Quartermaster

General

The Quartermaster is responsible to maintain our gear and can be reached at quartermaster@newwestscouts.ca. We have a cargo trailer, a canoe trailer that holds six canoes, and a locker full of camping gear.

The gear locker is located at the Public Storage facility at 94 Braid St., New Westminster. You can access the site off of Braid St. or Brunette Ave.

Blue Mountain Scout Hall has snowshoes to rent. 1st Poco currently (Jan 2018) has some and they can be booked by emailing cohosnowshoe@gmail.com. Darren McCrabb darren.mccrabb@scouts.ca, has some and they can be booked by contacting him directly.

Alternatively, we have rented snowshoes from Mountain Equipment Co-op.

Coho Area has a large 10'x20' tent that we use for Hyack Camp. As the Blue Mountain Scout Hall has an unknown future, it is currently stored at Geoff's house.

Quartermaster Plea

Please bring the gear back in as good or better shape than you took it. If something is in need of repair, please repair it if you can, purchase a replacement, or alert the Group via the Group Committee.

Some particular things of note when using the Group gear:

• Return the gear to the shelf where you found it (the shelves are numbered). It may not look like it, but there is some organization to the locker.
• When parking the trailer, please push the trailer to the back of the spot to maximize the space to back in and hook up to the trailer.
• The tents need to be cleaned out (shake the dirt out) and dried thoroughly after use. They do not need to be washed but they can be hosed down if they are particularly dirty. Do not put them back wet!
• The tents need to each be supplied with adequate tent pegs. As you are packing the tents up after camp, inspect and count the pegs. There is a small black and yellow toolbox with a pile of pegs to choose from if some need replacement. The orange tents require 10 straight tent pegs and the new grey/blue ones need 15. Don’t shove the poles down the outside of the tent bag as this rips the bag.
• The tarps and groundsheets need to be hosed off, dried, and folded neatly. The huge wooden box is good to store the large tarps and the light blue rubbermaid tub is good for the smaller groundsheets.
• Check things like toolboxes, cutlery kits, etc. to make sure they are not wet. If required, take them home, clean them and dry them thoroughly.
• The pop-up shelter tops and wallsneed to be dried, folded neatly and put back into the pocket on the sides of the shelter bags (roofs) or duffel bags (walls). Some of the shelter roofs are specific to a particular shelter, so take care to return them to the proper place.
• The coolers need to be washed out, dried and put back on the shelf with a piece of wood propping the top open to allow air to circulate.
• The water jugs need to be drained, white tops removed, and stacked on the shelf with the open end facing out to allow air to circulate.
• The pots and pans need to be cleaned and returned. Often this involves a run through the dishwasher at home.
• The white wash tubs should be cleaned and returned. Often they are very greasy after a camp.
• The stoves need to be thoroughly cleaned and dried. Consider taking them home for a good clean. It is no fun to open a stove at a camp that is gross from a previous camp.
• Dish cloths and towels must be taken home to wash after a camp and returned clean and dry.
• The metal Venturer Company box, and the four wooden Scout Patrol boxes are (at least they should be) pre-packed with everything the Scouts and Venturers need when they go to a camp. The boxes can be borrowed for the Beaver and Cub Sections and there should also be enough other gear in the locker (stoves, pots, utensils, knives, cutting boards, wash tubs, etc.) for any addition needs. If there is something in the Patrol boxes that you need to borrow, please return it to the Patrol Box after use.
• The propane tanks should be assessed and re-filled if needed. The Propane Depot at 3390 Lake City Way off of Lougheed Highway in Burnaby only charges for what they put in the tank rather than a set fee like the thieves at the Husky over the fence from the storage locker.
• Please don't store loose food in the locker. We do have some food stored in the locker (leftovers from camps) and it must be sealed in rubbermaid bins or coolers and not left out for the mice.
• If there is any broken gear, it needs to be repaired or identified by writing the issue with a marker on green painter's tape (available in the locker) and emailing the quartermaster. The last thing anyone wants to do is get to camp and have broken poles or no pegs in a tent. The poles are straight forward to fix as we have a number of extra loose pieced that can be cut down and used.

