Tarp
From KayakWiki
A small reinforced tarp can be good for covering items left outside overnight, making a rain shelter (so you can come out of the tent) or to pitch your tent over.
Guy Line for tarps
If space is a premium, consider using 2 or 2.5 mm polyester marine braid for tying up tarps. These lines are plenty strong and pack much smaller than most other lines, including what's sold as parachute chord in some places. These are sold on a spool, typically 30m, in marine shops. These also make compact guy lines for tents; Bibler uses such lines on some tents they sell.
Bring some extra cord to tie out your tarp. A paddle makes an excellent tarp pole if you don't plan to do any day paddling while you have camp set up.
It's not a bad idea to set grommets along the perimeter of the tarp if you intend to use it as a rain shelter; some of them come this way. If you need a tie point where there is no grommet, gather a 1 inch diameter stone from nearby. pull a little bit of material around the stone creating a small pocket. Attach a slip knot from the line you want to attach around the neck of the little pocket. Voila! The line is attached without cutting a hole in the edge (or center) of the tarp. (It will not collect water if the pocket opens downward.
Pitching your tent over a tarp (ground sheet or footprint) helps preserve the tent floor and keep out moisture. Make sure the footprint does not stick out from under the tent or it can catch rain and channel puddles under you.
Pack your tarp on top of your gear--it should be one of the first things under your hatch cover. If you get to camp and it's raining cats and dogs, you can pitch the tarp and have a dry space to unload everything else. Similarly, if you land on a mud flat (yuck), you'll have a clean space to lay out your gear as you unload it.
Tarp options:
- Poly tarps - usually blue, but now found in many colours. Cheap and easy to get at many stores, they tend to be bulky.
- Nylon or polyester tarps. - Usually ripstop for light weight. Polyester is better for UV resistance. Pack smaller than poly tarps.
- Silnylon - The lightest and with the smallest packed size. Siltarp is a brand name.
