Re: portage yokes I might as well get in on the portage thread, since portage country is pretty much my home turf. Harold Kroeker's yoke concept is similar to the method I use. A number of years of kayak touring around the Boundary Waters convinced me that the only serious method of portaging- at least on solo trips- was to carry the kayak in the same way as a canoe, with a yoke. I developed a removable yoke in 1981 that has since been offered in similar form by the Yoke Shop, a Wisconsin yoke maker. My yoke utilizes the padded shoulder rests commonly used by canoe yokes, and available from any Minnesota canoe shop, or Piragis Northwoods, Ely, MN. The thicker they are, the more visibility you get while under the kayak. A spacer can also be added to create clearance. The yoke has clamps, similar to gunwale clamps, to attach the yoke to the coaming of the kayak. This requires a polyethylene hull or a fiberglass kayak with the coaming bonded structurally to the hull. As Harold says, the balance point is forward of the seat, and portaging stern first is best. This also allows you to keep the rudder out of trouble if you have one. The clamps on my yoke fit into 2" to 3" slots in the crossbar that allow for a variable distance between the clamps when they are tightened down. This allows for some variation in the position of the balance point and the resulting difference in the width of the coaming at that point. Thus, you can leave some gear inside the kayak that inevitably effects the location of the balance point. Over the years, including several trips in Alaska and a traverse of the MN-ON border (Voyageur's Route) from International Falls to Grand Portage, and on to Duluth, I have found that I can get my heavy gear out of the kayak and clamp the yoke on, and double carry over the portages faster than most bumbling canoe parties. Only an efficient canoe group with a single carry is faster. It is still a bit of a chore, though, and to cut down on the number of portages, I gravitiated to the biggest of the lakes, which is where a sea kayak excells anyway. I would be happy to answer further questions; I hope this isn't too esoteric a topic for most. Andy Knapp Minneapolis Anybody got snow out there? *************************************************************************** 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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