Carring gear in boat.

[whitecaps]

In Florida the word portage means using a truck to move something from land to water.

Even so, I sometimes have a bit of distance to cover from the truck to the water. Seems like on any trip I make it takes at least four trips to move my rig from any place to another that is not connected by water. Two day or six day trip no differance. Use wheels for boat whenever I can.

Would like some ideas on how many bags, packs or whatever you use to carry all your necessities in. Also brand names or types. ie backpack or duffel.

Seen different ways of packing gear on my trip on the Au Sable this year and learnt a lot. One thing is to use as large a bag or pack as you can fit.

I also realize the creature comforts change all this.

toby.

 

[oldsparkey]

When canoeing or using a pirogue.

I use a Boundary Waters Dry bag http://tinyurl.com/5uxqx7 3,600 cubic inch ( there regular size) for the tent or hammock , mattress , clothing and anything I want to keep dry. Basically my bedroom and clothing. After the 1st night the tent or hammock is packed in it's own bag and is loose in the canoe , do not want wet stuff in a dry bag.
I also have the large one 7,128 cubic inch .... everything you want and things you don't need fits in it no need for anything else. It is BIG.

For the food and cooking gear a Rubbermaid Action packer , mine is older then this new one they offer. http://tinyurl.com/6m2qko Can't say about the new ones but my older one is coon proof , so far not a single coon has gotten in there , they have tried but failed.

Sometimes my cooking gear is in a separate backpack when the trip is long and the food box is full. Normally when paddling with buddies since I use a Coleman gas double burner then and do most or a lot of the cooking.

If it is needed , then a 2,700 cu in backpack with everything else in it , usually in dry bags that fit inside the backpack. (Solo overnight trips this is all I use , everything fits in there or strapped on ). The camping chair is someplace in the boat to balance it when packed , same with the water jugs for a solo or a longer trip.

Then I have the wanigan in the canoe ( storage box I made which fits right behind the seat ) which has snacks , TP for emergencies , day snacks , rain coat and extras in it for when I'm paddling.

Packing the kayak..... Everything is in there own dry bags and have there own spot or designated area in the boat.

I pack four main items. Might say 4 1/2. :lol:
1. My bedroom
2. The kitchen
3. Clothing and creature comforts , medication.
4. Water.
4 1/2. Camera , note pad , flashlight and personal protection. (either in a 50 cal ammo box or a Duluth Packs Field Satchel.

Chuck.

 

[bearridge]

Friend toby,

I bought a Seal Line Baja dry bag. Fergot where. Figgered it would do with the two small Slumberjack dry bags frum Campmor...on sale fer bout $10 each. The small ones iz nice fer clothes. After I got my big fella sleepin' bag inta the Seal Line, it wuz a bad struggle ta git it back out, so I ordered a giant size bag frum Northwest River Supplies. http://wapurl.co.uk/?0QYWP61 They dont seem ta have the same model anymore. It wuz on sale fer bout $50.

I need the big bag fer my sleepin' bag, but there iz plenty of extra room fer other stuff. My Eureka Timberline tent will fit in the Seal Line bag with a bit of extra room. I kin git my clothes inta one small Slumberjack dry bag. Other stuff will dry out, but I got some mesh duffel type bags frum Campmor ta put 'em inside so they dont float off if I turn bottom upwards. Sometimes I tie all the other bags ta the boat.....sometimes my hubris gits ta actin' up. :mrgreen:

regards
bearridge

ps Ya caint put yer tent inta a dry bag with anything that caint git wet. The tent will likely git wet 'n everthin' in the bag with it wil too. Dont put nuthin' damp inta a dry bag with things ya aim ta keep dry.

Artificial Intelligence is no match for natural stupidity. Unknown

 

[whitecaps]

got it.

Thank you Mr. Bearridge.

I now know what i have have been doing wrong for my long distance races.

Need to pack at the start like every thing is wet from the get-go. so simple.. Mesh bags may become hard to find from here on in my neighborhood.

The everyday stuff that gets wet any ways like tarp or rain fly needs to go in a wet sack, also anything that does not need to stay dry. Every thing that has to be dry stays in dry pack. Thank you.

toby

 

[bearridge]

Friend toby,

This dont look like a mesh bag, but Campmor sells some good ones....eazy ta tote, holds a heap a gear, good zippers, etc. http://wapurl.co.uk/?1SEKEW5 Mesh iz cheap....even free in some spots, but I figger this haz been worth each penny. Likely ta last me quite a while.

regards
bearridge

Karmageddon: It's when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, and then the Earth explodes and it's a serious bummer.

