On my first trip the friend who taught me the basics used two straight sticks about 2 inch diameter on the bottom of the canoe to hold the packs out of the bilge water. We often used them as walking sticks on the portages. The old canvas Duluth packs were lined, but it kept them drier and not nearly as heavy at the portages.
How do you keep your packs off the bottom?

Cover keeps most out, beyond that I do not worry about wet packs.

butthead

Cover keeps my packs dry. A Friend glued in closed cell foam strips that run lengthwise, that the pack stays elevated of the bottom a inch. It works nice and it is always there adds floatation and weighs next to nothing.
Nylon packs do not add as much weight if the sit in bilge water as they absorb far less.

I do nothing. They just get wet. Of all the mess and hassle that tripping involves, I never found this to be one of them. As long as the contents are protected by liners, dry bags, etc., it really isn't an issue for me.

Oh, but I do try to keep the straps off the bottom if possible. I don't want to have a sopping wet pack against my back.

it doesn't concern me. pack straps up of course.

I also do nothing to the packs. They just stay on the bottom of the canoe, yes they get wet but canvas drys fast if you lay them out to dry. It sounds like a good idea.

quote cycle003: "I do nothing. They just get wet. Of all the mess and hassle that tripping involves, I never found this to be one of them. As long as the contents are protected by liners, dry bags, etc., it really isn't an issue for me. "

I'll second that!

Hans Solo

I don't tend to have any bilge water in my Canoe. I keep a large sponge tied into a rope that I use to wring out water and mud.

I've got the CCS hybrid packs I don't worry about them getting wet from water, either from above or below. It's just part of the experience.

I use dry bags so I don't worry about water in the bottom of the canoe. One way to avoid water getting there to begin with is how you get into the canoe. I try to leave my boots over the gunnels for a bit to help them drain when I get in (I wet foot). One foot does have to step in, but I try to get it back out quickly once I'm seated. AFter that a sponge takes care of the rest. Packs are going to get wet though. Bilge happens.

Couple of interesting ideas but I'm in the "bilge happens" camp. I just accept it.

quote cycle003: "I do nothing. They just get wet. Of all the mess and hassle that tripping involves, I never found this to be one of them. As long as the contents are protected by liners, dry bags, etc., it really isn't an issue for me.


Oh, but I do try to keep the straps off the bottom if possible. I don't want to have a sopping wet pack against my back."

best answer so far

my Duluth packs sit upright in my solo boat because the boat is narrow, so it's even less of a concern

I have a sponge that sits down on the floor of the canoe by thwart in front of the stern seat. Every so often I'll squeeze it out. Otherwise I don't get too much wate in the canoe.

a sponge weighs really nothing so i have three big ones tied together with one of those billy-bob sort of things and mop up whenever i can.
i don't like the sticks idea as it's more stuff to fool around with loading and unloading at the carry.if it's really raining i toss my poncho,i have a rain suit also,over the packs to keep out some water.
if it's raining and the straps are down i'll have a rain jacket on for the portage so i'm not going to get wet thru the coat and fooling around to flip the pack over is too much hassle in a floating canoe.

Kinda what I expected. I am using one of the high absorbing sponges I picked up at a home show with a shamwow on the floor. I step in on the shamwow; it protects the surface and pulls water pretty well. I tuck both in the pocket behind the seat for portaging.
I will look into a dense but flexible piece I could glue to the floor, thanks Dan. And the CCS packs I use do not absorb as much so it isn't a really big issue.
One of the down sides to the double blade paddle is more water in the bilge so I thought I would ask. Perhaps some of you inventor types?

I honestly haven't ever been too concerned about it. I'll keep these ideas in mind if I ever do any cold weather camping where getting 'bilged on' could be disastrous.

The only time it was a problem is when we put a gash in our canoe day 1 of 11 in WCPP. We were filling up fast. Thank goodness for duct tape. It was hot the wet packs felt good on the back.

quote bhouse46: "One of the down sides to the double blade paddle is more water in the bilge so I thought I would ask. Perhaps some of you inventor types?"

NeverWet, have not tried it myself, but it looks interesting.

butthead

Drill a small hole to drain water.

"NeverWet"

Now I have a mental image of the water retreating away from the paddle blades each time they're dipped in the water, leaving the poor paddler stuck with no means of propulsion...

I line my duluth packs, use a blue barrel and a large seal pack. The small amount of bilge water is not a bother.

Neverwet video reminded me of a friend who brainstormed that his canoe would be easier to paddle if he could make it shed water. So, he decided to spray the canoe bottom with WD-40. As he paddled the first couple of miles or so, he left a slick in his wake as the spray rinsed off. We never laughed so hard as we did that night around the fire.

Would Neverwet work on a canoe bottom?

quote kanoes: "it doesn't concern me. pack straps up of course."

My sentiments exactly.

I am in the "bilge happens" camp. I keep the straps up and try to give my feet a chance to drain before I step into canoe. My sponge takes care of any excess water if need be. But usually I just dump it out at the next portage.

quote old_salt: "Drill a small hole to drain water."

That's what we do...

We travel with a blue barrel and several Duluth Packs. When we load the canoe, we stand the Duluth Pack up so there is less area to get wet and the straps stay dry. We also use a sponge to soak up the water.

I lay a shamwow on the floor in front of me. It makes a good kneeling pad, too!

I use plastic packs so no problem.

I take camping chairs in the bags. Lay them down and put the packs on top of them. The chair gets wet but if you set it out in the sun when you get to camp they dry before you are done setting up camp. I also use the sponge.