Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or story of Gilligan's Island. I wrote this a long time ago and was inspired to write my version about why the castaways have so many items on the island because of reading something off people ask why the castaways brought so many items to the island if they were only going on a three-hour tour. Here is one view for the reason for so many items.

It all started about two weeks before the three-hour tour. It was a rainy afternoon on June 24. All of the people going on the cruise were very excited; they could not stop thinking about it.

Gilligan was getting ready for the tour and making the last adjustments on the boat, he makes sure that the boat is spotless, and checks every gadget to make sure they work. Why the Skipper put Gilligan in charge of the inspections, no one will ever know. Anyway, he and the Skipper will be living on this boat, the S.S. Minnow, for about six months. They have to take so many people on tours that they will not be able to leave the ship. The only time they can get off the S.S. Minnow is when they are taking passengers on a long cruise that lasts more than a day. They will need a rest eventually. Gilligan begins to realize how long they will be gone so he buys plates, forks, spoons and other utensils. He brings a lot of rope to use around the boat to hang wet clothes on for the Skipper and himself, he figures since they will be on a boat then they will eventually get wet. He was really preparing to be thrown off the boat by the Skipper since the Skipper seems to enjoy that. However, he brings the bulk of the rope for the Skipper's clothes. He brings about ten pairs of shirts that look alike and ten pairs of pants. He loves his hat so he takes it to a shop to get about seven duplicates that were custom made. He feels that he has packed enough things and lets the Skipper inspect his work.

The Skipper inspects his "little buddy's" work making sure that every piece of luggage is neatly put away. He notices that Gilligan did not pack any pots or pans so he takes the liberty of packing them. He figures that when they actually do get to stop somewhere then they can cook some nice warm food. Eating only out of cans gets tiring after a while. While packing all of his clothes he realizes that he wants to have his hat duplicated too because it is very important to him. He takes it to the same little shop that Gilligan took his hat and got eight copies of his hat made. "You can never have too many copies of your favorite hat." He says. Realizing that during the long six months that he will be away he has to wash his clothes in the ocean using rocks to scrub out dirt. He brings some thread and needles because they can easily rip on the rocks. Deciding that enough things were packed he goes home.

Next in line to pack is the professor. After the three-hour tour, he is going to his brother's house to stay while he is giving ten different lectures on science at different colleges. Because of this he packs everything that he will need for about three months, this is how long he will be staying at his brother's house. Due to his line of study, he always has safety in mind. The next day, he talks to the Skipper about having a first aid kit in the S.S. Minnow. The Skipper realizes that he forgot to pack that so he packs one. The professor then reminds him that he should have a first aid kit for every three people on the boat so the Skipper packs another. Because of the fear that something might happen, the professor packs his medical bag. He has a degree in medicine so that will be of some use. The professor packs a couple of suits for the lectures that he is going to give. He packs about five button down shirts and three pairs of pants. Since the professor is constantly studying, he packs a ton of books that he may be able to use while preparing for his lectures. He packs a couple of medical books incase someone gets hurt while on the cruise. Then he packs some gadgets that he may be able to use during the three months that he will not be home. The professor feels that a man cannot have too many gadgets. The packing is finally finished for the professor.

Let's take a look at Kansas very quickly where Mary Ann is preparing for the three-hour tour. After the tour, she has to go to her Aunt Margie's house for about five months to help her start her farm. She packs a lot of dresses for this trip because she wants to be prepared for any situation. She packs some bathing suits since her Aunt lives near a public swimming pool. She packs all of the make-up that she will need because her Aunt does not use any. Because of her love of cooking, Mary Ann packs about two cupboards full of various ingredients to cook whatever she desires. Now it is time for her to check with the Skipper and Gilligan to make sure that everything needed is on the S.S. Minnow. The Skipper questions Mary Ann on why she is inspecting the boat. She explains that one can never be too careful. Who knows what will happen? Knowing that Gilligan and he checked everything he reasures Mary Ann that everything is ready for the journey. Little does he know that the three-hour tour will become fifteen years of being stranded on a tropical, deserted island. Now Mary Ann is done packing for the trip.

Now it is time to go to Hollywood, California to see how Ginger is coming with her packing. Right after the tour, she will be going to another island to star in a movie. Because of the complexity of this movie, it will take about two and a half months to shoot. She insists on bringing her own wardrobe for the movie so she packs that for the tour. This wardrobe consists of about twenty dresses and three bathing suits. Because of her glamour, she tells one of her agents to make sure that the boat has been thoroughly cleaned and checked. She doesn't want to be late for her starring role at this movie. She packed all of her makeup to finish her packing.

The agents attempt to inspect the boat but were thrown off by the Skipper, who is getting tired of everyone's lack of trust. He knew that everything was in tiptop shape for the cruise that wouldn't even happen for another two weeks. The agents tell Ginger that the boat is ready to sail even though they didn't inspect it. They weren't about to tell Miss Grant that they weren't allowed to inspect the S.S. Minnow.

Last but not least, we go to Mr. and Mrs. Howell. Their help has only been packing their bags for a mere seven months by now. No need to plan ahead! The servants pack numerous outfits for the Howell's to wear because after the cruise, they will be going to an elaborate party and they never know what will happen at the parties. Because of their high class, they always want to have the right outfit for any occasion. The servants pack over a hundred outfits for Mrs. Howell and just under one hundred outfits for Mr. Howell. Mr. Howell can't forget his favorite Teddy, he can't sleep without it. Mrs. Howell always needs her essentials like all of her make-up and jewelry able to be used in any situation. They don't trust their help so they decide to pack all of their money in a huge trunk and take it with them. Who can trust servants anyway? The Howells' have bodyguards inspect the S.S. Minnow to make sure it was safe. The Skipper allows the guards to inspect the boat only because these guards were huge, muscular men, even bigger than he was!

Two weeks later, they board the boat and you know the rest…