Canoe Carts 'Show & Tell' at 2016 Assembly

mccloud

"Tiger Rag" back on the tidal Potomac
In Memoriam
Canoe carts are often used to get the canoe to and from the car to the water, or perhaps on a long portage. Last fall at the mini-Assembly there was a 'show & tell' about carts, carts that work, as well as carts that don't. I thought this session went very well, and so an even bigger and better cart comparison is planned for Assembly on Thursday, 14 July, at 3pm. At this moment I have 3 people lined up to make presentations, but to do a good job we need more. If 10 or 12 of you will present at 5 minutes each, with your input, I will write this up as a "Consumers Report" review of canoe carts for Wooden Canoe. The more the better! We need examples of good carts and poor carts. We need to know what modifications you have made to improve your cart. We need homemade carts. We need to know if the cart you bought is a piece of junk! So bring your carts of all sorts to Assembly, even those you don't much like, and participate. If you have a cart that rates showing, send me an email: tommccld@gmail.com Tom McCloud
 
Well, I have discarted (sic) the ones that don't work. They were made from discarded golf bag carts. Over the years I picked up several different designs from roadside trash, then modified them to carry a canoe. None of them worked well. There structural integrity was lacking for the weight of a canoe. All folded for de-deployment. Some were lightweight, built of aluminum. Some had plastic-spoked wheels. All failed to do this task for which they were not designed, even with considerable modification.

That said. I also have purchased a pneumatic wheeled folding cart that I think was intended for transporting kayaks. It too was less than adequate for use with a canoe.

So, I am looking forward to the cart sharing session at Assembly. Even better if folks bring their surplus carts to sell/barter/trade with seekers such as myself.
 
I hope you can find good examples of bad carts and bring them along. People looking to buy can learn from bad examples what will not work. Craig Johnson has re-purposed an old wheelchair as a cart just for moving canoes around his shop and driveway, but he says it's too big to bring along :(. I'd like to see other such improvised carts at the show & tell. Tom McCloud
 
...And for those of us who can't get to Assembly, an article in Wooden Canoe would be much appreciated!!!
 
...And for those of us who can't get to Assembly, an article in Wooden Canoe would be much appreciated!!!

The article starting on page seven of the Wooden Canoe Journal issue number 184 from August, 2014 by Zip Kellogg titled "Ramblings About Canoe Carriers" has a good summary to get you started. I have used what he describes as the "Swedish canoe carrier" for many years with great success. See http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?2112 for some antique solutions.

Benson
 

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Only two weeks remain before Assembly. Have you found the perfect canoe cart? Please bring it to the cart show-and-tell and let everyone else look at it. On Thursday I'll set up a Canoe Cart Corral where the carts can be displayed and examined prior to the afternoon show.

The attachment shows one of my carts. It bothered me that the entire weight of the canoe rested on the keel, so I added thick pipe insulation foam. Now the weight is distributed over a much broader area, plus it is soft.

Have you similarly improved a cart? Please bring it to Assembly and show it off! Tom McCloud
 

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I have not had much luck with carts.
I would be interested in one that could handle this portage:
 

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Little doubt that Alice had to contend with some like this during her Northern Forest trip, which will be one of the presentations, but short of equipping the cart with a chainsaw, there is no easy way around your third photo.
Tom McCloud
 
I would have given up my bourbon supply for my chainsaw.:p
The water in picture one is waist deep. Beavers are floating birch logs in the trail.

Here's a picture a through paddler we helped out on the carry. Skip Ciccarelli completed the NFCT in 25 days solo.
He carried his wheels. I believe that quite a few through paddlers are opting to have their boats transported around the carry and putting in at Telos. Kayakers simply drag their boats behind them.
 

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MGC: You didn't see the, "Moose for Hire" sign at the start? :cool:

Thanks for sharing your exploits.

Fitz
 
re: carts

Despite threatening rain, the Canoe Cart Show & Tell came off as scheduled. Thanks to everyone who participated. I've begun working on an article for Wooden Canoe. However, I did not get an information sheet from every participant. That sheet is attached. If you live a thousand miles away, were not at Assembly, and have a cart that you would like included in the review, please print the sheet and mail it to me! If you were at Assembly and took photos of the carts and presenters, I could use some of those as well. Thanks for the help. Tom McCloud
 

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I have not had much luck with carts.
I would be interested in one that could handle this portage:


Thus proving that Portage is French for torture. Q.E.D.
 
Lots of people contributed carts and talked about their "features" and drawbacks. I was amazed that many weren't commercial, but DIY inventions cobbled together from "found" materials (and in some cases quarter sawn oak with Egyptian wheels!). It would be great to compile this info and photos to be shared in an article for Wooden Canoe as well as to retain on the Knowledge Database.
 
While carts are interesting,

in general, they are not legal in the BW.
And with portages looking like Mike showed, they would be just another item to carry.

Dan

I have not had much luck with carts.
I would be interested in one that could handle this portage:
 
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