What's in your "Skipper's Bag"…?

[AlanBoatman]

This is mainly aimed at people without their own boat, or those that borrow or charter regularly.

I am putting together a wish list of all those items (safety, navigational, practical or fun) that you must have with you either because you can't be sure it will be on board or you want to have your own.

There are some obvious ones like : hand-bearing compass, navigation equipments(plotter, dividers etc), good knife, good head torch etc. but do you have any interesting or quirky things that you find you can't go without?

 

[Koeketiene]

There are some obvious ones like : hand-bearing compass, navigation equipments(plotter, dividers etc), good knife, good head torch etc. but do you have any interesting or quirky things that you find you can't go without?

Hand-bearing compass? When was the last time you used one?
Personally I much prefer my binoculars with built in compass.
Also, I would take my own handheld GPS.

 

[Uricanejack]

I have my own boat now. In the past I chartered and instructed. On multiple different boats.
In my bag apart from clean underwear, socks, toothbrush, and other things my mum told me never to leave home without.
My own Binoculars. Topped the list,
Followed by my Breton Plotter and my HBC, (I went an bought a good one in the middle of my first charter)
Charter boats My own Charts. Depended which company. I found a lot were old worn out and out of date.
Simple tool kit, leatherman, multi driver and shifter, Knife with cork screw.
I liked my sailing jacket with built in harness.
Back then I didn't but today I would add my hand held radio. Just because I have one.

 

[ronsurf]

I need to get a skippers bag together so I'm interested in this thread. I'd start here: http://www.classicboat.co.uk/practical-advice/whats-in-your-ditty-bag/

Not sure how much of that stuff you can take on a plane though

 

[onesea]

A multi tool, a torch, my phone and or GPS.

 

[prv]

I used to take a hank of medium-sized line (bit more than string, but not a coil of rope). Charter boats owned and operated by a big company, eg Sunsail, tend not to have the slightest bit of spare cordage on board.

Pete

 

[flaming]

What I used to take when I skippered for Sunsail

A good first aid book.
GPS (though now I would take an ipad with navionics as well)
batteries for the gps...
Maglight (small - for delving into engines etc)
Copy of the racing rules
Solent racing chart
All my qualifications - YM, sea survival, VHF, first aid etc.
A small coil of light line
Leatherman (though not normally in the bag)


Thankfully the only thing I never needed was the first aid book.

 

[mjcoon]

Maglight (small - for delving into engines etc)

I prefer a headtorch; then you can have one hand for the boat and the other for yourself and still see what you are doing!

Also a long-snout gas lighter. It seems they are OK in cabin luggage...

Mike.

 

[flaming]

I prefer a headtorch; then you can have one hand for the boat and the other for yourself and still see what you are doing!

True... But when I was working for Sunsail I was somewhat cash poor, and I already owned a maglite!

 

[dylanwinter]

 

[prv]

You're loving that meme generator, aren't you?

Pete

 

[Danbury]

I need to get a skippers bag together so I'm interested in this thread. I'd start here: http://www.classicboat.co.uk/practical-advice/whats-in-your-ditty-bag/

Not sure how much of that stuff you can take on a plane though

Is that a "cat 'o nine tails" in the picture ?? Seems a little excessive to me... surely there'll be one on board ?

 

[Gwylan]

Sometimes hard to tell from a personal grab bag.
Hand held VHF with battery tray and spare batteries, small GPS with same batteries as VHF,
hand held bearing compass,
boating knife on lanyard,
Led head torch and batteries, generally never the same size as the VHF and GPS or not always needed.
5B pencil and rubber for chart work, plotter
Trip planning cards - layout for quick calculation of departure, arrival times and tides. Gathers info about pilotage, HM, port control , marina radio channels. Notes page numbers in pilot book or almanac for relevant bits. Plan B options and time windows for those decisions.
Draft log sheets and crew list details.
sailing watch with big, easy to see numbers that incorporates barometer, on offer at Lidl one time for £10.
Spare glasses in case the contact lenses get too much.

Whatever they say, my own waterproofs and life jacket with built in harness, light and stuff - at least i know that I will be dry and not wearing something from the bottom of a pile of rank and smelly oil lies. My own sleeping bag.
Serious pain killer and stugeron

 

[Ravi]

Handheld GARMIN GPS 72c plotter. (Only available 2nd hand, now, but the best bit of kit I ever bought.)

 

[oldbilbo]

small roll of plastic binbags, wet kecks, for the storage of
dry-sealed tube of matches
one passage chart
pack of baby wipes
Forms C1331
passport
EHIC

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Crumpets.

 

[onesea]

Crumpets.

Which brand?

The practical type?

Or bikini clad?

 

[Daedelus]

Corkscrew.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Which brand?

The bready type. The other kind go out of their way to avoid me.

 

[GHA]

couple of things spring to mind..

handful of ziplok bags.

Phone or tablet with evernote installed and evernote web clipper so you can save weather pages from the web, windguru, synoptics etc. (ok, maybe more general sailing thing.)

Mutlimeter might be invaluable as well.