And get a good trash bag, the nice thick contractor ones. Also, be sure to use high quality sand that is DRY. Finally, all parts of a hemp rigging
system should be inspected daily. It have been in places where bags leak overnight and pieces have been sitting on the
deck in the morning.
If a leaking sand bag put a load or scenery on the
deck, the load wasn't properly tied off at the
rail.
That said, various brands of scenery sand bags have string tie closures,
velcro closures, and some older versions were meant to be sewn closed. The
Rosco bags have no specific closure.
Every one is correct about
lining the bag and to use DRY sand, get a heavy plastic bag as a liner and you will be much happier with the result. Use DRY sand. Stuff the plastic bag in to the
canvas bag. Use a quart tin can or plastic
bottle with half the top cut out as a
scoop. Get a 5 gal bucket or wheel barrow on the
loading dock and fill the bags with DRY sand there. You'll want a friend or something to hold the bag vertical until the it is filled with DRY sand and the liner bag is closed and tied off. While filling, lift and tamp the bag a few times to get the DRY sand to
settle and fill the bag. Use a bath room scale or a spring
stock room scale to measure the bags weight. If the bag is marked 25#, put 25 # of sand in, don't make the riggers
play guessing games with it. BTW, did I mention use DRY sand????
If the sand is in a heavy duty liner, the open top of the
Rosco bags is not really a problem, however I have always used a 50# or 100# braided fishing
line (or similar) and made 2 or 3
whip closures with bags that don't have fasteners, just to be sure.
If the bags have to be stored, off of any rigging lines, hang them! Do not set on the
ground or store piled up. The best storage is to simply use a
belaying pin in the
rail and hook the
webbing over, with the bags hanging on the
fly floor side of the
rail.