Some info for anyone getting into the touring aspect of kayaking
Part One: Sleep and shelter
When paddling distance theres nothing more important than getting a good nights sleep
Your choice of shelter and sleep system are critical to this
Tents :
There are many tent types available . what you use is entirely personal choice but bear in mind these few points
You may have to not only sleep in the tent but also spend extended periods in it due to bad weather . so choose something with enough headroom that you can comfortably sit upright in and has a porch with a removable ground sheet to store gear and cook in
Being kayakers we don’t have to worry so much about pack size and weight , the only times you have to carry it is from the yak to the campsite so unless you really want to spend 500 odd quid on an ultralite geodesic dome tent with titanium poles .. it ain’t necessary
Personally I favour tunnel type tents . Currently I use a Coleman Pictor X2 which I wrote a review of on my own site. I’ve used it several times now and I cant fault it .
Once you’ve purchased your tent … put it up . Not a good idea to be on an island pitching it for the first time only to discover theres a pole missing . Practice putting it up and taking it down so it becomes second nature just in case someday you have to do it in the dark ..
Hammock camping and tarps :
I was introduced to hammock camping by Pablo a few years ago , Last year I purchased one and have to say its a really comfortable nights sleep , unless you hang it within 200yds of where Pablos is , which would be akin to sleeping over the San Andreas Fault Line 
However a hammock needs trees to hang it from. and from a coastal touring point of view there aren’t many about
Of course you can do without a full tent and just rig a tarpaulin to lie under . to be honest its great if there are no flies and its good weather . Not so great when its raining and you’ve landed on clegg island
Choosing your campsite
When you land at your chosen campsite for the day . take a walk around . try and find a site with level ground preferably not on top of an anthill or wasps nest , Having chosen your pitch check the ground for any rocks or thistles that you will inevitably roll onto while sleeping , Pitch your tent so that door faces away from the wind giving you shelter to cook in the porch .
Once you have your tent pitched zip up the inner door to keep the bugs out
Sleeping mats:
Key to a good nights sleep is what you sleep on . Forget about the roll up foam mats , Air-beds are a slight improvement but they provide no insulation between you and the ground and are therefore cold
Self inflating mats are very good as long as you purchase a decent make they will last you a long time , they come in a variety of lengths and thicknesses as previously stated being kayakers were not overly concerned about pack size or weight , The big name brands such as thermarest are expensive but in this authors opinion worth it .Alpkit do really good gear at very reasonable prices , checkout their wideboy self inflating mat a bargain at £40
After a lot of trials and tribulations I’ve settled on what i consider to be the ultimate in camp comfort the Exped Downmat 9 DLX. this is an airbed that is filled with goose down insulation and will keep me insulated down to a staggering -37 deg C . was it expensive ? .. you bet it was £135 Sterling but worth every penny of it .
Sleeping bags
Sleeping bags are rated by Season .. so a 1-2 season bag is suitable for summertime . 3 season for slightly chillier nights in the Autumn and 4 season bags for winter camping
I have a number of sleeping bags mostly made by Snugpak
I use an Elite 2 During the summer ,, rated as a 2 season bag it has a comfortable temperature rating of 2°c and an extreme temp rating of -3
Basically this means it’ll keep me comfortably warm in temperatures down to 2*C and if pushed will be ok down to -3*C
I’d strongly advise you to try before you buy make sure that you are comfortable in the bag before purchasing . with most good manufacturers you can also specify the zip on left or right hand side
Its rare these days that I actually zip a bag up, using the Exped downmat its too warm so i unzip the bag as far as it’ll go and use it as a quilt instead
Part Two: Food and Water
Water:
The heaviest item you’ll be carrying in the yak .2 Litres of water = 2kgs
If your using dried food then it has to be hydrated . so you’ll be using more
On average I would go through 4 litres a day .. thats cooking and drinking
If your touring in fresh water then that can be used to cook with . boiling it for 3 minutes is generally considered safe although I would use a Millbank bag to remove the floaters before boiling it . Or you can purchase a water filter I used one on our Belleek to Limerick trip last year made by Katadyn and it was great .. no problems at all
Natural springs are another source of water . but again if coastal touring they’re hard to come by . another source of water is cattle troughs 
.. I’m sure everyone has seen concrete cattle troughs in fields. one section of them is covered by a concrete slab . if you slide this slab over to the side there’s a ball cock valve assembly identical to that in your cistern or roof space water tank and its easy to fill your water bottle from it simply by depressing the ball cock valve
Food:
Fresh, Tinned or Dried
