: I am wondering what the dimensions are. I am seeing a tow-behind beer cooler
: but I don't know if I could cut it loose. That is 160 12oz beers we are
: talking about. Do you need ice? Really though I think it's a perty cool
: idea.
: Your aka attatchment sounds ingenious. Are you going to beef up your mounting
: area for the rod holders? Peace of mind in a rescue situation.

Thanks Arko,
This tote along is 6.5 feet long and has half of the design specs for the Toto (link). See the pic below for the flush mount supports (that's the front one, sitting on the table, has since been epoxy coated) that will be epoxied and filletted into place before I attach the mounts. This should add considerable amount of strength to the whole boat.

: Just don't store any items in it that you can't afford to loose.You may not
: be able to recover it if you do have to cut loose.

Where I would take this barge, if it works well, there would almost always be a "Toto recovery".

: What kind of conditions
: do you paddle in?

If I go out by myself, I stay in small to medium sized lakes and near the shoreline. If I go with other boaters (not necessarily kayakers) I can be paddling in salt water in less than 5 min. I really haven't done that much paddling, yet. Now that it's summer time, I hope to go out daily at lunch and a few evening paddles a week.

: How long is your tow line going to be?

Trial and error, I suppose. Maybe 10 ft.???

: I think the jam cleat is workable. Maybe an inline bungie for a shock
: absorber.

Again, trial and error. This will be tested on calm water, with swimming and re-entry practice before I would consider actually using it for rescue or crabbing in the bay.

: Good Luck and let us know how it works out. I am serious about the cooler
: thing.

I will certainly keep you all updated, with pics and all that. The cooler idea is perfect for those cross lake camping trips, but I would not want people to think that I support the thought of drinking and yaking (deadly combo). But I also like the idea of swapping the center neoprene for wire mesh to store caught crabs in. Should work.