Dromedary Bag in the Cockpit????

clean cockpit
Shawna Franklin from Body Boat Blade related a story during a rescue class: In a storm on the south coast of Iceland, her husband came out of his boat when he got hit by a large wave and couldn’t get back in because of bags in the cockpit that had shifted. They ended up having to do a towed rescue in big surf conditions before they could rearrange his cockpit. After that they went back to the rule of nothing in the cockpit unsecured.

If you put something in make sure it’s secure. Not just wedged in or tied with a piece of cord that could entrap you. And of course, practice your preferred rescue method to see if it causes problems. The only place I would put something would be behind the seat and lashed down.

Nice solution
With the suction cups/straps. Better, most likely, than any attempt to wedge an amorphous bag of water into a secure location or having it lie between legs.



As for rolling, I still don’t think that water in a container (as long as it doesn’t interfere with mobility) will have an affect on one’s ability to roll. We’re talking about 80 lbs. of water (about 37 kilos) and I’ve rolled boats with considerably more dead weight in them.



The way I see it, the container will either shift or not during the roll. If it shifts, it will simply fall to the lowest point of the boat during the roll, which may actually minimally facilitate rolling. If it doesn’t, it would be no different than any other 80 lbs. of dead weight in the boat.



But to answer the question as to whether I’ve done this with a water bag sloshing under my legs, no, I haven’t.



Rick

d rings
I have 2 sets of NRS D rings that come attached to a patch then I glued one set in front of my feet and the other behind my back band. That way I can tie down anything I place inside my cockpit including water bladders and my paddle float.

has been a problem
I have not put my 10L bag under my legs because a friend once got capsized during an expedition, and when he rolled up, a large water bladder in his cockpit was stuck over on one side, so both his feet were on the right side of the boat, and the 20 pound water bladder was on the left. He did ok, but felt fairly uneasy in the rough conditions that had just capsized him, but was unable to sort it all out until he had finished the challenging crossing.



If you want to store stuff there, I’d go to the trouble to attach some straps to the floor of your cockpit, and strap the dromedary bag in place.



Personally I put it behind my seat.



Nate


30lb

– Last Updated: Nov-19-12 7:15 AM EST –

The 13 liter bag will weigh 13kg, about 30lb.

Losing water
This article about a Falklands trip demonstrates what is probably the biggest danger of carrying your water loose in the cockpit.

http://www.marcusdemuth.com/Pages/2009FalklandIslands.aspx

water bags thoughts
Some of my peers prefer placing water bladders under their knees. I tried this once – I hate of the feel of it (it felt confining) and it impeded my leg drive.



I put multiple dromedary bags behind my seat. Depending on the trip I will carry multiple 4 liter bags. The top bag has a dromedary hydration system to keep me hydrated while paddling (allowing a clean deck and no water weight on my back). Having the same bag for hydration and storage gives you more options should a bag fail.



I prefer multiple bags over a single bag. I agree that having “all eggs in one basket” is not the best plan. I haven’t had any dromedaries leak but I have seen racoons chew through milk jugs to get water in the Everglades.



There isn’t much room for the bags to shift behind the seat in my kayaks. I have capsized in dumping surf in Iceland and elsewhere with this setup and had no problem rolling or with the the load shifting.



I don’t want bags that can leak in a hatch – with all my dry gear (even if it is drybagged). Also, on a steep beach I like being able to remove my water bags INSTANTLY – with that weight free, I can more easily pull the kayak up the beach. In one situation I almost had to throw my bags over a berm and quickly haul the boat to safety, before the next wave hit.



Greg Stamer

Anchor points
I have never seen a 13lt Dromedary bag but I have several 10lt ones that I use on long trips.

One is SECURED to the bottom of the cockpit, just in front of the seat (behind the seat I place smaller items since a 10lt bag doesn’t fit).

Securing the bag is imperative for me in case of a capsize. I have made 4 sturdy small saddles (from fibraglass) and epoxy glued them to the hull, inside the cockpit. Details with images here: http://gnarlydognews.blogspot.com.au/2009/07/shop-underdeck-storage.html

I have
Its never been a problem, but I usually store it beyond my foot pegs.

clarify
I wouldn’t do a long crossing or paddle all day in any kind of weather with a loose bag in the cockpit. I limit this setup to going from launch to first campsite and from place of water supply back to campsite, always a short distance. Lyn

Northwater Bladder Anchor
Comes I pairs. Web daisy chain sewn onto hypalon. Glue in line along keel line starting in front if the seat. Puts the ballast weight right in line with the heaviest load in the kayak, the paddler.



