Packing sea kayaks

Was packing the kayak for a three day trip, Looksha IV in poly. Was using a hammock instead of tent. Nothing that would suffer getting damp was in dry bags and fit in little spaces. Kayak is certainly spacious for gear but it was jammed. What tricks am I missing. It seems I’m almost jumping on hatches to get closed on every trip. Do not think I over packed… Even used dry bag that you can expel air on clothes. Any tips would be appreciated.

Jammed for a 3 day trip?
What are you bringing in the way of clothing, food and water? Do you use one of the compact stoves and cooksets or are you bringing things like cast iron pans?

Are you taking a lot of changes of
clothing? If it warm, take only what you have to have. wear them more than just once. re-create outfits with just a few pieces. Take thin layers, nothing to bulky like sweatshirts. double duty your kayak gear for camp gear, Same with food…try to double duty stuff. It’s about the experience, not always the luxury of car camping. Most of all have fun and you will make do with what you have.

Cockpit
I agree with the above posts that your choices might need adjustment :slight_smile:



Cockpit is often used to carry some items - there, typically, is enough space in front of foot pegs to jam something or other. Make sure it is secured if conditions might warrant a wet exit.

Link stolen from the net…
diagram…



http://www.garyluhm.net/bio/20080110_eliza_001_luhm-Edit.jpg

one note
I would be hesitant to place stove close to compass. Compass recess is, usually, just a bit forward off the bow hatch - directly over the kitchen/stove in this diagram.

Re: cockpit
I believe it was Chodups who posts here sometimes that had a photo of a strap & buckle arrangement for securing a good sized dry bag in front of his foot pegs. Perhaps he’ll see this & re-post it.



But a Looksha IV is huge for a 3 day even without cockpit storage. Rethink what you’re taking. Think “backpacking” not “car camping.”

jammed
I like to be jammed in for whatever trip I’m taking. That means I’ve got enough stuff. I have comforts that get to go on short trips and not on long trips. I would suspect that you are bringing too many clothes. My kayak has huge hatches so I can use one 35 liter bag in each hatch. Those combined is more than I ever get to bring back packing. So everything else is bonus.



Ryan L.

also might mention…
If you are not of the “Clean Deck” persuasion try rolling up your sleeping pad on the rear deck (or subsitute a small chair).



Also look at the stuff sacks you are using…eliminate the big ones for smaller versions…they fill the empty spaces better…(place a LARGE empty stuff sack/daypack on the bottom of the hull, so if you need to portage all those small bags can be carried in one LARGE bag.)



Take a look at your gear and determine if you can replace the larger items with like items that are smaller; BULK MATTERS…(one large coat can be replaced by layering other clothes).



Double check to see if you are carrying dual items that can perform the same use: a flashlight with a lantern function can eliminate a gas lantern…

small bags
Is it possible that your hatches are jammed full, but there’s actually a lot of space between large items and in the fine ends of the boat? You can physically fit a 20L drybag into a hatch, but you may not get more than two of them in there before the hatch is “jammed full”. By contrast, if you put stuff in 10L drybags, you’ll probably fit 10 of them in the same hatch. Also, make sure you get the skinny stuff up in the bow and stern (tent poles, tarp, fuel bottle).



If you’re already doing the above, then you might just be bringing too much stuff, or stuff that’s too big. In summer (temps 50-70 degrees) I pack all the clothes I’ll need in a 15L drybag, for a 3-day, or even 7-day trip. I don’t need more stuff, because, frankly, I wear the same stuff. Give it a little scrub halfway through the trip if it gets stinky (but the reality is, you probably smell worse than your clothes, anyways).



Certain gear choices can help a great deal. For example, my thermarest used to be the single largest piece of gear I carried, but I replaced it with a Pacific Outdoors insulated air matress, that is more comfy and packs to the size of a nalgene bottle. I’ve also switched to a 40-degree down sleeping bag, which packs to the size of a loaf of bread.

Another hint
On real small stuff and your smallest dry bags, tie a piece of string to them and push them as far forward or backwards into the pointy ends of the yak leaving the string at the hatch so when the larger stuff comes out, you just pull the string(s) to get the little stuff out.