Fresh food is always the best although not so easy to store while camping , lack of refrigeration ensures it goes off quickly . if you want to carry fresh food for the first day of the trip put a few of your water bottles into the freezer the night before and freeze them solid use these like ice packs to keep fresh meat etc chilled
If you take milk in your tea of Coffee forget about fresh milk , powdered milk is fine for this and for making porridge with
If using tinned food you don’t have to carry so much water as its already hydrated , just don’t forget the tin opener 
and please take the empty tins home with you .. they don’t burn in the fire
Dried food .. is mostly what i carry . pasta, rice . porridge etc
The thing about dried food is it can be pretty bland . i carry a few herbs and spices to add a bit of flavour . Salt. Pepper, Chilli flakes, Olive oil. Garlic, Ginger.. Five spice etc
You can buy a pack of storage bottle’s from any decent camping shop or in most pound shops they sell a set of three for a quid which work equally well . These bottles can be packed inside your cookset , which will protect them and keep them handy for cooking
Cooksets and Stoves
Stoves like the Swedish trangia are self contained cook sets , stove and pots nestle inside each other all you need is fuel , Trangias are bomb proof theres not a lot that can go wrong with one
However they are slow .Gas or Multifuel stoves will boil water a lot quicker but they can develop faults
I’ have an MSR Whisperlite stove . it’ll boil a litre of water in 2 minutes but it has let me down before ( strangely it hasn’t let me down since I purchased a service kit for it ) and i’ve had to cook over an open fire which makes a mess of your cookware ,
Multi-fuel stoves have two heat settings .. off and flat out, this can cause problems if your trying to simmer or fry something . I purchased a gas ring reducer which disperses the heat sufficiently allowing me to simmer or fry , you can just see it in the picture below .. the thing with the holes in it
If your just cooking for one then really you dont need an array of pots and pans . As mentioned in another thread I use a Primus LiTech trek kettle for solo camping . it holds a litre of water which is plenty for any meal . it has a lid which is important for boiling efficiency which also doubles up as a mini frying pan .
My weakness is coffee, I cannot function without it So a small stove top espresso maker and some freshly ground coffee go everywhere with me , you can get them really cheap on flea bay , These will not work on Trangias they don’t get hot enough
Windshields … My MSR came with one , the Trangia has one built in . If the stove you choose doesn’t have one then buy one or make one , A wind shield makes a huge difference to the cooking efficiency of your stove which means less fuel used and quicker boil times
What does make camp cooking a lot easier are some utensils . I carry a small chopping board, A sharp knife , a titanium spork and an MSR folding utensil set
Don’t forget something to light your stove with . Matches and lighters can get wet . a Firesteel will work if it wet or dry . I always keep one in my stove bag
One other item I carry in my cook-set is a small bottle of alcohol hand sanitiser ,, just for giving the hands a quick wash before cooking
Part Three : Everything else
Route and route Planning
Not such an issue on rivers . Rivers only flow one way and apart from the occasional tributary and weir you can;t really go wrong. If your touring on the inland waterways don’t forget to purchase payment cards for the locks . showers etc
The sea and big open lakes such as Lough Erne ,Lough Derg or Lough Ree can be a whole different experience , The big Loughs can blow up as bad if not worse as the Sea in minutes and I do mean minutes
So unless you 100% sure of the weather try not to do long exposed open crossings especially if your on your own
Buy a map do not rely on A GPS Inland waterways do them for most of the big loughs and waterways of Ireland , OS maps are good for the likes of Strangford If you can get the activity type maps these are waterproof and show greater detail
As mentioned in Part two know what distance your capable of. If weather and tides/river flow allow you will be capable of 3-5 mph , Although navigating locks will slow you down
For anyone just starting to tour I think 12 miles is a reasonable distance for the day . i did 25 miles a day on the Belleek to Limerick trip and have done 36 miles in a day with Pablo on the Bann canoe trail
Paddling a loaded yak is a bit different from paddling one with a tackle box and a few rods although once you get it going its not hard to maintain a pace , You’ll be carrying maybe 25 kgs of kit or in my case 50kgs more (bloody dog weighs 25kg )
Just on that point of carrying kit … put your water , tent . sleeping mat , clothes in the bow hatch and the rest in the tank-well .Use dry bags for items that you want to remain dry I have to use a barrel because the dog sits in the tank-well
Camp comfort etc
Radio … Apart from music( Pablo likes the Archers too ) . a radio is good for getting local weather forecasts and the shipping forecast
The shipping forecast is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and RTE Radio 1 , its the forecast for inshore waters that would be of use to us
