When Ben Fuller proposed an article on bags and totes for carrying gear, I was slow to cotton to the idea. I’d been schlepping boating gear without anything to collect and carry all the miscellaneous bits and was getting along just fine. Or so I thought. I’ve been doing a lot of kayaking for exercise during the summer and from week to week increased the distance and intensity. At the end of a 10-mile, 2-hour outing I’d feel pleasantly exhausted when I returned to the launch site. Normally I’d leave all the gear in the kayak, carry it to the car, and lift it onto the roof racks, but with tired arms, I didn’t at all like lifting so much weight. I changed my routine and left the kayak at the dock while I took an armload of gear to the car. Then the 27-lb kayak was much easier to carry and lift. I began to see the utility of a tote to carry my water bottles, energy bars, seat pad, PFD, sprayskirt, notebook, and the dry bag with phone, wallet, and keys. A tote would put the weight on my shoulders, where I’d scarcely notice it, and lighten the load on my arms.I went to work drawing a cross-body sling bag and gathering materials left over from other sewing projects. Ben’s scuba bags have drawstring closures, a feature that I liked for containing gear more securely and guarding against splashes, so I added a collar to the bag that would give my tote similar protection. I made the shoulder strap as wide as the bag is front-to-back; that makes for a very comfortable carry with the pressure widely distributed.The fabric I had on hand was 430-denier coated packcloth. I had considered using leftover canvas but decided against it because it can be very difficult to sew where seams overlap, and the finished bag would be bulky and not easily stowed when not in use. It would also require waterproofing, a process I haven’t yet figured out.
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Thanks for the sewing lesson! I too did some bag making this summer, though I didn’t need to create a bodkin to finish it. My bags were sized to fit through the hatches of my Scamp so that I could organize my cooking gear and provisions for easy access, and especially for easy removal and storage after a voyage. The bags are slightly smaller in footprint than a paper grocery sack, but are about 1/2 again as tall with a slotted handle at the top. They hold my stove and cooking gear, my clothes, food and bottled water. I have a heavier bag for tools and spare parts. When the bags are fitted in the boat’s voluminous storage areas, there are no random items to track down, and the use of various fabrics helps me identify which bag to pull out if I’m looking for clean socks or a cutting board, etc. I used heavy Cordura nylon for some of the bags and waxed canvas for others, and all of my adventuring gear fits in eight bags. It has been fun to think up these kinds of projects and design and build them, especially when they work as well as these have.
Michael Moore
Scamp TOR #170
I find Small Boats Magazine always interesting, and packed full of good boaty ideas and inspiration. I particularly liked your tote bag article this latest issue. I will definitely be making one soon.
Ordered some cloth, looks like a perfect bag to haul the random stuff from car to boat!