Im looking for ideas to convert a homemade portage yoke designed for threaded anchor gunwale inserts to one that will grip standard Northstar carbon fiber gunwales without damage.
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Removeable Yoke for CF Gunwales
- Thread starter Black_Fly
- Start date
I had a yoke long ago with those plastic two-piece clamps. I found these and some videos of yokes made with them. The downside is the product is canoe specific since the hole must be drilled precisely. I may give them a shot, perhaps with two sets of holes for two different solo boats. Maybe I’ll dip the ends of the yoke in liquid rubber to cushion the carbon fiber a little.
Tryin,
Piragis still sells a yoke with those clamps. I had one long ago but it was very clunky, heavy. I’d love to find those clamps, however.
Piragis still sells a yoke with those clamps. I had one long ago but it was very clunky, heavy. I’d love to find those clamps, however.
Whew, they are proud of them. McMaster-Carr had some similar, but even more moolah.
Removable Yoke Hardware - Swift Canoe & Kayak Outdoor Centres
Clamp-on style hardware for Swift Removable yokes (Pre 2019)
swiftoutside.com
Northstar sells some overpriced bent aluminum that works kinda the same.
Yoke Pads & Clamp-on Yokes | Northstar Canoes
www.northstarcanoes.com
Yeah, I have a NS solo yoke. It works well for my NW Solo, but I’m careful. I dipped the aluminum clamps to cushion the CF gunnels. It’s short for the canoe I want to build one for, which has a 30” beam. I do however, like the thin wood NS uses. The NS yoke is only about 5/8” thick.
I saw those Swift clamps, but availability is often an issue with their accessories, in addition to the price and the shipping charges to the U.S.
I saw those Swift clamps, but availability is often an issue with their accessories, in addition to the price and the shipping charges to the U.S.
Savage river lists two yokes on their site, one wood (no photo) and carbon fiber (bad thumbnail).
So basically no info… do you have pics? Tell us about how their yoke works compared to traditional solo clamp-on yokes…
Bonus points if you know the weight.
Here is a pic, it uses a protected cam buckle for closure. With the gunwale setups that I saw, it gives you about 4-5" of front/back adjustment, maybe more with straight gunwale lines. I didn't have a scale, but I would guess ~18-22oz.
An aspect I didn't really think about was how much the strap firmed up the sides while shouldered for carry. There was very little "bounce" to the arrangement, certainly much less than I have experienced with other very lightweight layups. I believe this is the result of stress being transmitted into the chines along the arc of the hull via the strap, rather than across the chord. This allows for flex to be constrained by the strap, instead of the gunwale collapsing toward the bottom of the hull.
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Thanks - had forgotten that the thumbnail actually expanded.
Not really in love with it. For tripping, there is a zero percent chance I am strapping a yoke around the hull. With my current setup I can exit the canoe, attach the yoke, clip in the paddle, put on the pack and get the boat on my shoulders...walking in under two minutes. At the other end of the portage I can be paddling in under one minute.
I do like that it could be moved forward and back.
Guess I am picky. Needs to be very light, very fast to attach/detach and tough (100% reliable).
Not really in love with it. For tripping, there is a zero percent chance I am strapping a yoke around the hull. With my current setup I can exit the canoe, attach the yoke, clip in the paddle, put on the pack and get the boat on my shoulders...walking in under two minutes. At the other end of the portage I can be paddling in under one minute.
I do like that it could be moved forward and back.
Guess I am picky. Needs to be very light, very fast to attach/detach and tough (100% reliable).
FWIW, I had never used the system before and had the yoke on in less than 30 seconds. Floating the hull over the strap in the water was the quickest. Faster than my Swift clamp, and waaaay faster than the two Wenonah options. But, I definitely dont have my system tuned to the level that you have, so the yoke attachment time is comparatively insignificant regardless...
Running a strap around the hull is a clever idea. I can see that being quicker than most clamps in many situations.FWIW, I had never used the system before and had the yoke on in less than 30 seconds. Floating the hull over the strap in the water was the quickest. Faster than my Swift clamp, and waaaay faster than the two Wenonah options. But, I definitely dont have my system tuned to the level that you have, so the yoke attachment time is comparatively insignificant regardless...
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