This kayak carrying yoke sounds very useful. Since I do a lot of kayaking by myself, I will certainly make myself one fairly soon. Although, it would not replace our strap system. For a trip with two kayaks, both system are probably good, but if a lot of gear is carried then I would prefer the straps. With the yoke, the kayak has to be completely emptied before portaging and with a full load it would probably be impossible to carry all the gear in one trip. Therefore we would still need to do 3 trips to carry everything, but more time would be lost at emptying and loading the kayaks. When we used our straps we never completely emptied our kayak, we had a lot of gear especially at the beginning of our three week trip. Even at the end, we would not completely empty our kayak, tent, all the clothes, shoes and boots, the garbage and sometimes some of the camera gear would stay in the kayak. Emptying and reloading our kayaks was done very rapidly. Dominique Val D'Or, Qc -----Original Message----- From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of Harold Kroeker Sent: December 16, 1998 8:34 AM To: PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net Cc: A. G. Martin Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] portaging straps and yokes I got around the portaging problem by modifying a canoe carrying yoke so that it would work with our Kayaks. Carrying our 60+ lb CD Squalls is now easy. How I did it: - I started with a canoe yoke, the type that consists of a bent piece of wood with two curved pads that bolt to it. - I cut the ends off the yoke so that it was just a bit wider than the kayak (about 25") and sealed the ends with epoxy. - I obtained 2 foam blocks from a "strap a canoe to the top of your car kit". The blocks had keyhole slots already in them, designed to go on the gunwhales of a canoe. - I found the fore-aft balance point of the kayak by lifting it by the cockpit combing with one finger on each side and marked the location. - The balance point ended up closer to the front of the cockpit than the back so I decided to carry the kayaks stern first. - I shaved the blocks down on the outside only on keyhole side until the round part of the keyhole locked onto the combing at the balance point. The carving is to remove the foam that the deck just outside the cockpit interferes with. - I coated the flat part of the blocks (the part facing up) and the ends of the yoke with contact cement. - After waiting until the glue was dry to the touch, I clipped the blocks to the combing at the balance point and placed the yoke on the blocks. - The blocks are now firmly glued to the yoke but this is for positioning purposes only. The yoke/glue/block assembly will not support any weight or strain. At this point I had a comfortable yoke that clipped to the combing and was always located in the correct position due to the curvature of the cockpit fitting the angle of the blocks in one place only. - I got one of those ratcheting tiedowns made of 1" webbing, the continuous loop kind not the 2 piece with hooks at the end kind. - The tiedown is formed into a loop which goes over one end of the yoke sticking over the side, under the kayak, and over the other end of the yolk. - I put a piece of 1/4" mini cell foam under the ratchet mechanisim to protect the kayak and then use the ratchet to tichten the strap until both boam blocks are compressed to about half of their original height. - The yoke is now firmly attached to the kayak and the can be put on my shoulders using any of the common canoe lifting techniques. My favorite is to grab edge of combing, pull it onto my knee, shift my hands to the ends of the yoke and throw it onto my shoulders using my knee to get the upward motion started. This method requires technique and commitment more than it does strength, not unlike doing roll. The foam blocks and the shoulder pads raise the kayak high enough that I can easily see where I am going if I let the front (which is really the stern) rise up just a bit. Arlene and anyone else close by, If you want to see the yoke, or even take my kayak for a jog down the lane using it, please e-mail me directly. Harold Kroeker Winnipeg, MB *************************************************************************** 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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