I am looking into adding some extra weight to help aid tracking with my canoe. I was thinking about using jugs of water and putting them in a large bag to keep the jugs from rolling around in my canoe,any suggestions? Am I way off base wanting to use water to increase weight?
Makes sense if you need water anyway.
I have the MSR Dromedary 10 liter bag, which can be fitted with a hydration tube. The bag is quite tough and has grommets for tying in place. I may set it up so that it can be pulled fore/aft along the bottom of the bow section to trim my MR Guide level for flatwater trips. As I use some of the water, I can slide the bag farther forward to re-trim. The bag costs about 35 bucks from REI, and the hydration tube is another 13 or so (overpriced).
When running Dolores Slickrock Canyon last June, I could not expect to find water which could be purified, so I carried about four gallons of 24 oz water bottles. I carried them in two mesh gear bags, one in the bow, one in the stern. At that time I did not have the MSR bag, or I could have saved some money. However, as I emptied the plastic water bottles, I put them back in the mesh bags for flotation.
Mesh duffel bags
Mesh duffel bags work well for confining water bottles. The straps make them easier to carry and are useful for attaching to a thwart. When it is necessary to carry drinking water for several days I use a couple of 2.5 gal plastic water cubes in mesh duffels.