We would carry one kayak between the two of us. The kayaks were not completely emptied and still weighted quit a bit, especially when we had food for 20 days. Even completely emptied a 16'6" Sealution is very hard to carry alone. Our system was simple and basic but it did work out pretty well. I think that for a 2 week trip it is perfect, not too much weight. We each had a wide hip belt and a shoulder strap with a clip (like the one on a backpack hip belt that can be tighten). We would pass the shoulder strap under the hip belt so that it would stay closer to our body and we would pass it on the opposite shoulder with respect to the kayak. The strap would pass under the kayak at a height so that the extended arm would be able to lift the kayak and allow the shoulder to rest and vice versa. At the back, I would pass the strap through the carrying loop of the kayak so that the strap would not slip off the back, and in the front Lise would pass the strap in the front rope so that the strap would not slip forward. After a few portages we realized that it was easier if we each carried the kayak on opposite side, the weight distribution was better and I had a better view of the trail ahead. A good padding on the shoulder was necessary and a padding between the kayak and the hip would have been nice. We managed to accomplish a 1.8 km portage in that manner and we still had 16 days worth of food (a hard 9 km of walking total!). There is still room for improvement and next time we go out we will probably modify a thing or two... Our lake just froze last weekend, so that is the end for kayaking this year. It is time for skiing on the lake now, as soon as we get enough snow. Our last trip on the lake was quite special, some heavy snow and then we were kayaking in slush! great feeling! Dominique Val D'Or, Québec -----Original Message----- From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of John Somers Sent: December 4, 1998 1:42 PM To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Our trip in Quetico P.P., gelcoat repair and next summer trip Dominique, thanks for the very interesting trip report. For some time I have been trying to find a good method of portaging with a sea kayak, and your description above has intrigued me. Could you please describe more about the strap arrangement you used? Was each person carrying one kayak, or were the two of you carrying both together? Did you purchase the straps already rigged for this purpose, and if so, where? If you rigged the straps yourself, please supply enough details to enable others of us to give it a go. I gather that the hip bruises were from the kayaks bouncing against you; would strategically placed pads (for example, paddlefloats) help prevent these? Cheers, John **************************************************************** *********** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ **************************************************************** *********** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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