>> I'm trying to use my kayak to get to places that are difficult to get to from land, especially with 30-40 pounds of photo gear. I also want to be able to take shots from the kayak as I paddle along. My Looksha IV ain't got alot of storage space in the cockpit so what to do? >> I know an avid photographer and kayaker who cut a hole in his foredeck just in front of the cockpit and inserted a Pelican box, making an easily- accessed waterproof "glove box" for his kayak. My approach is a bit different. Though I have a couple of different watertight Tundra cases for my SLRs, even the smaller is too big to go through the small kayak hatches on my Romany, and too awkward to use in the cockpit. What I did was to buy a Lowe Elite padded camera case and make a drybag for the interior. I chose the Lowe Elite because it is narrow enough to fit between my knees without discomfort; also, it has a hidden waist belt that can turn it into a fanny pack. I made the dry bag using heat-sealable fabric from Seattle Fabrics. The bottom of the bag has square corners to fit the interior of the camera bag. Velcro strips on the outside and inside of the dry bag fasten it to the interior of the camera bag and allow me to use the camera bag's partitions inside the dry bag. The top of the dry bag rolls down and fastens with a Fastex buckle like other dry bags. There is room inside for my Nikon FM2, three lenses (one on the camera), a flash unit, film, and a few accessories, such as a cable release, polarizer, lens cloth, etc. It is possible, though not very convenient, to open the bag in the cockpit. Mostly, I just stow my SLR gear there for use on land, and use my Nikonos on the water. Because it makes entering and exiting the boat more difficult, I tend to bring it along only when exploring new places. When I do, I also stow a small tripod in the bow of the kayak where, because one leg fits into the keel, it takes up very little extra space. I have tested the drybag twice, once in my bathtub and once in Lake Superior, when I accidentally capsized the kayak while getting into it while it was afloat. Despite the weight of the camera gear, the bag floats quite high with the top well out of the water. When I capsized in Lake Superior, a little water seeped into the top of the drybag, but not enough to damage anything. The reason I put the drybag inside the camera case rather than outside was to reduce its size, making it easier to roll and unroll in the cockpit. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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