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Canoe Cart

I like this type, I've used it on 3-4, 2 mile carries. This newer version has solid tires, not pneumatic.
 
Yes, the original version was known as the "Canadian Walker". I have three of them and can literally run on the Adirondack 90 miler canoe race. One is modified with longer supports to carry voyageur canoes as long as 34 feet. Solid tires would be better.
 
Spring creek manufacturing
I’m working on my phone, so not sure if I made the link properly, I have not used this cart, but have heard good things about it….you might want the larger 16” tires for your gravel road…..The gear I have purchased from them is top notch and outstanding customer service….the cart is a little pricey, when you first get to their website, a pop up coupon for 10% off on your first order shows up….it’s a family business and all the welded products are made right there….when you call with questions, you are probably speaking with the person making the product…..

Mike
 
I can't see a link or photos. I can google it myself if I at least had a company name.
 
I have the 25 year old version of these:

 
You also have to consider the roughness of the terrain you expect to travel over. if the cart has a common through axle connecting both wheels, then it will be a low point when traversing over boulders and roots. That was a consideration when I bought my carts for rocky heavily rooted deep mud Adirondack carry trails, which are of similar design as the cart that ALSG andKeithA possted instead of the Spring Creek style. No through axle is most desirable.
 
I recommend the suspenz. Very happy with it once I figured out a "lacing" pattern that prevented the canoe from rotating or sliding.
 
I recommend the suspenz. Very happy with it once I figured out a "lacing" pattern that prevented the canoe from rotating or sliding.
Especially when transpsorting on rough trails, a long boat will tend to rotate and become offset or slide reward on the supports, as one wheel or the other bounces along over rocks or roots. This can make for a vey awkward situation on the trail. Dual tie down cam straps have to be fastened very tight and "laced" over a thwart to begin with and frequently rechecked. With experience, you learn how to rig additional stabilizing external ties, such from a thwart to the cart. I have used black rubber bungees along with short loops of rope of appropriate length.
 
I recommend the suspenz. Very happy with it once I figured out a "lacing" pattern that prevented the canoe from rotating or sliding.
Amen. When I wheeled my canoe down the Allagash Lake portage trail using my little Malone cart (not recommend b/c of small diamter wheels), I quickly learned that what I thought was a bomb-proof job of strapping down my canoe wasn't. Belly straps, no matter how tight and how cleverly tied around thwarts just were not enough on that trail and I eventually had to stop and tie the bow and stern painters back to the cart to stop the canoe from rotating/twisting when the cart hit any ruts or rocks. 8F4AA50F-3FFA-4FDD-A920-D8E93A642BD8_1_105_c.jpeg
 
We use a Swedish Cart. We had absolutely no trouble on our walk into Allagash Lake ( about a mile) The pic above is of a smooth part.. the end of the Carry Trail is rocky.

Make sure you get one if you go that way that has non inflatable tires.
 
I built this one, tough and strong but not collapsable, it did come in handy on the Marshall Lake portage, 1 mile of decent trail, so easy Memaquay was able to pop open a Bud lite after he finished his du Maurier cigarette.


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I did the same thing Gamma 1214 did.
I haven't used it, as I don't need to portage much locally, and you can't use them in the BWCA.
A pretty easy conversion.

Jim
 
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Canadian boat walker/Swedish style/all-terrain super duty… whatever imitation you accept… it’s hard to beat the style for reliability.

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I have the same cart as has variously been called the Swedish Boat Cart or Canadian Walker. Got it discounted at Cabela's for around $75 about 10 years ago.

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When carting with a mid-hull cart, make sure you pack everything close to center for optimum balance, ease of lift and maneuverability.

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This kind of bicycle wheel cart worked very well on about 4 miles of road on this trip.

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To prevent the fore-aft sliding or rotational twisting on rocky and bumpy paths that others have described, there's nothing like having infinitely useful slotted inwales on a canoe. Snaking and wrapping the straps through the scuppered slots attaches the canoe solidly to the cart frame.

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The only thing I don't like at all about this cart is the inflatable tires. They lose air and go flat within three weeks in my garage. Going flat in the bush would be crippling. There is a small pump and patch kit that attaches to the frame, but it's cheap stuff. I'm thinking of finding tubes for the tires and filling them with some sort of puncture prevention slime.

Purchasing anew, I'd get this style of cart with solid tires to avoid all the air leak and puncture hassle. Seattle Sports now offers the Paddleboy ATC with airless tires.


On edit: Paddleboy ATC less expensive on Amazon.

 
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I got fed up with carts breaking all the time, so I bought the cheapest one I could find, replaced the aluminium rivets with stove bolts and gusseted every joint or bend, and drilled out the cheap plastic hubs and added brass bushings on the wheels, it doubled the weight but now handles a loaded canoe in Temagami, where the granite ridges can tear a good cart apart in one trip...
 
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