Ideal Crew Duffel Bag Size

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Schooner Chandlery

You're funny. Schooner Chandlery does have a couple sellers with sailcloth duffel bags but we don't carry any other bags as stock products. One of my own problems is that I have no idea how big is "big" and I thought after I gathered some ideas here I would start measuring bags we have around the boat to see what is close to the general consensus and then if I've got something close I would take a photograph of it for my purposes. You're right though--if a bag in the marketplace is the right size I can just say "go here" and make sure you are using something about like this one...AND NO BIGGER.

Here's a couple of examples of what I like in the above size range:
(I'll leave it up to you guys to convert the metric dimensions to ones that you understand )

Endoro 35L Travel Duffel - Granite/Red

http://www.kathmandu.com.au/packs-an...con-green.html

[StuM]

Originally Posted by ontherocks83

I know this is drifting off the OP a bit but, tips on how to pack also might help. I bought this

Pack-Itâ„¢ Garment Folder Large - Garment Folders | Eagle Creek

at REI, but they are widely available elsewhere. It's made by eagle creek and they work great. They come in different sizes and have a hard sheet of plastic inside you fold each garment around and has the instructions written on it on how to fold them. You can really fit a surprising amount of clothes into a very compact, organized compartment. Could help with minimizing bag size needed.

Don't know about you, but I don't carry too many sets of shirts and slacks when going on a boat

(or anywhere else for that matter)

[barnakiel]

Agreed. A bigger unit that straps down to a smaller pack should work treats.

As for coming to the boat fully dressed up (in the ice) - yes. BUT I do like a change of the base layer (often) and will travel across many zones, so I may come to sail Svalbard fully dressed up, but I will not sit in Madrid airport in my fleece and gtex in June ...

So, my iteration is: a 60 l pack that has nice straps to reduce it to a much smaller volume for adventures in the tropics.

b.

[Sandero]

Good idea for a thread... but it needs more specificty such as:

how experienced are the "crew"? Are they more on the level of guests or experience sailors of in between?

How long will they be aboard?

Where are you going to sail with said crew? Is it for a race formal or informal or just to experience the wind and sea and perhaps a lunch stop in a pleasant anchorage?

What is the weather?

How large (and complex) is the boat? Are the crew required to help? Or would that simply make less work for the skipper?

Do you have provisions to feed crew? Are they expected to bring some chow or not?

++++

I sail almost all single handed and short handed with the wife who does little sailing work aside from watch keeping, cooking and help with dousing the main... and putting away dock lines and fenders, pick up the mooring sort of thing.

However we have harnesses, and weather gear">foul weather gear which crew can use... towels, sun screen and provisions to stuff their pie holes... We don't need their help, but if they want to pitch in fine. They don't have to bring much of anything... maybe sunglasses, caps, proper shoes... and clothing... Whatever they bring should be in as small a soft bag as possible.

For multi-day trips they get their own (smallish) locker to stow things... and we stash the empty bags some place or in the V if they bunk there. They need to bring their meds of course... and tunes if they want to listen. We have sea sick stuff on board. No smoking period. We have bedding and so forth. Our boat is not a camp site... It is our home.

This is hardly rocket science... One brief email can explain it all. Think overnight soft bag... smaller the better.

[HopCar]

I like to dress for dinner. Tuxedo storage is always an issue for my man Jeeves.

[bjymd]

I recently bought canvas duffle bags for my move to Tortola:
harrysarmysurplus.net
good prices and fast delivery
they have multiple materials, shapes and sizes
I was very pleased with the purchase

[Schooner Chandlery]

Originally Posted by Sandero

Good idea for a thread... but it needs more specificty such as:

how experienced are the "crew"? Are they more on the level of guests or experience sailors of in between?

How long will they be aboard?

Where are you going to sail with said crew? Is it for a race formal or informal or just to experience the wind and sea and perhaps a lunch stop in a pleasant anchorage?

What is the weather?

How large (and complex) is the boat? Are the crew required to help? Or would that simply make less work for the skipper?

Do you have provisions to feed crew? Are they expected to bring some chow or not?

++++

I sail almost all single handed and short handed with the wife who does little sailing work aside from watch keeping, cooking and help with dousing the main... and putting away dock lines and fenders, pick up the mooring sort of thing.

