How do you stow your gear on board our little boats?

How do you store your gear aboard a small sailboat or Breton canoe? There’s always room on board for a picnic or a rain jacket. It’s a question worth asking.

The Ateliers de La Gazelle des Sables have everything you need to store your gear on board.

How much storage space is on board?

With the Morgat 320 and the Canot A Godille, there’s no need to wonder: a vast bow locker, the multi-functional swim bench and two side teams provide plenty of storage space. These features are particularly evident in the video ‘Guided tour of the Morgat 320’.

Here are some images of the clever removable swim platform that converts into a picnic table, the port and starboard hatches, and the bow peak with access from the deck or the front of the vertical bulkhead:

The same goes for the small sailboat Gazelles des Iles and the sporty Gazelle Breizh, both of which feature a large bow locker and side lockers. These often contain a cheerful array of bras, picnic bags, water bottles, rain gear ‘just in case’… there’s plenty of storage space, but there’s no need to bother with anything superfluous!

Here we see the front trunk of the Gazelle Breizh :

Where can I store my gear on board a small rowing boat? Where can I store my gear aboard a small sailboat?

With Le Lascar du Toul’Ru and La Gazelle des Sables, the question may arise: where should I place my equipment? How do I store my fishing gear? What about the picnic bag?

Like the larger models, all our small boats have side gear in the form of a hatch, combined with a removable sock. Generally, one of these spaces is devoted to the boat’s equipment: small grappling hook, towing line, pin… And the second is reserved for personal equipment: sunglasses, key, scarf or hat… Here they are for the Lascar du Toul’Ru and the Barque A Ballast:

For larger items, our experience recommends the use of waterproof, malleable bags that can be slipped into the front pick or under a bench.

As an example, here’s La Gazelle des Sables. In the case of an electric motor, the battery is often placed at the very front, under the deck, which still leaves plenty of space available:

As the Lascar du Toul’Ru is often appreciated by anglers, it’s possible to place storage crates on the floor: all sizes of plastic crate are commercially available. In the photos below, the crate measures approximately 30x42x20cm. At the rear, a strap can be slipped under the wedge to hold a bin securely in place. Essential when using an electric motor!