Canoe help!

[Wilderbeast]

HI all,

Going on a Canadian canoe trip on Friday for a couple of days which I'm soooooo excited about!

Anyway father reckons that there's going to be a good 2-3 inches of water in the bottom of the boat most of the time and I'm a little concerned about my Bergen absorbing all this. My original idea was to put it in a bin bag but now I'm not sure how effective that will be, any ideas that don't cost me money?!

cheers,
Will

 

[Gill]

why the 2 -3 inches of water buddy, i paddle quite a bit and use bergans a lot and its fine.not unless your boats got an ole in it .

 

[Wilderbeast]

that's what I thought! I guess because we're doing it continuously he thought the splashes would add up!

 

[Shewie]

A couple of things you could do, pack everything inside your bergen into individual dry bags (that's what I usually do), or just use one big bag inside as a pack liner. If you don't have a big proper dry bag then the rubble sacks they sell at B&Q etc are good.

Another thing you can do is cut the bottom off a 4 pint plastic milk bottle and use it as a bailer, it gives you a nice handle to hold and works really well. Don't forget to keep the cap on If you've got a piece of car sponge you can stick in there then you can soak a lot of water up on the move without getting out and stopping.

Unless it rains you probably won't get much water in, most of it comes from getting in but if you hold your foot out of the water for a couple of seconds before getting in the boat, most of it will drain off anyway.

Have a good trip anyway, where you heading for ?

 

[Wilderbeast]

heading down the thames in Oxfordshire!

 

[Shewie]

I wouldn't worry too much about a bit of bilge water, there won't really be enough of it to soak anything. But it's worth making stuff water tight in case you get dumped for any reason.

 

[mitch66]

hi have a nice trip, i would look for a plastic barrel with a removable lid and steel strap.

 

[silentpaddler]

I've canoed a million miles, my friend, and the only time I've ever seen 2 inches of water in one was when it capsized... I don't know what a
Bergen is, but if it can tolerate a millimeter or 2 of water, then you're good to go...

 

[Acorn62]

heading down the thames in Oxfordshire!

Shout when you get to Goring.... ;o)
Cafe recommendation - Pierpont's just on the bridge Goring side.