I want a canoe cockpit. …Fabric pouches for drinks - snax - phone easy access. Lay out fishing lures. Make a sandwich. Maybe a bit of flat surface. Snap on. Buckle clips cinch it snug. Maybe located at sides. Maybe in front. Maybe wrap around. Zippers? Waterproof pouch option? Do such things exist? Like a handlebar bag for canoer
https://www.shop.cookecustomsewing.com/category.sc?categoryId=7
https://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/all-products/browse/keyword/bag/page/2
Thanks for the links!
I like those side pocket “saddlebags” for a bench seat at that BWC link.
How about a jiffy-installable/removable accessory thwart in front of my feet – a 6" wide piece of wood, say, w drink holder and socket-mounts for GPS, phone, and a handy flat surface for fiddling w stuff. I suppose this “desk” would be located a bit closer than my feet so I can reach it. I like the idea of it being width-extendable to install in other boats.
For now, I’ve just started jiffy testing w a carpenter’s tool-belt and a fanny pack. Here’s a pic. I haven’t used it yet.
I used to have a bike water bottle cage and that was very handy. It disappeared but now is reinstalled – maybe hard to see on the side of the seat ‘chair’ next to the black fanny-pack. I could put a bottle cage on both sides of the seat.
It might also be neat to have a cooler that didn’t tip over – that is, was lashed in place. Maybe a smallish soft one I could somehow easily reach from a canoe seat.
I generally do quick solo outings in shallow water full of obstacles and so have never really cared much for extra stuff in a boat but lately I’ve started to do more social outings with picnics and friends – and I’m pining for easy-access stowage.
…All my paddling is shallow flatwater so I’m not that vigilant w gear security. But I do bring a drybag and I try to stow things so in case of a tip-over I don’t lose stuff.
The carpenter tool belt idea is intriguing
One thing I hate about a thwart bag is it hits me on the legs.
Thwart bag, bow bag, under-seat bag, saddle bags (CCS), Old Town canoe work deck, Cliff Jacobson DIY “canoe pockets” (essentially pencil bags bolted to the gunwales), plastic bicycle baskets hung from the thwarts (Verlen Kruger according to CJ).
Or bolt a wider board to the thwart as a working table, like you’re thinking, then mount everything to that. I’ve seen canoes outfitted for fishing that used that method.
I’d expect you will notice the difference if you strive for keeping things light, especially if you are a light person (I’m a lightweight, and I can feel a very noticeable difference just in having an extra gallon of drinking water in the boat). You already have a light canoe, yet your gear bags (the carpenter’s belt, at least) weigh more when empty than the stuff you will put in them. If you are a heavy person, well, a few extra pounds in your gear-organizing system won’t be as noticeable.
In the photos here, North Water shows their thwart bag mounted to a thwart, to fabric “D-rings” patches glued to the sides of the hull, and to a bucket canoe seat, as needed:
nice! thx for that NW idea to install d-rings here’n’there where desired.
I’ve got various tool pouches, including ballistic nylon and cordura nylon ones – they are readily available from many makers. They would be lighter and more water resistant than your leather one and you could puncture drainage holes in the bottom of each compartment by using a heated metal awl (it would melt through so they did not fray.)
You can also find nylon and mesh pocket arrangements that are designed to hang on the back of car seats that would be adaptable – these are usually quite cheap.