BYYB Forums

It's raining today and I have nothing to do, so I thought I would start a new thread.

I have spent a good bit of time trying to figure out how to pack my weekender for a multi-day cruise.  I just got back from a three week trip to Missouri and Texas where I spent most of my nights on the boat.  It turns out that Weekender makes a great RV when staying in a campground, as well as on the water.  Keeping the cabin from looking like the inside of a dumpster takes some doing though.  Over the past three years I have devised various methods to stow my gear as well as pared down that gear to the essential.

  One of the first things I did was to buy a bunch of plastic dry bags of various sizes.  All of my must stay dry gear is stuffed into these bags.  Things like bedding and clothing get stuffed in these for obvious reasons.  I try to stuff these bags so that they will be pretty solid, so as to make them able to act as additional floatation in the event of a swamping.  I stuff the bags into the space under the seats that is accessed from the cabin and pack them in tight.  Generally I can get four bags packed tight into these spaces.  Because my head and galley block access to these spaces, I try to only put bags in there that I won't need until I anchor. 

My food that is susceptible to water damage also goes into a dry bag.  Because I now have a bridge deck for my necessaries in the cockpit, the food that can be allowed to get wet goes into the box that is built into the cabin bulkhead.  I now call it my pantry.  This turned out to be the handiest change I have made for storage in the cabin. 

I  bought a chaise lounge cushion to act as my bed.  It is sort of water proof, but I doubt that it could be used after floating around in a swamped cabin.  Fortunately, it folds up into a nice sized cube that I can stuff into a contractor garbage bag and tie shut.  It is a sizable unit, but when I shove it up to the forward  bulkhead it is out of the way entirely.  I want to be able to stand in the cabin to handle any tangles or jams at the mast, and when everything is in its place, I can do just that .

This is most of what I do for the cabin, along with the shelves, the net bags, and the cabinet that I added for various sundries.  I am pretty satisfied with it now, but I am sure that there are some better ideas floating around out there on this board.  Please chime in with what works for you.

Al

 

I've been trying to figure out how to sit comfortably inside the cabin of my Weekender for some time now.  Generally I like to sit inside to stay out of the mosquitoes and read, and also on cold windy mornings when I don't want to go outside until I have to.  I have tried everything from lacing  a net to lean back on, to a fold up plywood recliner.  The recliner is okay, but storing it is a problem. 

Eureka! I have found the solution on the good ole interwebs.  I bought an Aylio inflatable lounge pillow from Amazon for I think $15.00.  It came in a 9X9 envelope and weighs ounces.  I just tried it out in the cabin and viola! it worked like a charm.  I am six feet tall and so far all I have been able to do is lay down inside the cabin.  That's okay, but I really like to recline to rest my bad back.  This little bugger is so comfortable for me that I think I can actually nap resting on it.  My head is at least one inch below the roof of the cabin with the pillow pushed back to the forward bulkhead and my feet are comfortably touching the pantry box.  It took a minute to blow it up, but I could probably leave it that way on a cruise.  If I deflate it, it will fit on one of the shelves on either side of the cabin and out of the way. 

That little cabin is getting to feel more like home all the time.

Al

Take care of that lounge pillow. I just checked Amazon and ther are none left and they don't know if they will ever be reordered. I enjoyed reading your post. Greatly inspiring! I have yet to spend a night in either of my boats but one of these days I will.

Here's another tip.

More frequently than I would like, I end up drifting along with almost no wind and a hot sun beating the heck out of me.  I could rig up a bimini, but that would be too much monkeying around.  Instead, I use an umbrella to keep  the sun off of me.  I bought a nice little one at Mackinac Island after crossing the straits with a bunch of guys.  It folds up small enough to fit on one of the shelves of my hanging cabinet on the rear bulkhead.  I have considered getting a larger one so that I can keep my legs in the shade too, but the souvenir value of this one is too great to swap it out. 

I have included a picture from my trip to Vermillion as an example of what I am talking about.  You can see the umbrella at the top of the pic and the antenna of my great little radio below.  When I cruise north of the continental divide I always listen to End of the Road Radio, WELY out of Ely Minnesota.  The station was previously owned by Charles Kuralt, and after he died the Tribe took it over.  Now it is like the independent radio that was portrayed on Northern Exposure.  It is quirky and fun, and you won't find its like without going to another station that is at the end of the road somewhere. 

