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My To Do List

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My GF is about 100 lbs. soaking wet so carrying my beast of a boat around can be problematic. A canoe cart seemed the simple solution. First on my to do list. Having a bit of Scottish in my blood prevented me from buying one. I saw many made from PVC pipe but after pricing it out, It looked like it would be about 50$ in pieces and glue etc. Still a little rich for the Scottsman in me. So I decided to go with something I could get free. Plywood. I still needed wheels so I went to Princess Auto (Think Canadian version of Harbor Freight) and the guy there did me a solid. In the back they had a returns bin with some tires off of a generator I think. Said to help myself. Great! I was down to a piece of ready rod and 2 nuts which I found kicking around in the garage. This is what I ended up with. I did cut it on the CNC but this could easily be done with a jig saw. If you have ideas on how to improve it or want the cad file please let me know. I did cut some mini pool noodle to cap the rails with. So far it's holding up. I may need to stain it if it looks like it is going to stick around awhile.
 

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It looks like your bunks are long enough in keel line orientation that the empty cart might sit propped up at a convenient / angle to pivot/move/balance the center of the canoe atop. If not you may want need to add some kind of kick stand. The bunks don’t need to be perfectly level, but loading the canoe onto a center hauler it helps if the bunks are held less than near vertical.

I use a center hauler cart, mostly to get from the roof racks to the launch. Yes, I am that lazy, especially when it is a hundred yard walk back and forth from the truck.

On heavily laden camper trips I don’t fully gear load the canoe at the launch, but do pile in lighter, bulkier gear as well as paddles and PFD, make one trip down with that lightest stuff, and return to man haul the heavier stuff, taking the cart back with me to store in the truck.

When I take out after a trip I carry the heaviest pack(s) up to the truck first, grab the cart and walk back to wheel up the rest. But on more lightly loaded day paddling trips I’ll fully load and “dress” the canoe beside the truck, well away from the launch, make one trip down and git gone.

PC110015 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

Day paddling at popular put-ins that gets me on the water and out of anyone’s way faster, which is good by me. And when taking out, post-trip when I have achieved an idyllic state of mind, I really appreciate getting away and on the road in short order. Oh no, there’s other people here. I’m not sure I am ready for other people!
 
I've nearly worn out my Canadian Boat Walker, which is what is was called back in the 90's when I bought it. I use mine for multi-mile portages on old logging roads and paved shoulders. I like the 16" wheels and the high ground clearance but the 16 pounds is the definition of irony when you have to carry it on a rough portage. I guess weight isn't an issue if you leave it at the put-in, but you would think there would be one performance cart out there on the market.
 
I don’t think I’d have another cart with small wheels. I attempted a very bumpy portage in the ADKs a couple years ago and it was more trouble than it was worth. A cloud of obscenities still hover over that trail.

Bob
 
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