Works like a charm as you push the larger dry bags in they will push the smaller things way up to where you can’t reach



Jack L

overpacking
I agree you may be overpacking and/or could use to buy some smaller gear. I did a 10 day paddle down the Columbia River where are all we restocked along the way was water out of a plastic Looksha IV. There was some gear sharing among others - we had a stove and cooking gear per 2 people, but my partner was in a Chatham 16, so didn’t have much space, so I took most of it.

Kayak camping on the Suwannee

– Last Updated: Jun-28-11 1:57 PM EST –

https://picasaweb.google.com/kayakken3/SuwanneeRiver#5149964902381294562

ask a backpacker
Seriously.



Then consider breaking things down into smaller bites, and taking less bites with you.

thanks
I use a pocket rocket stove and its warm down here (NC)so I pack a 12 liter dry bag that expels air for my clothes and use a 50 degree bag, need the small thermorest for the hammock.-but I think your right I’m not using the bow and stern spaces as smartly as possible and will try putting in small dry bags and push forward and to the stern. I think I over pack food more then anything. I also think I need to get rid of stuff I never/rarely use. Thanks again

Three tips about dry bags
It sounds like you might have too much stuff, if 3 days’ worth of supplies and gear is jam-packed. It takes time plus trial and error to figure out a good system for your boat and your trips.



Three specific things about dry bags:


  1. I liked my first tapered (long) dry bag so much I bought a 2nd one. These kinds of things are essential to making good use of empty space.


  2. Ditto for the dry bags with air-evacuation valves. (My tapered bags have these valves also–they make a BIG difference in final bag size!)


  3. If you’re using any PVC-type of dry bag, it will tend to stick to other bags, making it harder to pack. Nylon or polyester bags slide more easily into small spots.



    If you can’t bear to get rid of anything in your load, just go on the trip and see what you end up not needing, and why. You might not use a rain tarp this time, but that’s something I would not get rid of. OTOH, if you’re packing 2 books, a musical instrument, and a board game, you might want to reduce something there. Some people camp bare-bones, others bring the kitchen sink. Don’t reduce your load to the point where you’re miserable–this is all about enjoying your trip!

I am questioning the need for the

– Last Updated: Jun-28-11 9:10 PM EST –

Thermarest. When I hammock in the summer its not needed. In the fall when it snows I have to use an underquilt.
You ought to be able to fit your food into the space of a small grocery bag.


What are you taking for food? Bulky stuff?

Also are you carrying water? Are you paddling freshwater or salt?

In the Everglades we have to carry fresh water and we fill 2liter soda bottles and jam them into the bow and stern where nothing else will fit. But in freshwater we simply take a filter.

embarrased
The tapered bags make sense but I think my problem might be I’m hooked on taking a collapsable cooler. I fill with frozen water bottles and put in food that needs to be cool. I think I need to give this up. I’ve always taken water other then filters as they seem finiky but it would save considerable space as I will take two gallons in a variety of bottles and bags. Very had to make changes in old behaviors. I really don’t get much use out of the cooler and will look at tapered bags and filters that are not to labor intensive. Again thank you

embarrased
The tapered bags make sense but I think my problem might be I’m hooked on taking a collapsable cooler. I fill with frozen water bottles and put in food that needs to be cool. I think I need to give this up. I’ve always taken water other then filters as they seem finiky but it would save considerable space as I will take two gallons in a variety of bottles and bags. Very had to make changes in old behaviors. I really don’t get much use out of the cooler and will look at tapered bags and filters that are not to labor intensive. Again thank you

Not a kayaker
but some of my best friends are… I’ve watched and seen some of their tricks.



Our Pnet friend Durangoski has packing a Looksha IV for tripping down to a fine art. He uses the method recommended by JackL, but with color-coded strings (or I suppose one could do something like tie one knot in end of the string to the stove bag, two knots for the clothes bag, etc.) so he can extract his smaller bags from way up in the bow or back in the stern and know exactly what he’s pulling. That way he doesn’t have to take out everything to get something from one particular bag.



He carries everything I do but usually in smaller versions. As has been mentioned, it seems to my eye that the more experienced kayak trippers choose their stuff like a back packer or even a mountaineer, use multiple smaller nylon splash bags, and carry almost no rigid packaging.