Connecticut Water Trails Association
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Connecticut Water Trails Association |
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Connecticut Water Trails Program Canoe Basics Canoe Camping - Packing Your Canoe
These packing and planning tips will ensure your
next outing is a smooth and memorable one.
Deciding What to Take Writing up a checklist is the best way to start
deciding what you need to take on a canoeing trip. Keep your list on your computer, so when you return
from your trip you can add an item you wish you would have packed or
note ones which you didn't need to use. Start your canoe-camping prep, by print up a copy of
your checklist and add or remove items that are specific to your route
and trip itinerary. Your list should include details on the following:
camping gear, cooking hardware and fuel, food items with a planned menu
for each day, clothes, safety equipment, canoeing gear, and
miscellaneous items. After completing the first draft of your list, go
through it and try and remove items that aren't necessities. After all,
you'll need to pack all this stuff into a canoe. Most people have the
tendency to over pack, so reducing your gear and traveling light is
critical. Now, if you think you successfully trimmed down the list
enough, it's time for the next step.
A Visual Inspection And
Further Refining Assembling and inspecting all your gear well in
advance of any trip is a wise use of your time. You'll likely remember
things that need fixing, like a broken jacket zipper, and have plenty of
time to take care of these repairs or replenish any supplies. In
addition to reminding you of equipment maintenance, laying your gear out
will help you determine if you can fit all of these items into your
canoe. Again, discipline yourself to remove unnecessary gear if
possible.
Packing Your Gear It's a good idea to continue your visual inspection
by packing gear into the carry containers you'll use to load the items
into the canoe. Many veteran canoeists will tell you to keep like items
together. Having designated bags for food, cooking, clothes, first aid,
and sleeping and camping gear is a good idea. Remember that if you are
portaging you'll need to carry these things, so it pays to try and keep
items in large containers to reduce the number of trips from take-out to
the next put-in points.
Test Loading Your next step is test loading your canoe with gear.
With time, you'll learn the carrying capacity of your canoe, but at
first, you'll literally have to practice packing it on your lawn. This
step might seem overly detailed, but it's better to test pack your gear
on a sunny day in your backyard and trouble shoot your cargo strategy in
comfort.
Loading Strategy Beyond the basic loading strategy of fitting all of
your camping gear into the canoe, there are more factors to consider.
Weight distribution is one. The same principles apply to loading a canoe
as do filling a backpack. Put the heaviest items where they will have
the least impact on your balance and maneuverability.
You should also keep the gear below the gunwales of the canoe or limit their height as much as possible. Loading items upwards will impact your balance and the canoe's centre of gravity. It will also provide more surface area for the wind to catch. Both of these two scenarios impact the overall stability and maneuverability of the canoe, which can get dangerous in high winds and rough water.
Tie It Down Once you load your canoe, secure the gear to prevent
it from shifting around. This is critical to maintaining stability in
rough water and to ensure you won't lose items in the event of a
swamping. That said, use quick-release knots, tie-down straps, and
bungee cords to make it easy to remove gear. Keep this step as
uncomplicated as possible to make emergency maneuvers or multi-day
portages straight forward and simple.
Keeping It Dry It's a matter of fact that water will enter the
canoe during a paddle. To keep gear dry, waterproof all items. You can
do this two ways. One method is to line regular backpacks and stuff
sacks with heavy duty plastic bags, and then pack in your gear. The
second is to purchase and store items in heavy-duty, waterproof
containers. There are many options available when it comes to size, material and shape of waterproof carriers, but most fall into soft- or hard-cased options. Vinyl dry bags come in various sizes, and some feature transparent sides, which is handy to quickly identify items. Boundary bags are a level beyond basic dry bags. Still made with vinyl, boundary bags feature padded shoulder straps to make portaging easy. Hard cases and waterproof marine boxes come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are good for packing lanterns, stoves, cameras and other fragile items.
Some Final Tips The above general practices will help you set off on
the right course when packing a canoe, but here are some final tips.
Communicate with your paddling partner at all
times.
Invest in a properly fitting and comfortable PFD
and wear it at all times.
The above packing tips and planning techniques will help your next outing be a smooth and memorable one. Paddling any waterway is a great way to experience the natural environment and adopt a slower pace to life, one more in tune with nature's rhythms. After successfully loading up your canoe, take your time and enjoy the journey!
Review Of The Basics:
Keep The Load Low.
Canoes are notoriously tippy, and even more so with a high CG (center of
gravity). Inflatable canoes are more forgiving in this area, but you
have to be cautious with all of them. Heavy items on bottom, lighter
stuff on top.
Secure Your Load.
If your boat doesn't have tie down points, install them now. If you
don't tie your load into the boat, you'll lose things if you capsize.
Dry Bags.
Anything that you want to keep dry must go in a dry bag. Go with
smaller, longer bags that fit in your boat rather than big bags. Longer
bags are problematic because you're constantly digging for the stuff at
the bottom. Go with waterproof duffels to get away from this, and pack
your items in smaller nylon stuff sacks before loading it in the dry
bag. Then, you just need to find the right stuff sack instead of
emptying the whole dry bag.
Packing Your Boat.
If the water is shallow and you're in an inflatable canoe, pack
crushable items on the bottom to prevent floor damage. Normally in a
conventional raft you would suspend your load off the floor on a mesh
cargo platform. But I don't recommend this in an inflatable canoe,
because it raises your CG. Load on the floor, but put soft stuff down
there to lessen the chances of impact damage if you float over a rock. Use Enough Boat! Make sure your canoes can carry a big load. However, the lighter you pack, the better your performance on the water (and the less tired you'll be after a day of paddling
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