Removing Yok?

[yellowcard129]

I'm thinking about removing one of the Yoks on my 16ft royalex canoe. I know some of these are put in for structural support. I'm just wondering if anyone has done this or if anyone thinks this will cause any problems. I just want the extra room and I'm thinking it will be OK with just the main yok.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

That doesn't look like a Royalex canoe, but as to your question about removing a stern quarter thwart, I don't think it would do any immediate damage on a 16' canoe. The canoe would have less lateral structural support and more stress on the gunwales in that area, but it would probably be okay on trips if it had a center thwart and two seats. If I were doing this, I'd probably put wing nuts on that thwart so I could easily remove it for trips and then put it back in while the canoe spends most of its time on land in storage.

 

[pblanc]

The thing you have drawn a circle around is properly called a thwart, not a yoke. And as Glenn said, that is not a Royalex canoe. If the boat is 16 feet in length or less you probably won't notice too much difference with that stern thwart removed, especially in a composite canoe which tend to be less flexible than a Royalex boat. The boat might flex a little reducing efficiency slightly, but it isn't going to fall apart or anything.

 

[yellowcard129]

Thanks for the reply. The picture is just an example of the same canoe and the thwart I want to remove on it. Not an actual picture of my royalex canoe.

 

[pblanc]

Thanks for the reply. The picture is just an example of the same canoe and the thwart I want to remove on it. Not an actual picture of my royalex canoe.

It might help if you told us exactly what 16 foot Royalex canoe you have. You might notice a bit more hull torquing in a Royalex hull than you would in a composite hull with the thwart removed. For what it is worth, Mad River sold some 16' Royalex canoes that came stock with only the two seats, a center yoke, and two short carry handles near the stems but no supplemental thwarts. These included the Eclipse, the Royalex Explorer, and the Freedom.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

This thread has gone off the rails due to a few posts now deleted and is closed. Yellowcard, I think you have gotten reasonable answers to your thwart question, but you may also start another thread on the same subject if you wish.