 

[Kayak Jack]

I have a Boy Scout manual over 60 years old. It sez that, "A successful pack is made up of many small packs".

I get (from Campmor) small, mesh bags, about 12" X 12" or somewhere thereabouts. I use these to pack various types of clothing in - shirts, skivvies, socks, hankies, etc. It keeps them together, easy to retrieve without messing up the rest of the pack. I also use them of various kinds of gear - batteries, electronics, etc. etc. All of them get slud into dry bags. Katie's clothes got packed that way too and she could unpack, find, and repack easily. I took a bit more time.

I carry a large mesh bag (18" X 24") or somewhere thereabouts for dirty clothes. They are damp and smelly. I hang them up in the tent or under a rain fly to vent and dry, and pack them in a dry pack for transport.

I carry food in vac packs (Tilia food saver bags) and this fools all the animals except red squirrels. Those little (offspring of unwed parents) chew straight into a hermetically sealed bag directly to eat peanuts. I put food in a 5 gallon pail and use a Gamma seal lid http://freckleface.com/shopsite_sc/stor ... seals.html

I assemble dry bags into large mesh bags to carry thither and yon, Katie does this heavy carrying, while I graciously struggle along with my canteen.

My sleeping bag goes into its stuff bag. that goes into a large, trash compactor plastic bag (thicker and much heavier than standard garbage bags). This protects the sleeping bag from water. This gets compressed, goose-necked, and packed inside a second nylon stuff bag to protect the plastic bag. This works ot keep the sleeping bag dry through rain, haven't tested immersion yet. I pack my waterproof headlight in the outer nylon bag, on the theory that when setting up camp, I'll shake out the sleeping bag and get out the headlight.

Some things do not need to be kept dry, and I don't use dry bags for them. Tent/hammock, sleeping pads, cook gear, etc.

 

[Swampy]

One er two Ozark dry bags at Wally world will suffice. and then a Tupperware tub that Chuck mentioned... the rest is small and a small container made to be water tight will do.

OR

Spend a fortune for store bought gear .... :x

Have the fly to be the first thing you unpack .... so if it rains you can put it up and do everything else under it.

And keep yer wood and kindling dry also

swampy

 

[bearridge]

On the Brazos me'n anuther fella picked up waterproof plastic communist boxes at the Sam Walton store. They run bout $5. Room fer a camera, mebbe a digitized telephone 'er some medicine. [Kinda like a pelican without the foam.] When Miz Bear 'n me went ta the Sam Walton store fer vittles this week, I broke loose 'n drifted over ta the sports section. They had a bigger plastic box...bout $10. [These boxes iz clear, so ya kin see what iz in 'em.]

I been carryin' a plastic box that aint watertight. I been countin' on my paddle skill ta keep the water under the boat. If I git one more $10 box I kin likely haul everthin' that wuz in the ole plastic box....but I still aim ta keep my mind on the river. [chuckle]

regards
bearridge
bodine hubris society

Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.  Ernest Hemingway

 

[oldsparkey]

Re:

One er two Ozark dry bags at Wally world will suffice. and then a Tupperware tub that Chuck mentioned... the rest is small and a small container made to be water tight will do.
swampy

Yep ... I like that Rubbermaid Action Packer for my chow to be packed in. I even have my Trianga stove , pots and pans and the fuel bottle in there. Everything in one package.
Plus the lid on it makes a good cooking surface for the stove and what ever I'm cooking , might say the Action Packer does double duty. Actually triple duty , this last trip the canoe was tied off to it since all the tress were a few miles away or so it seamed. :lol: :lol:
Plus I have found that it is critter proof , the coons can not get into it when I lock the handles and put a latch on it.

Chuck.
PS. Dapper Al ( michstripcanoe ) also uses them for his stuff.

 

[tx river rat]

I have one dry bag for my bedroll ,the rest of my gear goes in my 2 big dry boxes ( my water proof hatches on my yak) Sorry but I had to say it. :twisted: :twisted: :evil:
Ron
This was said in a joking way but it's the truth ask Jack or Bear are Chuck

 

[oldsparkey]

Hatches in a kayak are the other dry bag like pork is the other white meat ( Not counting Gator)

Chuck.