Shipping Forecast times
BBC Radio 4 FM : 17:54 , 00:48, 05:20
RTE Radio 1 FM : 06.02, 12.53 (or thereabouts), 19.55 and 23.55
There are also weather updates on VHF for some Loughs as well as the inshore forecast
Lough Ree Radio VHF Ch 62 07.15hrs with a repeat at 09.15hrs 16.15hrs with a repeat at 18.15hrs
Lough Derg Radio VHF Ch 61 At 07.20hrs with a repeat 09.20hrs 16.20hrs with repeat at 18.20hrs
Belfast Coastguard announced on VHF CH16: 01:10: 04:10, 07:10,10:10, 13:10, 16:10, 19:10, 2210
Dublin Coastguard announced on CH16: 01:03, 04:03, 07:03, 10:03, 13:03, 16:03, 19:03, 21:03
Don’t forget spare batteries for it too
Seat : Its nice to sit down on something half comfortable rather than a hard cold rock or the ground , buy a cheap roll up foam mat and cut an arse sized piece from it and carry it with you, makes a big difference. you can of course use your sleeping mat . but I use a foam cutout in case i puncture mine , which with my luck is very likely
Head Torch-Tent light … head torches are essential for camping . you can also hang it inside your tent .As previously mentioned i also use a candle lantern with citronella candles . Believe it or not a single candle inside a tent will make a significant difference to the ambient temperature inside your tent , But it has to be in a tent safe candle lantern such as those made by UCO
Don’t forget spare batteries
Personal Hygiene : Bog roll and or Wet wipes , tooth brush and paste , for those of you with hair .. comb or brush , towel and sponge
Paracord : paracord is strong low diameter woven rope . it has a multitude of uses in the campsite . you can get a hank of it from any camping shop or the old faithful pounds shop has it for a quid a hank. Use it to rig tarpaulins, make a seat . spare guy rope firebow if you’ve no firesteel . etc etc etc
Repair kits: Make up an emergency repair kit for your yak . mine contains 2 pack 10 minute epoxy. some 80 grit sandpaper ,and a roll of gaffa tape . if necessary you can heat up the blade of your knife for plastic welding
If your self inflating mat or air bed does not come with a repair kit buy one, same for the tent
First aid kit : Buy a basic first aid kit and add a few extras to it . if you have a condition that requires daily medication such as Asthma put a spare inhaler in it . I’ve added a tube of superglue, headache tablets , sanitary towels ( make great wound dressings ) .spare inset repellent, spare sunscreen , antiseptic hand wash and insulation tape to mine
On the subject of first aid .. if your touring with a group and you do have a medical condition ..let them know so if something does happen they are aware .. I’ll never forget walking the Mournes with a group of people, one of whom started staggering and slurring his words and acting like he was drunk . no one knew wtf was going on until i remembered seeing something similar with a guy I used to work with who was diabetic . luckily one of the group had 2 litres of coke with him so we got that down his neck and he came round again in minutes … feckin scary shit when your up a mountain in winter
Something like that people need to know .. so let them know before you set off
Tarpaulin : Rigging a tarp can extend your living area considerably , it can also be pitched over your tent if there is overnight rain forecast so your not putting away a soaking tent in the morning
it can also be used to make a simple A Frame seat .. which is remarkably comfortable
Knife Axe Saw A Sharp knife has a multitude of uses round the camp , a small folding saw makes firewood preparation a lot easier and a sharp axe although not essential is also good to have
Mora of Sweden make
excellent affordable knives that hold an edge
Bacho manufacture quality folding saws like the laplander
you can pick up cheaper ones in the likes of Tescos etc some are good some are not , but it is a handy tool to have with you while camping
Axes or Hatchets . not really essential I do carry one and its not for chopping down trees . you don’t need to chop down trees for firewood , fresh or green wood is full of water and doesn’t burn particularly well Wood for your fire should come from dead wood , By dead wood I mean wood that has already fallen from trees and can be found in the hedges or on the ground, Drift wood , dried sea weed and dried animal dung also burn well
Fire: If your going to have a fire keep it well away and upwind from your tent .otherwise your tent will be full of tiny holes from the sparks and stink of smoke Light it on the shore so your not damaging someones field and keep it small unless you need the heat of a big fire
Make up your own firelighting kit , A Swedish fire steel and some cotton wool balls impregnated with Vaseline stored in a film cannister or similar are ideal
Book: If you are stuck because of bad weather , a book can help to pass the time .
Fishing kit : Fortunately I only fly fish so all I need is a rod. reel. tippet and some flies . Whatever your chosen method of fishing try and keep the kit to a minimal .
Footwear: Neoprene boots are great for paddling . not so great for wearing all day tho. bring a pair of comfortable shoes or sandals with you . Crocs are great
Clothing : For Summer touring I carry a base layer , pair of socks, pair of shorts and a warm hoodie for the evenings .. I also have a poncho in case it rains
Hope you find this of some use
Andy
