Solo canoe end floatation bags

[Guest]

I have a friends MRC Freedom Solo and Mohawk Scamp coming into the shop in a few weeks, and it appears that 54 to 57 inch end floatation bags will transfer well from canoe to canoe between those two models.

All I can find at NRS is their nylon Infinities.

https://www.nrs.com/product/42089 l/nrs-canoe-3-d-long-solo-float

Freaking Christ on a crutch, $96 bucks a bag? The Scamp was a fixer-upper freebie, no way in hell the owner is laying out another 200 bucks just for floatation.

Plus every NRS Infinity bag I have bought has failed at the fill-tube to bag connection. My cheaper, heavier-duty vinyl bags are all still going strong, even after years of outside in-canoe rack storage and abusive cartopping to the Carolinas or Adirondacks with bags in place.

Screw that lightweight float bag nonsense, who the hell cares about an extra pound of float bag weight at each end? Heavy duty vinyl coated bags!

I need to find a source for 54 inch to 57inch vinyl solo canoe end bags at a more reasonable price.

Any ideas for a best price US on-line provider?

 

[Mason]

I guess the truck inner tubes and the huge blocks of styrofoam from the 70s are out..... The styrofoam lets you know where you went.

 

[Guest]

I guess the truck inner tubes and the huge blocks of styrofoam from the 70s are out..... The styrofoam lets you know where you went.

My father was a fan of center flotation Styrofoam blocks in our tandem Grummans. He painted them with latex house paint to help prevent UV degradation, and to forestall the tell tale trail of Styrofoam bits left along the river.

When the latex paint rubbed through they still squeaked like hell.

I do not miss that part of those days.

 

[Mason]

I had a friend that had his dog trained to stay on the block during Class III water. Fun to watch!

Oh yeah, NRS is currently having a sale--still bloody expensive though. Mine from the 80s still work, though (not NRS).

 

[Will Derness]

Try this

https://www.austinkayak.com/products/9717/Harmony-54-inch-3D-End-Float-Bag-Vinyl.html

 

[madmike]

Mohawk canoes, or the best
http://www.falllinecanoes.com/air-bags.html

 

[sailsman63]

My wallet makes little squeaky noises when I consider bags myself. I've spent less on a good camera lens.

I've been wondering if the clear vinyl shower liners that can be had at walmart for a few dollars would heat seal. Failing that, I wonder if some form of sealant plus mechanical reinforcement (Similar to building a giant dry bag) would work.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I'd suggest attending canoe events such as the Adirondack Canoe Symposium or the Maine Canoe Symposium.. Yes it involves an outlay of money but there is usually a gear swap or cheap sale. Float bags can be found for twenty bucks a set. There are advantages in getting a little instruction and sharing at these events.
I have bought Harmony and Voyageur bag sets and never paid more than 12.50 for a bag. And they do not leak and are not patched. Retail prices are insane.

It seems jamming melted pool noodles in the stems is not very cost effective.

 

[Mason]

It seems jamming melted pool noodles in the stems is not very cost effective.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/GREAT-ST...3937/206977048

Actually, years ago we'd put expanding foam in the stems. It helps if there's nothing there, but certainly inadequate for serious whitewater.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Truck tubes are still used for tandem

 

[Canotrouge]

Fallline canoe Bomber bags are the ultimate best, they are made in America by a great guy that actually paddle. He can custom make the bag as simple or as fancy as you want, it make them light weight or heavy duty, They are not cheep, but they will out last another bag out there by a long time!! Buy quality, buy once, buy fixable, by "local"(I consider local anything that is made in USA/Canada)

The truck inner tubes are indeed still use and they work quite good, that said real floatation that fit the shape of your boat perfectly work way better!!

 

[Guest]

Thanks Mike

My memory must be going. I

EDIT:

I have had Mohawk bags in my canoes for years and they are still going strong.

The bag issue resolved itself; the floatation is for a freebie WW canoe and the passer along emailed to say that he has float bags for it.

 

[Nodrama43]

I went with Fall Line bags. Buy once....cry once....but boy are they nice,

 

[DanOver]

Anyone have experience with the PALM brand bags and if so, what size is best for my OT Pack canoe?

 

[jish1969]

I bought new bags from ebay two year ago they were the RUK brand from the UK and it was only about 60 bucks shipped to NY. It was a bow and stern package and they're made of terylene, looks like they can be patched with a tent kit. I've used them twice and no complaints.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Anyone have experience with the PALM brand bags and if so, what size is best for my OT Pack canoe?

I have two pairs of the Palm bags. The small size (32", IIRC ) that stay in my Millbrook Coho, and the 60" that go from boat to boat for whitewater. What size you want will depend on how you use it. The short bags will float the 40 lb Coho on mild moving water, but don't displace enough water for rougher use.

I like the attachment system on the Palms and the way they fill the ends of a buoyant canoe, but the dump valves have been slightly leaky in cold weather, as the plastic gets a little stiff and doesn't seal perfectly. The fix for that has been to stretch a piece of latex balloon over the opening as a gasket under the cap, and then just don't use it to let the air out,

I've had the Palms for several years, and they get a lot of use, but they're not what I would choose first, after seeing my friend John's Mohawk bags he got last year. I can say though that they've held up way longer than the Gaia bags I had before.

 

[DanOver]

Thanks, I will check out the Mohawk bags then.

 

[Black_Fly]

How do you get all your junk in the boat with those huge bags? Not to mention the pooch. I'd love to add a margin for safety, but not sure I could fit a good bag on each end.

 

[yellowcanoe]

How do you get all your junk in the boat with those huge bags? Not to mention the pooch. I'd love to add a margin for safety, but not sure I could fit a good bag on each end.

Remember canoes have flotation in them already cia ABS or float tanks for composites
Float bags prevent the boat from filling with water inthe event of a capsize and pin and make boat retreival easier
Watertight gear bags do much the same assuming you are not toting cast iron on the river
For the reason that with gear you cannot stuff as much airbag in you have to revise your thinking about what to run and what not to run

 

[oarsman]

One cheap solution, which would probably be very durable, would be to sew a custom-sized nylon taffeta envelope and use an innertube(s) as a bladder.

My kayaking son once asked us to save the plastic bladders from box wine so he could use them as floats in a similar manner. I never did hear how that worked out, but it would take enough of them to make a float of any size that you would have built-in redundancy, as well as the pleasure of acquiring a sufficient number.