Trailers

We have two trailers – an enclosed box utility trailer and a canoe trailer that holds 6 canoes.

The canoe trailer is a home-made trailer with a 2” ball that can hold 6 canoes. It is currently stored at Todd's house.

The utility trailer is a Wells Cargo model RF581 that is about 8' long and 5' wide, with a 2” ball, and the curb weight is 790lb. It does not have a wheel at the front and is really heavy to move by hand. It is currently stored at Rob's house.

The insurance is under Scouts Canada’s fleet insurance and is therefore due on the fleet renewal date of August 31st. The trailers are in Scouts Canada’s name and therefore they get the renewal forms, not the Group. In August, the renewal forms are mailed to the Group Commissioner by the Scout Office. They can also provide a letter indicating that the Group Commissioner has the signing authority to sign for and renew the insurance.

Insurance papers for the utility trailer are kept in the trailer and the insurance papers for the canoe trailer are kept in a threaded pipe on the tongue of the trailer.

Storage Locker

We have quite a bit of gear in a storage locker.

In 2016, we moved the gear to a 10’x15’ interior storage locker at the Public Storage facility at 94 Braid Street. The site is accessible from 5:00am to 10:00pm daily. The locker number is G902 in the building directly across the lane from where the trailers are. It is on the top floor near the southeast corner.

The access code must be entered at the gate even if it is already open. The code is tied to an alarm on the individual locker space. If you don't enter the code and you follow someone in, an alarm will likely go off when you enter the locker, and the gate keypad chastises you as you exit.

The gear in the locker includes:

• Camping gear (lanterns, tents, four 10’x10’ pop-up shelters, white light-weight and green heavy-weight shelter sides for the shelters for use on winter or wet camps, 3 large and one small light weight (aluminum) tables, 1 large folding table, about a dozen water jugs, 2 spare sleeping bags, etc.).
• Tents as follows:
  • three "2"-person MEC Tarn 2 tents (good for Scouters).
  • two "3"-person MEC Tarn-3 tents (good for Scouters as there is no way these would fit three kids). They are appropriate for one person comfortably, two a bit tight (wtih some gear in the vestibule), or three people from the MEC marketing department.
  • five or six Infinity Sports Eiger 3 (good for 2 Scouts or 3 Cubs) These are a bit fiddly as you need extra poles and guy-lines to hold the vestibule.
  • fourteen Eureka El Capitan 3 (good for 2 Scouts or 3 Cubs).
  • about fifteen new grey/blue tents that are slightly bigger than the El Capitan 3s (good for 2 Scouts or 3 Cubs).
• Groundsheets for the tents
• Cooking gear (coolers, pots and pans, propane & white gas single & multi-burner stoves, etc.).
• Propane trees for connecting lanterns and stoves to a 20lb tank.
• Four burner stove in a stainless steel case. Don't forget the large black hose with the quick connect.
• Gear for winter camps (1 and 2-burner propane heaters, 3 snow shovels)
• Paddling gear for the canoes (canoe dolly, PFDs, paddles, bailers, throw ropes, whistles, painters (bow and stern ropes), etc.).
• Miscellaneous other gear (axe, saws, some firewood, etc.).
• Event gear (apple day boxes, signs and cans, wooden spars for the banner when used in a parade, reindeer for the Christmas Parade, torches, etc.).
• Patrol boxes (four wooden Scout boxes and 1 metal Venturer box) that are prepacked with gear.
• Propane tanks are kept in the box trailer, not the locker. There are at two 20lb ones and several small green ones.
• Inflatable boat with oars.
• White pipes holding four bows and dozens of arrows.
• Thermal sheets to have under sleeping bags as extra insulation in the winter.
• Several sleeping bags that be be brought as extras to camps or lent out to families for the Scouting year.
• Several older backpacks that can be lent out to families for the Scouting year.

Groundsheets

There is a blue rubbermaid tub in the locker with a bunch of groundsheets in it. There is a roll of poly that can be cut down for groundsheets or they can be made out of old tarps.

A groundsheet for the orange tents should measure 84" x 75". Don't go higher than 84" as this is the maximum width of the tents. If you want a bit of groundsheet in the vestibule, you can increase the 75" dimension.