Anyway, like my fly swatter this umbrella lives on my weekender as one of the indispensible  items on my cruising boat.

Al

I just got back from a three day two night cruise in northern Minnesota and I have a few tips to supplement what I wrote before.  This particular trip was marked by a lot of carnage.  This was the product of near constant battle with the biting flies while underway.  My weapon of choice is a high quality fly swatter that lives on my weekender.  It is made of wood and heavy leather, and is deadly.  I use this instead of bug dope because "Off" eats the paint in the cockpit.  Once you have been bitten by one of these little suckers, you will take seriously the necessity of dealing with them. 

After sitting on the hard plywood seats for more than a couple hours, cushions become a matter of life and death.  I have solved this problem by purchasing a couple of five dollar cushions at Menards.  These are closed cell foam and have a Velcro loop that will attach two together to make a seat and back.  I have two sets of these on the boat, but found that it is was just as simple to move one from one side to the other.  Maybe I will change my mind about that, but right now it seems to work fine.  They also raise my body when sitting on the hatch storage box to row, which keeps me from hitting my elbows when rowing. 

Managing water in and on the boat will make the trip much more comfortable.  For this I carry a full sized bath towel and a grout sponge.  The grout sponge is my preference because they will absorb more water quicker and hold more than regular sponges.  I have a collection of them so that I always have one around.  The bath towel does the final dry out when I am trying to get the cockpit usable in the morning dew.  I think it is important to dry the towel out completely at least once a day.  Sure it will work when damp, but I have found that once dampness starts to set in, it is a downward slope from there. 

I expect that every time I go out for a few days I will learn new ways to make the experience more safe and enjoyable.  When I do I will tell you about it.

Al

 

It's still raining so I figure I might as well add to this topic.  I found a few pics that I took last spring of  my weekender packed for the next cruise.  I thought I might explain about them in the hopes that they might help someone.

The first pic shows the cabin packed with just about all that I take for a three day cruise.  The large plastic bag is my bedding.  This includes a yoga mat and a chaise lounge pad along with a camping pillow.  It is wrapped in a contractor trash bag and tied off with stout string.  the whole thing is water tight and will float quite high if it ever ends up in the water.  Next to that is a two gallon water jug which I have now abandoned because it is not tough enough.  On my last cruise it cracked and I had to tape it with duct tape to get through the trip. 

On both sides of the cabin you can see the net bags that I use for things that I might need while underway, but not regularly.  I usually keep rain gear in the port bag, and warm clothes, a towel, and my radio in the starboard bag. These particular bags are from my wife's Toyota Matrix and I can't recommend them too highly.  I would guess that you could find them in a junk yard that has one or two Matrix's.  As you can see, they fit very well in the cabin of a weekender. 

The second pic shows the cabin lighting.  There are two of them mounted to the backing plate for the joint on the cabin sides.  They are Coleman tent lights that attach with magnets.  I screwed the steel base to the backing plate and stuck the magnetic light to that.  With the two of them, I get plenty of light for reading at night.  Needless to say they are battery powered.  I usually go through a set of batteries in a summer. 

The third pic shows my galley and hanging cabinet.  The galley is used in the cockpit and a good pic of that can be seen in the weekender at island lake thread.  I built it to fit in the space that is available in the area between the hatch storage and the side of the boat.  I had to make a second box because the first one was too heavy to easily pull through the hatch.  The hanging cabinet is primarily to keep the cabin tidy.  I put things like my umbrella and sunglasses along with a small first aid kit and bug dope which even though it is tough on the paint, I still seem to resort to when it is buggy.  Mounted to the hanging cabinet and next to the hatch opening is my VHF marine radio.  This is the most convenient place I could figure out to put it.  It is easy to hear and comes to hand quickly without being prone to falling overboard.  I have it attached to the cabinet with a lanyard.  Tucked next to the radio is my absolutely necessary fly swatter. 

There are a few more things that might interest folks, but I will add them another time.

Al

Thanks for the post. Super interior of Duckie.

