[Paddlewise] Yoke for a Kayak

Hello all:

The kayak portage yoke issue was discussed a bit back in 1998. After several
years of toting a light touring kayak around the BWCA in the 1970's, I
developed a removeable and adjustable yoke in 1980 to make things easier and
more comfortable. Following below is the post written in 1998 describing
this yoke:

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


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