Folding the orange tents

The orange tents are not square and there is an easy way to get them packed up and a hard way. This is the easy way.

• Fold the tent in half lengthways with the doors at the ends. Lay it down and fold again lengthways. As you deal with the fly, the air will escape through the doors. If you folded it wrong, they air won't escape and you will end up with a balloon that won't go in the bag.
• Take the fly and grasp two of the pole straps with one hand and the two door tabs with the other hand. Your partner should do the same. You have just folded the fly in half. Come together and one person hands the straps to the other person. The other person gathers the loose end. You have now neatly folded the fly into a quarter of of the original size.
• Lay the fly on top of the now-flat tent with the straight edge of the fly along the tent edge. Fold the excess fly to fit on top of the tent.
• Put the pole bag and the peg bag (with the correct number of straight pegs) on the top at one end.
• Start rolling from the end that will allow air to escape from the other end of the fly as you are rolling. If you start from the end with the straps, you will end up with a balloon that won't go in the bag.
• Put some weight into it and roll slowly and tightly. Youth can do this in pairs to get a nice tight roll.
• Have someone hold the bag and slip the tent into the bag.
• Don't jam the tent poles and pegs on the outside of the tent/fly roll as this can tear the tent bag.

Assembling the Tarn-3 tents

• The bent pole goes yellow-to-yellow, and the straight poles go from red-to-red and black-to-black - it doesn't matter which straight pole goes between which colours.
• There are three poles. One pole has a bend in the middle, which goes at the peak of the tent. The pole with the bend in it goes side-to-side between the yellow straps and uses the yellow clips. The straight poles go diagonally end-to-end. One goes between red straps using red clips and the other goes between black straps using black clips.
• The fly has matching yellow, red, and black straps that also attach to the ends of the poles.
• It is possible to put up the fly first and then put the tent up inside the fly. You should try this at home before you do it in the field.

Repairs

Tents

There are tent repair kits or the orange tents in a bag in the locker. These are good for small rips, but larger rips needs to be sewed and sealed with tape. There are a couple tents where someone tripped over the fly line and has ripped the fly.

To repair a rip in a tent, use rubber gloves, clean both sides of the rip with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol and tape up one side with green painters tape to hold the pieces in place. Cut a patch to cover the entire rip with 1" overlap beyond the tear. Trace the outline of the patch on the tent. Use a small paintbrush and paint SeamGrip over the patch and 1/4" beyond the outline that you traced. Let dry for an hour or so until it is tacky. Rub the patch so there are no bubbles and the contact is thorough. Paint on more SeamGrip along the edge of the patch, overlapping by 1/4". Let dry thoroughly (8-12 hours). Remove the backing tape and paint SeamGrip along the rip. Let dry thoroughly (8-12 hours) and you should be good to go. Keep the material flat on a table while the repairs are being done so the glue doesn't slump to one side.

Tent Poles

Every once in a while a tent pole breaks and needs to be repaired. If the fibreglass pole splits or breaks, it might be able to be repaired by a 3/8" copper piping coupling or if it is too damaged, the section should be replaced. There are some extra tent pole pieces cut to the correct length on the miscellaneous shelf on the left hand side in the locker. Often the shock cord can be re-used and doesn't need to be replaced. If the shock cord breaks, a new length needs to be fitted. The orange tents require about 9' of 3/32" cord, which is available from Skyview in packages of 18' (5.5m), so one package can fix two poles.

With a piece of wire, dig the dirt out of the end of the poles and pull out the knot and all the old cord. Thread the new cord through the pole end that has the coupling on it (it is MUCH harder if you start at the other end without the coupling) and tie a figure-8 knot in the end. Pull the knot into the hole in the end of rod and trim off the extra shock cord. Leave a bit hanging out so it easier for the next person! Thread through the rest of the pieces. When you get to the 6th piece, you will need to put a half hitch around the end of the pole so you can thread the next piece without fear of it snapping back. When you get to the last piece, tie another figure-8 knot, pull it into the end, and trim off the excess, leaving a bit hanging out.

There are extra copper couplings, shock cord and a piece of wire in the large black toolbox in the locker.