a boat is a UPF 50 shirt or hoodie. Water reflects UV rays right back at you, so you get hit from above and below. Sunscreen wears off in the spray and sweat. A UPF 50 sun shirt does not.

Our "Sunrise" UV Hoodie is built for exactly this kind of day. It has UPF 50 sun protection, and the lightweight fabric with built-in odor control keeps you cool, dry, and comfortable. The hood covers the spots sunscreen always misses, like your neck and ears. It has a classic look too, so it goes straight from the boat to the beach bar without a costume change. At $42, it is an easy add to the boat bag.

Under it, wear what is comfortable and quick drying. Swim trunks, a breathable tee, board shorts, whatever you are happy spending eight hours in.

The Layer You Will Want After Sunset

Here is the part most people skip. A day on the water that starts at 85 degrees can feel chilly by 7 PM, especially once the boat starts moving and the wind picks up. The people who packed a layer are the ones still out there enjoying it.

Toss a lightweight hoodie or quarter zip in your bag before you leave the dock. You do not want a heavy fleece, you will never put it on. You want something light enough to throw over a tee in September and tuck under a jacket in October.

Shop the Nantucket Deckhand Hoodie

The preppy hoodie is having a moment again. The classic New England look, stripes, gingham, classic colors, the kind of thing you would wear to a summer regatta or a Sunday on the porch, is showing up everywhere. And the modern version is lighter, cleaner, and a lot easier to wear than the heavy fleece hoodies of the past.

The thing about "preppy" is that it can mean very different things to different people. To us, the best version of the look is modern coastal: classic, timeless, and never goes out of style.

What Makes a Hoodie "Preppy"?

The preppy hoodie is really about a few simple ingredients. Clean lines, classic colors (navy, white, khaki, a little red or green), and details that nod to the coast. Think stripes that echo boat flags, small embroidered marks instead of big loud graphics, and fabrics that look sharp rather than sloppy.

It’s a hoodie you can wear to a casual dinner, to the office, the golf course or just lounging around.

The Modern Update: Lighter Fabric

The classic preppy hoodie was heavy. Thick fleece, built for cold mornings, and not much use once spring arrived. The modern take fixes that with lightweight fabric you can wear most of the year.

A lightweight hoodie layers better too. It works over a tee when it is warm and under a jacket when it is not, which means you actually reach for it instead of leaving it in the closet for four months. If you only own one hoodie, make it a light one.

The Coastal Details That Set It Apart

This is where a hoodie goes from generic to memorable. Small details do the heavy lifting: a striped drawstring, a contrast panel inside the hood, a pattern named after a coastal town instead of a random graphic. These are the touches people notice without being able to name why the hoodie looks good.

Our Deckhand Hoodie is built on exactly this idea. It is ultra lightweight, made from a bamboo blend, and the inside of the hood is lined with dress shirt fabric, mostly gingham, the way a dress shirt would look peeking out of a q-zip. Each pattern is named after an iconic coastal town, like Nantucket and Cape Cod. It is the preppy hoodie idea, rebuilt for the coast and for actual comfort.

How to Wear It

Keep it simple.

• Wear it with shorts and boat shoes or a preppy sneaker. The classic summer uniform. A navy or striped hoodie over a white tee, done.
• With chinos. Swap the shorts for chinos and you are ready for a casual dinner or a drinks-on-the-porch evening.
• Layered under a jacket. In the fall, a lightweight hoodie under a canvas or softshell jacket gives you the layered look without the bulk.
• Over swim trunks. Heading from the boat to the beach bar, a lightweight hoodie is the perfect cover-up. It looks intentional, not like you grabbed whatever was closest.

What to Look For Before You Buy

• Lightweight fabric. Heavy fleece limits you to cold weather. Lightweight gets worn year round.
• Classic colors and small details. Stripes, embroidery, contrast linings. Skip the giant graphics.
• Quality construction. A hoodie you wear all the time should be made to last. Look for brands that stand behind their gear and have great reviews.

The Bottom Line

The preppy hoodie works because it is timeless. Stripes, classic colors, and coastal details have looked good for decades, and they will keep looking good. The modern update is just about doing it lighter, better fitting, and easier to wear.

The Deckhand Hoodie is our take on the modern coastal hoodie: ultra lightweight, bamboo blend, with dress shirt fabric lining the inside of the hood. Shop the collection.

Short answer: yes. Longer answer: here is how they work, what the numbers mean, and what to look for so you get protection you will actually wear.

What UPF Means

UPF stands for Ultraviolet Protection Factor. It measures how much UV radiation a fabric lets through to your skin. A shirt rated UPF 50 blocks about 98% of UV rays. For comparison, a plain white cotton tee is usually around UPF 5, which means it lets a lot more sun through than most people think.

How Sun Protective Clothing Works

It is mostly about construction. Tightly woven fabrics, certain fibers, and sometimes UV-absorbing treatments all work together to stop rays before they reach your skin. Unlike sunscreen, it does not wash off in the water, wear off when you sweat, or need reapplying every two hours. You put it on, and you are covered. Part of that is absorption, where the fabric soaks up UV rays and turns them into harmless heat, and part is reflection, where the tight weave bounces rays away before they reach your skin.

Does the Protection Wash Out?

In a well-made garment, no. Quality UPF clothing is tested to hold its rating through normal washing. Follow the care instructions on the label (usually cold wash, hang or tumble dry low) and the protection lasts the life of the shirt. Cheap shirts with sprayed-on treatments can lose effectiveness over time, which is one reason to buy from a brand that builds UPF into the fabric itself.

What to Look For Before You Buy

• UPF 50 rating. That is the highest standard rating and the one worth paying for.
• Coverage. Hoods and long sleeves protect the spots sunscreen misses, like your neck and ears.
• Comfort. If it is hot and scratchy, you will not wear it. Look for lightweight, fast-drying fabric.
• A look you like. This is the underrated one. The best sun shirt is the one you reach for, so pick a design you would wear to the beach bar, not just the boat.

Why It Matters on the Water

Water reflects UV rays back at you, so anglers, boaters, and beachgoers get hit twice. A UPF 50 shirt or hoodie is the simplest way to cut that exposure without living in a cloud of sunscreen spray.

Coastal Crew UPF 50 shirts and hoodies are fast drying with simple, classic designs, built to go from the water to the beach bar. Shop the collection at coastalcrew.com/collections/sun-shirts.

A shopping guide for guys that love an elevated casual look and an unmistakable coastal style.

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What exactly does UPF mean? Is UPF different from UV protection? And what does a UPF 50 rating actually tell you?

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