At Sail Oklahoma I got another good suggestion for organizing storage in a small boat.  Take a bucket buddy and cut it open in a handy place and tie it to the side of the cabin for tools and such.  You could store all manner of gear without it rolling around underfoot. 

Al

I just got back from a ten day trip to the North Channel on Lake Huron.  I didn't use the weekender, opting for my CP 16 because I had a friend with  me and needed the extra space.  During the packing process I let my friend take care of the food for the trip.  He is new to the outdoors and camping on a small boat so it turned out to be quite an undertaking for him.  He is good friends with Howard Rice who just got  back from sailing the straits of Magellan in his twelve foot sailboat so he would be a good resource for food and packing advice.  Howard's advice was to look into Tasty  Bites as a good source for meals on the water.  He was right.  Tasty Bites are more or less full meals in a pouch that can be either heated in boiling water, or dumped into a pot and heated while stirring constantly.  My preferred method of eating them I call tear and tilt.  You simply tear the top off the pouch and tilt your head back.  No cooking needed, no pots or pans, no cleanup at all.  Just toss them in the trash bag. 

The meals are all organic, vegetarian, and sufficiently large enough to provide calories for a working sailor.  We each picked our different packets and split a packet of rice to make more than enough for us both to be satisfied.  They need no refrigeration, and the shelf life is quite good.  The only downside that I can see is that they are heavy.  The bag that we kept them in weighed about as much as my outboard.  Be sure to place them low in the boat.  Also, they are pretty spendy, but for short cruises, they are worth it.  Also, if you use the tear and tilt method, you will need very little fuel for the cook stove. 

We used the third iteration of my composting head on this trip.  It worked like I was a genuous for designing it.  I got away with using only one bag for five days of camping.  I finally found a bag that will last until it is full all the while keeping the contents safe and odor free.  So, if lack of facilities is keeping anyone from overnighting in their weekender, it doesn't have to.

Al

I just did another one of my  patented 24 hour vacations, this time to the lake outside of my home town in northern Minnesota.  I've been meaning to camp on this lake for a few years now and I finally got her done.  The weather was perfect for this one with everything from hauling the mail a bit, to sorry you just have to row.  There is a quiet lagoon on the far side of the lake from the boat landing that is surrounded by white pines, and is about as picturesque as it can get.  It has been a goal of mine to sleep there for a few years, and now I can cross that one off my list.

I noticed that I haven't written about my stove even though I have shown pictures of it.  I think I should bring it up as one of the essential bits of gear for any trip.  I have a butane stove for all of my boats as well as my stealth camper.  I highly recommend them as an all around choice for frugality, usefulness, and safety afloat.  Their flat low profile makes them the best choice for cooking afloat where the stove may be tilting or rocking about.   A single burner backpacking stove will need some kind of support to be safe on a boat, and if you have ever tipped one over while lit, you will be enthusiastic about making sure it doesn't happen again. 

These butane stoves put out an astounding amount of heat for a small stove.  9,000 btu's at full throttle.  This will boil a half liter of water before you know it.  The downside is that it will also burn the heck out of your dinner before you know it.  The wind will affect the flame, so I made a wind breaker out of a piece of sheet metal that just reaches to the bottom of whatever I am cooking in.  I think I may have wanted to make it a bit taller, but what I have now is working okay so I won't mess around with it.  Needless to say I never use it in the cabin.  Safe storage of the butane canister is best left to your imagination because every boat is a different situation, but don't take any chances.

Another feature that is handy on a boat is the pizo  electronic igniter.  You don't need matches or a lighter, though it would be a good idea to carry some matches just in case. 

I made my galley box to fit this particular stove, but if you are pressed for room they can be carried in the case that they come in.  My galley box does take up a good bit of room, but it is too handy to do away with  because it carries so much that would otherwise be lost in the jumble of the cabin.  I also have it set up so that the stove doesn't get hot from being closed in. 

Cooking is a big part of life onboard, so it is wise to consider it carefully. Take your time and make the safest choice you can.

The three pics are my stove all set up, the lagoon, and ready for bed.  The ready for bed pic shows how I keep the skeeters out of my cabin.  I simply duct tape a four by six piece of bug netting to the sliding hatch and when I pull the hatch closed I pull the screen down, keeping it spread out across the whole bulkhead.  I really needed it on this particular night.

Al