Travel Bag? Any Ideas

[Guest]

I am currently designing a travel bag for use by sailers. I was hoping I would be able to get some feed back from some regulars, and hopefully some new ideas.

Here are a few questions which I would be most greatful if you could answer...

What sort of things would you like to see in a travel kit? eg. Tooth brush, Razor.
What are the difficulties of using these products on a boat?
Where would the travel kit be stored?
Could it double up as a water safe container?
Would there be a need for a product like this?
What are the most respected brand names?

If you can think of anything else that might be relivent to this, please dont hesitate to reply.

Thankyou all for your time.

Neil Thompson - Bournemouth University

 

[LadyInBed]

Go and have a look in a Diving shop at a waterproof dive bag. Thats a good place to start.

 

[Ohdrat]

Most peeps leave the majority of their kit in the bag.. and stow it under a berth/bunk

Waterproofness would be useful.. particularly for those whose boats are on swinging moorings with the chance of a wet ride out to the boat...

razors.. not if you wax your legs.... not all the regulars here are male..

A compartment for wet clothes/kit would be useful to keep the wet off the dry stuff..

How about external wellie fastening system.. I'm sick of travelling to boat in my wellies

wheels are useful too if long walk down pier or pontoon to boat.. it's hopeless putting your back out before sailing

If you're going really up market a flotation compartment powered by a Hydrostatic unit would be a suggestion.. tho I wouldn't have thought it a necessary feature..

.. How about that for starters..

 

[Cornishman]

Forget the razor - grow a beard if you are male or let it grow under your arms if female. If you have a toothbrush some toothpaste might be useful!
Seriously, though, the contents are surely a matter of personal taste. But the bag they come in does need some serious consideration. Watertight, easily stowed when empty, large enough to contain all you need but not too large that you can't lift it over the rail when boarding are all to be considered.

 

[chas]

I had a bag which was almost perfect - it cost £5.99 in the local market. It had a shoulder strap, a large central compartment, a smaller compartment at each end (for binoculars, GPS etc), a file sized comparment (Imray charts, almanacs etc.), several smaller sized pockets (mobiles, camera etc.) and some springy netting compartments (sunglasses, keys etc). Problem - it only lasted a year before it fell apart.

I would have liked a divider in the big compartment so that as things got dirty or wet, they could be separated from the dry stuff.

I suppose somewhere to mount an outboard and a comfortable thwart would be going a bit too far.

 

[kingfisher]

1) No sharp edges/metals, incl the zip. Sharp edges make scratches on the expensive woodwork, metal rusts/oxydises.

2) Waterproof, at least the lowest 15 cm, so that it can sit on the bottom of the dinghy, which always seems to hold 5cm of water.

3) 2 main compartmets, one for dry, one for wet gear (2/3 of volume). 1/3 pouch for binoculars/gsm/GPS/hat/gloves/sunglasses

4) Oversized zippers and flaps, so that you can open it with wet/cold/gloved hands

5) few straps or hooks on outside, because those tend to snag everything. A boat is a tight environment.

Group of people on the pontoon: skipper is the one with the toolbox.
http://sirocco31.tripod.com

 

[sailbadthesinner]

Get this right and you will make a mint
okay
big strong shoulder strap. possible wheels but only for large version.
a built in bit for laundry with a sting pull top so you can put smelly 'orrible gear in and keep it from the other stuff. it may even be detachable with velcro type stuff holding it in a compartment in the bag but the drawstring bag can be removed when you want to take it to laundry.

end compartment with a bit of padding around it for breakables like gps binocs etc.

i would have some clips on top ( yes i know they knock and scratcht you put them in pouches that can be opened) so you can add another amount of litreage to it ala rucksaks for longer trips or as someone said wellies.

def waterproof. and at least four compartments that can strapped into three if you want to stuff it full but not ahve all compartments used.
plenty of handles so it can easily passed up down across.
i would also stick a compass in it somewhere ( boaty touch somebody will go for it)

i would have fix in in features like a first aid kit and a mozzie net or some such stuff.

why i am helping you get rich???
oh well. do i get a trial bag to test?
good luck.

Come on brain.get this over and i can go back to killing you with beer

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply, The container that you were describing to use sounds rather big. The concept we were looking for was a smaller compact container.

This container is to include 4 or five essential items which would be key to a sailor in thier everyday life whilst at sea. Have you any suggestions on these items from experience?

We are also looking at the container itself, we are trying to find out the materials it is produced from and the likely places that it will be stored.

Cheers bud.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply! The information is great!

The container you are thinking seems rather large. We have a smaller type of container in mind, for items such as a mobile phone and toiletries.

Where would something like this be stored and would it be useful?

Thanks

 

[steve_cronin]

If\'n you\'re going to carry this on a plane....

..as hand luggage things like razors, etc are out.

I keep such a bag in the boot of my car just in case I have to stay somewhere overnight. It contains basic toiletries, a battery shaver, a change of underwear & socks and a travelling toothbrush/paste combi. Anything bigger becomes an overnight bag.

