Nantucket Diddy Bagg
I bought this bag about four years ago at a boat show, intending to use it as a home for tools on my sailboat. I ended up using it more as a transport than a permanent home for tools, in part because I liked it so much and found it so useful that I didn’t want to be limited to using in solely on the boat.
I use it anytime I need to cart tools out of the shop for a project whether at the boat, in the house or farther afield. It holds a lot and the tools are protected. I end up making fewer trips back to the shop because it’s quick, easy and safe to carry those tools that I’d otherwise hesitate to take, but end up needing. I assembled a wine storage unit for a restaurant on the fourth floor of a mall, and it was really helpful to load the Diddy Bagg up and configure the straps so I could wear it like a backpack. It left both hands free for carrying other stuff.
A ditty bag is a traditional tool carrier for marine use. Unlike a hard toolbox, it fits just about anywhere and is less likely to ding your shin (or a pretty piece of varnished mahogany) if you bump into it. The Nantucket Diddy Bagg adds to the traditional bag’s usefulness: It’s larger, has lots of individual pockets for delicate tools (can safely carry a sharp chisel) and it’s stiff enough to protect its contents.
The bag’s outstanding features are its straps and zipper. The adjustable straps allow you to carry it in a variety of ways, including as a backpack, and the zipper allows you to lay the whole thing out flat for access or cleaning. You can even attach it to the wall as a permanent, yet portable, means of tool storage.
Its weaknesses are that it is really too big to be a perfect boater’s ditty bag and the zipper is hard to operate. One could wash the bag and soften the canvas, but it might eventually get too soft and not be sufficiently rigid to stand up when full. So I opt to live with a hard to operate zipper rather than risk a flaccid bag. I added leather pulls on the zipper, which helps, but it still requires a firm pull.
Manufactured by and available from the Nantucket Bagg Company
Favorite (15)
Casey
Seems like you would drop a boatload of tools--especially the screwdrivers.
Danozano
Recommend you apply a paraffin candle to the tough zipper to give enhanced slidey action. Doesn't wear away as quickly as graphite or soap in a harsh salt spray environment either, I bet.
ProfWombat
I've had good luck with silicone spray (often) or grease (twice) for big stiff zippers.
adam
I am a carpenter and I own this bag. It is fantastic. There is a drawstring at the top, so tolls don't fall out. It is REVERSIBLE, so tools can be stowed inside or out. When you unzip it (really not that hard), all of your tools are laid out in front of you. And then the guy who hasn't seen the bag yet wanders over and says, "nice bag!"
However, a properly sharpened chisel will cut right through the bag. Best to slide a strip of leather into the pockets you store your beater chisels in, but my nice ones go in their own roll (which fits right in the bag).
Debbie
These bags are also wonderful for knitters - the pockets are handy for knitting needles, scissors, and other tools, and the bag itself is perfect for carrying your yarn and project. Very nicely designed.
fritz gorbach
I've seen something like this in the wooden boat store, and I was thinking of getting one. in the picture here, it looks larger than I had imagined.
I don't know if theyre available on line, but my local harbor freight sells some white canvas tool bags that have around twenty very functional pockets on the outside, and a main compartment maybe six by sixteen by eight inches deep. They run about nine bucks, or five on sale. I have two full of tools, and I buy a couple of more every time I stop there but somebody always sees mine, and I give mine away.
Oh here it is - canvas riggers bag - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=38124
apratt
I'm a user. I was so relieved to throw away my hard toolbox with it's broken latches. At first I was quite worried that I would drop things out of the bag and faithfully tightened the drawstring. But as my confidence grew I did that less and less. The sling strap makes the long walk down the dock to the boat just that much more pleasant as well.
Lifesart
Used many like this for years and this is a good one.
(BTW, it's a "ditty" bag - Ditty bag is 1850s nautical slang, perhaps from Brit. naval phrase commodity bag.)
elon
Lifesart:
Yes, it's traditionally called a "ditty bag," as Quinn mentions. The Nantucket Bagg Company calls this product "Nantucket Diddy Bagg."-es
mostly cajun
Better yet, check out a copy of "Sailmaker's Apprentice" by Emiliano Mariano from your library or better yet, buy a copy. Then buy the materials and tools from SailRite and make your own. the book talks you through a simple version while giving you the skills to do it up to your liking.
I've made two. One's served me well everywhere including at the top of my boat's mast.
Zwack
I'm more interested in the item top left of the unrolled picture that looks like a cross between a pry bar and a hatchet.
What is it? Anyone used one? Are they useful?
Z.
Kevin Kelly
@Mostly cajun: How does Sailmaker's Apprentice compare to other books on sail making? I get the impression that it stresses more old fashion traditional techniques. What is the best book for learning to make a sail for not just your old boat, but maybe for a kite sail, or a parasail, or anything made from huge sheets of fabric?
mostly cajun
Kevin--
The author covers both traditional and modern materials and skills. He's not so much about design as technique.
You could do worse than visit Sailrite.com about doing things with fabric for your other projects. They sell some handy little books on sail design also, and list a bunch of books on other fabric aspects centered around boating, but you'll see a lot of cross-over ideas and technology.
MC
Kevin Kelly
@MC: Thanks.
Are there any other sail/fabric related cool tools you would recommend?
Rob O.
Kevin, Julie over at The Gadgeteer just recently reviewed the RAGGEDedge Gear Sailcoth Wallet and gave it very good marks.