However we have harnesses, and foul weather gear which crew can use... towels, sun screen and provisions to stuff their pie holes... We don't need their help, but if they want to pitch in fine. They don't have to bring much of anything... maybe sunglasses, caps, proper shoes... and clothing... Whatever they bring should be in as small a soft bag as possible.

For multi-day trips they get their own (smallish) locker to stow things... and we stash the empty bags some place or in the V if they bunk there. They need to bring their meds of course... and tunes if they want to listen. We have sea sick stuff on board. No smoking period. We have bedding and so forth. Our boat is not a camp site... It is our home.

This is hardly rocket science... One brief email can explain it all. Think overnight soft bag... smaller the better.

Read my previous posts and your questions are already answered.

[Schooner Chandlery]

Originally Posted by HopCar

I like to dress for dinner. Tuxedo storage is always an issue for my man Jeeves.

ah...hum... we're liveaboards and actually one of the things stored in our meager 13" of hanging locker space is a tux for my husband, other things in there? A couple ties, two cocktail dresses for me, a ball gown (yes), two suits (one for him, one for me) and a sports jacket for him. Yes, all do get worn from time to time. We're screwed if we ever have to wear the attire in cold weather though because the appropriate dress coats are in storage--in Washington, DC while we're on the west coast right now.

[jkindredpdx]

I tell folk it's the same as an airplane... One carry-on sized soft duffel and a personal (daypack, computer bag, reusable grocery bag, or purse) bag.

[TeddyDiver]

Foulies shouldn't take place in the cabins. I mean if sailing where foulies are needed they are stored in the foulie locker, not anyway near beds and linen. Same for harnesses and pfds and such. All the rest should fit in a 50 litres soft bag.
Paper bag doesn't tell me anything about size

BR Teddy

[zboss]

Well, big enough to fit the crewmember in the bag when they start asking questions they shouldn't.


Follow us on tikitreksailing.com

[dkroar]

I have some ideas about what I want others to bring, but my focus is more on "guests onboard" versus "crew onboard". The friends we have had come join us are non-boaters, and don't have a clue as to what is required. We have a tab on our blog "For our guests", which gives some idea of what life is like, and what to bring. We tried to use humor to give them a "clue", and still we ended up with all kinds of HUGE bags, rollers, and stuff we had to jam into every corner possible. I've decided to find some nice, appropriately sized duffles, have our logo sewn on, put a check-off list inside, and mail it to guests. "Fill this duffle, with this stuff... also bring a daypack with book, ipod, ereader, camera, cords, waterbottle, etc. Then they can come, enjoy themselves, go home, mail the duffle back, to be used by the next guest.

Sorry, took this post down a trail to the side....but people bringing stuff onboard is a pet peeve for me. Blog post, in case you want a chuckle:
Denali Rose: For our Guests...

Cheers

[wrwakefield]

This is a tough question, but a large duffel can only be so large... [I like dual-purpose body bag sized duffels myself... <grin>]

I think Uncivilized best summarized our approach when setting expectations for guests who will be overnighting onboard. [We created a For our Guests page that our visitors tell us they like as it helps them prepare for the conditions anticipated during their visit...]

We tested the thoroughness of our Guest page last summer when we had a family of 6 join us for 10 days... [And believe me, they are the only group that size we would ever invite to stay onboard- on the water- for that long...] The Admiral did have to play luggage inspector with a couple of the teenage daughters [Sorry, you don't need half gallon bottles each of your 4 favorite shampoos and conditioners, nor 7 different colored jackets each, etc...]

Everyone had a great time due to our close friendship, their being experienced outdoor oriented Alaskans [4 season camping, hunting, etc.], and the expectations we set on our Guests page.

We have also thought about providing a duffel set for our landlubber guests by drop-shipping duffels of our choosing to them. This is our back-up plan for when the inevitable landlubber guests tell us all they have are their wheeled carry-on suitcases...

I know this doesn't provide you a specific answer to your question, but I don't think there is one based upon all the variables... That is what we try to address on our Guest expectations page.

I hope you have a great time with your visitors.

Cheers! Bill

[wrwakefield]

Ha ha! The Admiral beat me too it... And we are sitting next to each other at the moment of authorship... [I guess we need to work on close quarter comms...]

Cheers! Bill

[dkroar]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

Ha ha! The Admiral beat me too it... And we are sitting next to each other at the moment of authorship... [I guess we need to work on close quarter comms...]

Cheers! Bill

HAHA Bill, brilliant minds think alike......