info needed

[southsidefire29]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me

1. what is a spray skirt
when should you use one
what is the best spray skirt on the market
and if i should get a spray skirt should or do I need one for my (old town guide 147) canoe.

2. getting ready to buy a food dehydrator and a vac sealer
I was wondering can I make for example (hamburger helper) or some other meal after its (cooked) then dehydrate the meal then vacum pack it so all I have to do is add water when cooking

3. Im going to buy a water filter for my 4 day canoe trip people have been telling me I should ditch the pre packaged cases of water and just get a water filter. after I filter the water from a creek or river can I just drink the water as is or should I boil it then use those water purifier tablets thanks in advance

[vtsquid]

Hiya

Spray skirt for a canoe...
There are them sorts of things for a canoe, for the tripper thas going to see some "Heavy Seas". But if you are making a 4 day trip, what kind of trip are you doing...

If its mainly flat water or floating a river, I'm betting you wont need that kind of gear. You will have to do major mods to that 14.7 of yours!

A dehydrator is great for jerky and making your own dried fruit! if you are a "do it your self'er" then i bet if you search on the net, some one will tell you how to make the meals you are looking to do. Usually I get the store made stuff, re package if needed and go from there. to each their own tho, if you do get into it, I bet there are alot of people on hear that would love to learn how to do it!

and water filtering. I used a MSR water filter and the UV stick light, and if you keep it clear, you are in the clear
Best thing to do is go to a shop like ooo and they will tell you what you need and dont need and help hook you up! They are always there for me

Good luck
Bryan

[Cowper]

1) Spray skirt for a canoe - my answer would be don't do it. Techniques developed for open water are not always good for moving rivers. Paddle leashes are a good example - common in some areas; they may help keep you from losing your paddle if you turn over in the surf. But they are considered a big no-no for running whitewater, because that ropet is something else to get tangled with if you turn over. Same deal with a spray skirt on a canoe - it could save your life on a big lake by preventing you from filling with water if the waves whipped up, but on a river it could get you killed if you get tangled up in all that extra fabric during an upset. A partial skirt covering only the bow or one area of the boat might be OK, but would be more trouble than it is worth for a typical river trip in Arkansas.

2) Food preparation - not my area of expertise.

3) Water filters - for a four day trip, you could go either way, bottles or jugs, or a water purifying system of some type. Your solution should depend partly on if this is a one-time thing, or something you plan to do more of. If you were in an area where the water you had to start with was very muddy or might have chemical or heavy metal waste, then go bottled. But if it is decent water (like most Arkansas rivers), then filters are good for helping keep the load lighter and not having to worry about how much to bring. A very good system we use is to filter the water, then hit it with a light dose of clorox.
The filter gets the bigger bugs that are harder to kill chemically; the chlorine kills the viruses that are so small they can get right through the filters. Google clorox, find their company website, and you'll find how many drops per quart are needed. You'll see a range of doses; the lighter one is OK, since you are filtering too. Buy a bottle with an eye dropper at the drug store to make this part easy. Lazer gets the cradit for recommending this one-two punch system many years ago for our western rafting trips.

I think Bryan's filter + UV light system is also good and has the advantage of zero chlorine taste in the water. I'd have to research to verify it kills the viruses, but my guess is that it does, so it should be a similar one-two punch; the clorox system would be cheaper initially since you don't have to buy the UV light.

[southsidefire29]

bump

[southsidefire29]

ok this is what I found for using bleach

*Ratio of Clorox Bleach to Water for Purification
• 2 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per quart of water
• 8 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per gallon of water
• 1/2 teaspoon Regular Clorox Bleach per five gallons of water
• If water is cloudy, double the recommended dosages of Clorox Bleach.
• Only use Regular Clorox Bleach not Fresh Scent or Lemon Fresh.
• To insure that Clorox Bleach is at its full strength, replace your storage bottle every three months.) but this is what I plan to do in steps
1.filter water
2.boil it
3.use bleach instructions
4.then i will filter again by using a brita filter
if it helps any when i go on my trip i will be using water from (white River)

[Cowper]

I sent you a PM too, but here are some references for others wanting to do their own research. Yeah, it is from one particular company, but not only is it a highly respected name in outdoor water filters, they also bought the rights to what used to be the Pur Hiker series which was also top rated.

http://www.katadyn.com/fileadmin/user_u ... son_EN.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.katadyn.com/usen/technical-s ... hnologies/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Poke around some on their website if you want additional technical details.

For the White river water, I don't think you need to boil or filter again with the Brita, but if you feel strongly about getting some trace chemicals removed, consider the Katadyn Vario; it uses charcoal in addition to filtration.

The one I have used for years is the Pur Hiker, now called the Katadyn Hiker.