See you on the water,

Marshall

The River Connection, Inc.

Hyde Park, NY

www.the-river-connection.com

hudsonriverpaddler.org

Great idea!
I have used them in a canoe before for tying down portage packs…never would have thought to use them in my kayak.



So what do you glue them in with? I have found Vynabond doesn’t work well on kevlar canoes, so not sure if it will work on fiberglass.



Matt

Padeyes, G-Flex, 1/4
1) Position the bag in the cockpit, extending from the front bulkhead toward the seat.



2) Mark padeye lash-points corresponding to those on bag on the inside hull on either side plus center front & back. Better to have too many than too few; you can always skip a set of padeyes. Be careful not to position the padeyes where your heels point in from the footpegs, and not too close to the sides where they can interfere with your legs.



3) Glue padeyes at lash-points plus center front & rear with G-Flex. Position the padeyes longitudinally at the sides (parallel with side seam of kayak) and front & rear center padeyes laterally (perpendicular to side seam).



4) Starting with the center padeye near the bulkhead, run 1/4" bungee cord side to side through padeyes & over bag in a diamond pattern. Skip the front center padeye. Position the knot(s) near the bulkhead, as 1/4" knots can impinge on your feet/legs, especially in a narrow or low-profile boat.



5) Weave a non-stretchy strap or rope front to back loosely through the bungees where they cross in the middle so you can grab & lift the bungees all together to slide the bag in or out.



6) Attach a strap or cord with hook to front center padeye, to attach to first bungee crossover once the bag is in place, to prevent the bag from sliding forward (toward the seat).

MSR bag mounting
I have mounted MSR 10m liter bags in the cockpit of my Epic V10S surfski and in the rear hatch of my Kaskazi Skua ARX and dumped both and the bags stayed in place.

I glued square back pack strap attachments I got from Campmor to both the V10S and Skua and used straps to hold the MSR bags in place.





For details see

http://www.kayakfishinghole.com/community/showthread.php?t=4278&highlight=Skua

Vynabond…
…Vynabond has worked well for me on two glass boats. I did have an initial failure on my second boat, a Tempest, when I took a casual approach to surface preperation. Once I prepped the area appropriately the mounting tab adhered really well.



Jon

3M 5200 or 4200
These seem to stick just about anything together.



Other options exist as well, I’m sure.



See you on the water,

Marshall

The River Connection, Inc.

Hyde Park, NY

www.the-river-connection.com

Hudsonriverpaddler.org

i DO NOT ROLL…
But I DO often carry a large MSR Dromadory bag under my thighs.

I laid the bag close to my seat where I wanted it (centered etc… then I marked the tie-down-holes in the bag.

Next I epoxied D-rings at those tie=down points.



All I have to do is to clip the bag to the d-rings and it stays secure.



As for rolling… I’m a rec-paddler so the word is foreign to me.

MSR bag mounting
My previous mounting link may not work

photo of my mounting an insulated Camelbak bag in my Epic surfski

http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae140/joebh/IMG_1358.jpg

Photos of my mounting a MSR 10 liter bag in my Kaskazi Skua ARX inside read compartment with D ring mounting attachments

http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae140/joebh/IMG_1541.jpg

http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae140/joebh/IMG_1531.jpg



Both water bag mounting systems worked when I dumped my surfsi and Kaskazi.

The Kaskazi has dumped multiple times in the surf and the full water bag did not come loose

I always carry mine behind the seat
in the cockpit. Learned it from Steve Scherrer. Makes sense putting all the weight in the center of the boat. Don’t know why you’d want to put it anywhere else.

Dromedary bag placement
I mounted the MSR bag further back to move the Skua ARX CG rearward. The new model Skua ARX has a more rearward cockpit but the older model’s CG was too far forward which affected the handling with the rudder up.

Mounting the rearward mounted MSR bag improves the older model Skua handling and gives me a backup water source.