Now when i go out to the boat in Greece the nice little neat blue bag those nice Bavaria people gave me has my set of charts, a red ensign, my own Portland Plotter, copies of my health insurance policy, Greek phrase books, a 3mm messenger line in case we loose a halyard, and my corrected Heikell greek waters pilot in it.

Now the grab bag to take into the liferaft contains other things like the H/H VHF, bottles of water & high energy food.

So what exactly do you consider the purpose of this bag?

Steve Cronin

 

[sailbadthesinner]

right so hand luggage if not smaller

here is what i take on warm water trip ion my hand luggage
swiss army knife
sunglasses
glasses
sun block
hat
t shirt
book
swim shorts
sailing gloves
earphones
gps.
razor
shower gel one for hair and body.
shave cream
toothpast and brush
travel wash

this is based on i can survive a few days if luggage gest lost
i can just go off sailing for 2 days then come back and see if luggae back if not buy more clothes. say trwo bits all water tight. still too big? then sorry i woukld not buy anything smaller than that as it would be too inflexible in its use.

simple sail stuff
i always take is stuff i might not be able to get quickly
gps
knife
gloves

if you have a boat on a mooring their maybe stuff you lift on and off each time

i'd go big as it will have more use and cost wise be better value. marginal cost decreases with size i have found.

Come on brain.get this over and i can go back to killing you with beer

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: If\'n you\'re going to carry this on a plane....

Agree, difficult to understand the purpose of it, and taking it on aircraft could change the picture completely.

The vast majority of things that I use on the boat remain there full time. Things that I don't duplicate and therefore take back and forward are:
Mobile phone
Cartridge of 10 CDs
Ship's papers (never been looked at, but since we live abroad we always play safe)
Passports sometimes, if intending to sail out of Holland
Car keys
Current book or magazine
Precription sunglasses

If I was taking this lot to a mooring I would put it in a screw top plastic container, i.e. the bag needs to be completely waterproof. However, when we kept our boat on a mooring we always brought far more than this off every trip, e.g. GPS, hand-held VHF, other miscellaneous portable valuables.

 

[Guest]

Re: If\'n you\'re going to carry this on a plane....

Thanks fir that! The items listed are really helpful. Would you say items such as GPS and Mobile Phone are important, how about a first aid kit?

Thanks again

 

[Guest]

Thanks

Thanks fir that! The items listed are really helpful. Would you say items such as GPS and Mobile Phone are important, how about a first aid kit?

Thanks again

 

[Guest]

Cool

Thanks for that! The essential items list is really helpful.

 

[Guest]

The Idea

I have got many new thoughts and ideas now.

The sort of product we have in mind now would consist of three main items, which would come with it.

Multi function sailing knife
toothbrush - paste
razor - gel

The containor, a plastic tube? sort of shape with a large clip holding down a watertight lid. There would be a comartment for the storage of mobile phone, car keys and other essentials which you have all mensioned.

We do not want this to turn to a large piece of luggage, maybe just a safe and convenient place to keep and access essentials.

Would a product like this have a place on a yacht? who would use it? Are there any posible problems with this idea?

Thanks again

 

[Jacket]

Re: The Idea

Not convinced that this would be useful as most sailors seem to be in the habit of carrying their knife all the time anyway, while if its your own boat you're likely to keep a toothbrush et al on board anyway. If its a charter boat, you'll need a lot more than just a toothbrush and razor.

Why not design a waterproof, FLOATING container for those valuables that are carried to and from any boat ie. Mobile phone, wallet, boat/car/house keys? After all, if any of these are destroyed or dropped overboard, it rather ruins your day.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Re: The Idea

>Why not design a waterproof, FLOATING container for those valuables that are carried to and from any boat<

Got one. Guy Cotten make them. Mine also doubles as a grab bag.

See http://www.guycotten.com/v2/fr/catalogue/produits.cfm?numproduit=28

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: The Idea

Ours is one of those white screw-top plastic containers with a red lid. I guess about three gallons capacity. Takes all the valuables, floats, and has protected everything in conditions in which every stitch of clothing we wore was soaked in a dinghy trip of half a mile.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Flexible, not rigid, etc

Small boats are no place for something rigid. Whatever you choose needs to be flexible so it can be scrunched up into any size or shape of locker.

It needs to be padded to protect contects from all the knocks which get inflicted on anything aboard a boat.

It should be robust enough to withstand prolonged use in a hostile environment.

It should be easily cleaned, coz stuff on boats often ends up mucky.

It shoud be affordable!

It needs to be waterproof enough to withstand rain, spray and the odd bit of solid water - but probably not fully submersible for long periods.

It should be in a hi-viz colour for those "where did I put that bag with my wallet in it?" moments.

It should have at least two 'independent' handles so that it can be passed from dinghy to boat without a risk of it being dropped.