DentonDoc wrote on Nov 18^th, 2010 at 11:40pm:

[quote author=DENTON DOC link=1290013223/10#13 date=1290122026 I can invision, traveling solo, and pulling up on shore to take care of a nature call and not properly securing my canoe.  A gust of wind grabs it and its gone.

Here is an incident that illustrates dd's concern. Even when you think you have your bases covered things can happen.

I was getting ready for a 3 day offshore fishing trip and as per my usual custom I went about the day before laying in a pile of live bait. These baits are panfish sized and on this particular trip I thought if I could get a bit further from shore I could get some larger specimens. My boat at that time was a 14ft coleman canoe....plastic with a metal tubular frame.

After doing the catching I pulled into the shore to unload the heavy buckets. The wind was blowing into the shoreline so I figured my boat wasn't going anywhere during the brief scramble up the bank to the truck. WRONG! I looked back to see my boat some distance from shore and the calculations went through my head. Being only an average swimmer I let out quite a bellow as I hit the water determined to retrieve my boat and gear. When I did catch it I was glad it wasn't any further than it was. Looking back I suspect it was the tide that had carried the boat away after the weight of the buckets were removed (which had pinned it to the sandy bottom).

I'm with DB on the painters. At the end of a portage my boat always (well, mostly ;) ) gets tied off.

DB,
OK, I'll bite............what's an FA kit?