Re: [Paddlewise] Day Hatch Organizing

Peter,

Peter Treby said that he carries the following in his day hatch:

First aid kit
camera
mobile phone
knife
tow line
specs container
sunglasses
sun cream
wool hat
neoprene hat
sun hat
face mask
torch
duct tape
two lengths of line
glow sticks
banana
apple
600 ml Gatorade & 600 ml water
Mars Bars

I think that you just need a better way of organizing these things. I carry
the knife on my PFD. I then carry a small "see through" dry bag that I call
my signaling kit. It has a flare gun, four shotgun type flares, three hand
flares, three glow sticks, a signaling mirror, and an extra whistle.

There is another dry bag that is that contains duct tape, marine epoxy,
several replacement screws, Leatherman tool & first aid kit. I keep this
repair kit behind my seat. It doesn't usually have to be quite as accessible
as the rest.

I also wear a bladder type hydration pack over my PFD. It is much easier to
drink without having to go into the hatch--plus mine holds 2 liters of water
and I find I really do drink more when it is so accessible.

Usually, I put a paddling jacket in the hatch first--it helps keep things
from sliding around in there. Then the signaling dry bag, and finally I
carry a couple of energy bars or ziplock bags of dried food on top. This
seems to work for me. I don't carry a cell phone, but my VHF is in a dry bag
which is in one of the front pockets on my PFD.

IMHO, the tow line should be either rigged on your deck for deployment or as
I do, use a waist system. Again, this is worn over the PFD at all times. My
extra line is rigged as a removable bow line. I use a sliding knot on it so
that it can be tightened on my deck, but it contains about 10 feet of
"extra" line. If necessary, I could use all 20 feet of it.

Hope this helps.

Steve Holtzman
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