Sleeping on the Bayraider

[Graham W]

As a trial, I slept on my BR at the SW end of Lake Bala.  It was very peaceful and I slept like a log but I made the elementary mistake of taking far too much kit.  The first photo is the boat looking relatively tidy, if overloaded, at supper time; the second is the scene of chaos the next morning; and the third is a counterpoint to un-zen like state of the boat the next morning.

Memo to self - next time, if going for 24 hours, do not take:
15 litres of water (especially on a freshwater lake)
2 stoves with 3 burners (was I expecting to hold a banquet?)
3 pairs of shoes (utterly bizarre)
2 changes of clothes instead of just one, or even none
Enough food and snacks for about three days

On the other hand, it was so warm during the day that a pair of trunks would have been handy.

[Clem Freeman]

Perhaps you could tow a tender with all your stuff on if you go away for more than 1 night.

[Graham W]

A sort of marine U-Haul?

[Tony]

A sort of marine U-Haul?

Hi, Graham.
Welcome to the ranks of boat campers!
Camping with a boat  (or car) gives you the opportunity to take  items “just in case”  without the weight penalty being too obvious.  Its space that you run out of  – as you discovered.  Dont worry about taking too much stuff on a first trip, it wont take long to pare it down to what you actually need.
 I caught the camping bug early in life and have served my time backpacking and cycle camping before I ever had a boat -  and in doing so discovered.....
The Natural Laws of Lightweight Camping .
1.   If you think you might need it you probably wont...
2.   If you think you wont need it you probably will.....
3.   Any fool can be uncomfortable if he tries hard enough. 
4.   Given a choice, dont cook on board – eat out.  (Why waste a good Pub?)
5.   Whatever you do - keep the sleeping bag and your tobacco DRY.
(Sorry?  Did you think I was going to say something that might be helpful? )
Advertisement .
For a comfortable, midge-free  night,  a delicious,  washing-up free breakfast and (most important) a refreshing, invigorating , mud-free shower..... may I recommend  the White Lion in Bala or the Best Western  at  Betws-Y-Coed   (...which has the added advantage of being a 30min drive closer to civilisation and well away from all that water.)
 If you  find the distant sounds of cutlery being set for breakfast as you lay in a warm, dry, bed unbearably civilised  and actually prefer to be awoken at 4:30 am by a dawn chorus of coots squawking 2 inches from your ear  then, I am afraid, there is no hope for you.
Picture shows a post-coot dawn, soaked in very wet dew.  Idyllic, innit.

[Graham W]

If you  find the distant sounds of cutlery being set for breakfast as you lay in a warm, dry, bed unbearably civilised  and actually prefer to be awoken at 4:30 am by a dawn chorus of coots squawking 2 inches from your ear  then, I am afraid, there is no hope for you.

Tony,
There is no hope. It is fun to do something totally out of character once in a while.  Earplugs are the answer to the coot conundrum.  Here is my picture of the post-coot (post cootal?) dawn.
Graham

[David]

HI Graham

I have been experimenting with covers for an up and coming camping trip and thought that the gaff lashed to the mizzen mask was a bit of a long stretch and possibly a strain on the end of the gaff and have been leaving the main uphaul attached with gives support half way along. But this makes it difficult to take the tarp over the spray hood. I noticed you don't do this and was wondering if I was being a bit over cautious. I will be camping for about 3 weeks and carrying a tent so sleeping ashore most of the time.

Regards
David
Little Ripple
Australia

[Graham W]

Hi David,

I use a topping lift that I have installed that has some water hose acting as a sleeve over the last 75 cm or so and a snap shackle at the end.  This wraps under and around the end of the boom and the mizzen at the same time and provides plenty of support for the boom and the tarp which I secure over the front end of the boom.  I am thinking of getting a longer tarp -  mine is only 2m long. 

With this additional piece of string, you can then use the uphaul (or spinnaker halyard if you have one) to secure the gaff if you are worried about putting it under strain.  I have had no problems so far but it has not been tested in high winds. On the other hand, when you consider what sort of strains sailing places on the rig, it ought to be able to cope with most things

Given the Australian reputation for snakes and other beasties, I think I would rather sleep on the boat!

[David]

Thanks Graham

I will experiment with that idea a bit. Where I am going the trouble with sleeping on the boat is the tide goes out about 300M on some of the beaches and I could see the boat leaning over in the middle of the night or I have to anchor miles off shore. Snakes although a concern are not usually a problem and I have often camped under just a tarp. For this trip I will used a fully enclosed tent as the sand flies are a pretty vicious. There are a couple of spots where I need to watch out for large water based lizards and then I will sleep in the boat.

regards
David
Little Ripple

[Graham W]

I see where you are going now - sounds like fun!

[Simon Knight]

I'm on to my mk 2 tent (Mk 1 was a tarp from B&Q) which works well but is not proof against sand flies and reptiles!  I also carry far to much stuff - what's the bucket for? EVERYTHING!