Paddle transport cart

[Alasgun]

Im sure someone on here knows a good cart from a better cart. I need something to haul a 75 lb old town with roughly 20 lbs of gear going down a fair grade (10 deg) for about 200 yards; and then return with an additional 100-150 lbs. of fish.
Ive looked at a wilderness system and a seattle sports paddle boy carts.
uneven woods trail that i could easily drive my pickup on if it weren’t vehicle restricted.
Thanks, Mike

 

[billconner]

I'm a fan of the Suspenze All Terrain.

All-Terrain Super Duty Airless Cart

The only "All-Terrain Workhorse" cart on the market truly engineered for large watercraft and heavy loads that also provides the wheel clearance required for unique boat hull shapes!

suspenz.com

Easily carries a couple hundred pounds.

 

[tketcham]

billconner,​

That's the one we bought after looking at a bunch online and at REI. It's got good ground clearance, it's rugged, and what I like about it is that it can be easily modified and it's repairable if something breaks or wears out.

 

[billconner]

I used mine to move logs I couldn't lift in my yard. No problem.

I did find I had to get creative with how I strapped my canoe on it. Just around and canoe slid and rolled. I found not going across but going forward and back to thwarts, with a double wrap on thwart worked. I think I'll go to 4 shorter cam straps or just rope, and just go from cart "corners" to thwarts, so it can't move.

 

[tketcham]

Yup, some tension is needed to keep the canoe in place. I was thinking of installing tie-down straps on the cart similar to what I have as tie-downs in my camping canoe. Adjustable buckles make it fast and easy.

 

[billconner]

The Suspenze cart came with 2 cam straps. Just think 4 separate would be better.

 

[tketcham]

True, cam straps probably provide more leverage and holding power and is the better solution.

 

[Alasgun]

Thanks guys, this’ll give me something to chew on!

* on edit; i have that cart headed this way. After closely scrutinizing it, i see an easy modification to the bunks that will enhance the fit to my canoe and with the canoe in the shop this can easily be done before the water gets soft!

Thanks for the input folks! I’ll show you what i do to it.

 

[tketcham]

After closely scrutinizing it, i see an easy modification to the bunks...

That's what I like about it; easy to customize. Looking forward to seeing your modification.

This cart was inspiring me to take a couple of old 20" kids bicycles and take the triangular sections formed by the seat tube and rear stays to make a folding cart. My motivation waned and that was that.

 

[Alasgun]

Exactly; when i first looked at this one i told myself, you could build one that would improve a lot of things but the more i looked i quickly concluded i’ll just buy it and use it a season first. Then if there are many worthwile improvements, they could be made on “the new cart”.
The bunks are what i’ll focus on on this one. Soft round foam is a great fit all but something matching the hull shape will be an easy adder.

 

[Robin]

I built my own cart and used 2x4’s with canoe canvas wrapped around them for bunks. It has worked well on the few trips I took it,

 

[tketcham]

Impressive cart you built. Looks like it could haul just about anything you'd want to portage.

 

[yknpdlr]

I have used the type of cart that Bill referenced for a long time. The original model was called the "Canadian Walker". I used it mainly for racing with a fairly heavy woodstrip voyageur canoe on the Adirondack 90 mile canoe race several times. I beefed up the relatively short supports with longer wood supports covered with carpet to better cradle the canoe. I like this cart because, unlike many other designs, it does not have a through axle between the wheels that would get hung up on larger rocks and roots on rough trails. Even with lighter canoe loads, when tightened down hard with cam straps (never rachet straps), when one wheel or the other strikes an obstacle, the canoe may tend to shift and angle off sideways unless you restrict it with straps (or stiff black rubber bungees) connecting a thwart to each side of the cart.

The lean2rescue team needed something similar but much more beefy to haul logs and other heavy materials into a leanto construction or repair site. A cart of similar design was made using old motorcycle wheels, which works well for us to carry the heavy stuff on trails. and woods roads.

 

[tketcham]

yknpdlr,​

So my bicycle wheels idea wasn't too far off. I still may construct one just to see how it turns out. I have one portage that's riddled with mudholes and standing water. I'd like to have some additional ground clearance while walking our canoe through those sections.

 

[billconner]

That the Suspenze folds flat and as yknpdlt points out no axle are both positives. Fit easily in my Tranquility on packs.

 

[Paddlinhal]

Yup, I bought a Canadian Boat Walker about 25 years ago and have put many miles on it. The design is tried and true, basically the same as the Suspenz. I have flirted with other designs mostly because 16 pounds is a ridiculous amount of weight for a single purpose gizmo. Still searching...

 

[billconner]

16 pounds is a ridiculous amount of weight for a single purpose gizmo

YES! but I didn't find many much less and not sure they'd last. Portage drones anyone?

 

[Alasgun]

My cart arrived and id like to share with you how “the upgrades going”. My goal is to use it a season and get a better feel before jumping in and building something i may not use!
I’m very impressed with the workmanship at this price point, however when you make something this universal there will he compromises! In this case all the foldy places are a bit sloppy. No problem, i can fix that. I first found the widest wheel location and using red loctite and the nuts provided secured the fixed end of each wheel. Then i found the widest bunk spacing i could get and have good tire clearance. To do that, i peeled off the O.E.M foam supports and fashioned a pair of 2x4 bunks; that will get covered with marine carpet. All of the quick change clips went away and were replaced with 3/16ths bolts with lock nuts. In the posture shown, it will fit both of my boats just fine.
The wood bunks will be held to the frame with a pair of hose clamps going thru the machined slot and around the tube. With proper adjustment the bunks will tilt to accommodate slight hull differences. I may set a boat on the cart and see if there would be any gain by planing the tops of the bunks to improve the contour?
My bunks were lengthened to 20 inch and I'm a lot more comfortable with this, i’ve got about 4 hours in it and expect to have another couple hours before completion.

 

[billconner]

So, are you not folding it for portages? Folded flat on it fit on top of a pack and below gunwales in my Tranq.

 

[Alasgun]

It still folds just fine; all i did was eliminate all the adjustments And extraneous hardware. I really don’t see myself portaging up here, more of an access thing for me. Time will tell, maybe a portage drone isn’t out of the question?