Ideal Crew Duffel Bag Size

[roygee]

Originally Posted by Schooner Chandlery

I've got a couple helpful lists of what to bring and what not to bring for crew joining the boat for an afternoon sail or for a passage. But...

One of my own pet peeves is when the crew come with multiple huge bags just crammed full of stuff. If the crew member is well outfitted with their own binoculars, PFD, foulies, handheld VHF, well it just sort of takes a bit of room. The reality is that it does take a pretty good size duffel bag to fit one's own safety gear, foulies, and then some clothes in.

It's no fun to enforce the rather punitive "you'll be sleeping with all the junk you bring along." It's just better to make sure there's good guidance upfront so we can properly stow things away once the person is aboard.

We're already very clear on the "soft pack" only vs hard suitcase or anything with wheels!

So adding to my list, I'd like to suggest a particular size bag--a sort of "not larger than" size as well as a smaller backpack/daypack/fannypack. These days those daypacks can be bigger than the typical duffel that I'd expect someone to bring along so I'll probably end up giving capacity recommendations for both...

That was the background. Here's the question: What size duffel bag and what size backpack would YOU recommend sailing crew bring along? Presume for a passage of up to a few weeks, not for embarking on a circumnavigation or arctic exploration.

Thanks! so much.

a sock, no larger than your largest shoe size, with a draw string!

[Steadman Uhlich]

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

Bill, I was reading down your post, then saw DKROAR's post and noticed at a glance, that another member also had a Nauticat 43 in Alaska, and thought: "Small world, I should tell them about each other."

A moment later I realized that you are the same boat, just two different avatars and user names. Both Denali Rose.

[Hudson Force]

Imagine a total crew of five. Why would I want five pairs of binoculars or five handheld VHF radios in addition to those I keep aboard permanently? I would already have an ample number of quality PFD's aboard and at least two tethers, so maybe a couple crew members bring tethers.

My size criteria would be a soft pack that could be embraced with your fingers touching around the circumference of the bag in any dimension.

A universally understood measurement that is a little larger for those that are themselves a little larger, but proportional to need. I've used this, - it's simple and suitable.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

Bill, I was reading down your post, then saw DKROAR's post and noticed at a glance, that another member also had a Nauticat 43 in Alaska, and thought: "Small world, I should tell them about each other."

A moment later I realized that you are the same boat, just two different avatars and user names. Both Denali Rose.

Hi Steady,

Small world, eh?

We have found keeping separate voices works well for us... [And besides, one should never disagree with an Admiral- especially in public!]

We didn't have Denali Rose when we joined this forum otherwise that would likely have been our username...

Thanks for thinking of introducing us to each other...

Cheers! Bill

[CHUCKERS]

I routinely pack for 30 days on a commercial vessel and everything fits in a 30x14x14 duffel bag and a small backpack. That includes bed linens and weather gear">foul weather gear for temps well below freezing. In summer I can cut it down to a large gym bag that fits in a carryon bin. Neither bag is stuffed to the gills. I don't carry PFDs or radios, etc but I do carry steel toed boots and coveralls. If I have to carry my own PPE (hard hat, suit, gloves, PFD), it goes in a 5 gallon bucket with a screw on lid but that is extremely rare.