Chestnut carrying yoke.

[ford832]

Hi all.I was just wondering if anyone had a plan for an original design chestnut carrying yoke.
I believe in keeping everything as original as possible and will hang on to the original but it's just a straight thwart and it made bad cracking noises when I got it on my shoulders the first time.The fact the canoe weighs 120 lbs likely doesn't help but I figured if I could accurately duplicate an original that may be acceptable to me-maybe.

 

[Murat V]

Check out Mike Elliot's blog post HERE. There's a plan of what you might be looking for...

 

[Rob Stevens]

I found Mike Elliot's blog interesting. Never saw a canoe yoke with a space for the C7 vertebra before.

 

[ford832]

Perfect.Exactly what I was looking for,thanks.

 

[Todd Bradshaw]

it made bad cracking noises when I got it on my shoulders

At 120 lbs. maybe the cracking noise WAS your shoulders.

 

[ford832]

Hahahaha.I had the same thought.I also had visions of the thwart breaking and and the canoe smashing down on my head.

 

[Giiwedin]

Chestnut yokes were abominable. I suffered two supplied by the company with their Prospectors over a 2,000 mile trip from Lake Athabasca to Lake Superior. Excruciatingly uncomfortable and so stout they could never flex under load, the Chestnut yokes were everything a serious carrying device should not be - in stark contrast to the Prospector, an unparalleled wilderness craft.

I confess I am partial to Minnesota-style yokes w/ pads - for any number of good reasons. That said, if you want a true Chestnut yoke for historical restoration here is a photo of the original from 1965. Regarding Mike Elliot's blog - I've never encountered a Chestnut yoke with a notch, or a serious wilderness tripper with his yoke facing aft.

 

[Mark Adams]

nor have I ever known a competent wilderness traveler that faces his yoke aft.

View attachment 17334

Mike does not say to have the yoke facing aft, rather have the NOTCH face aft.

 

[Giiwedin]

Yes he does. "You will be facing the stern of the canoe when portaging, so ensure that the yoke is oriented with the notch facing the stern." One commenter to the blog wonders if he's been doing something wrong for the last 45 years - by portaging the canoe bow first.

 

[Rob Stevens]

re Chestnut yoke photo;
that looks like a wrench for breaking necks!

 

[ford832]

Thanks for the pic but I think maybe I'll go with the other.That one looks getting manacled and clamped in the stocks for punishment.I think if the canoe caught anything it would break your neck.
I carry my fiberglass stern first,does that make me an incompetent?
I replaced the center thwart with a yoke but also wanted a center seat that would seat two little girls side by side.Doing this would put that seat too close to the front and I didn't want to move the front seat forward so I made the seat/yoke as one unit to keep it as aft as possible and moved it back 1.5".It works great but the design meant I had to carry stern first.I adjusted the location to balance this way.I thought this was fine.Now you're going to have me portaging with a bag over my head in case someone sees me.I hold you responsible if I trip and fall.

 

[Mark Adams]

He does indeed say that you'll be facing the stern. It must be a typo though, because he also make it very clear that the notch must face the stern. There is no way to do both. The yoke would throttle you if you portaged as described.

 

[ford832]

Speaking of Mike Elliot's blog,did anyone happen to read the piece on the 17' Prospector he restored?He took it on a hunting trip and as he was packing up to leave.......



I think I'd sit down and cry.

 

[MackyM]

Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time for a cup of coffee and a serious talk with God. You know, "why me" and "this is not fair". Talk about a good reason to have a trailer that only carries one canoe.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Being a Minnesotian, I'm also biased to the yoke/pad method, to the point that I would never use a different method.

I did try a carved thwart in a little 16ft Thompson I did a few years ago, it LOOKED great, but felt terrible,
I removed it and put in a proper set of yoke and pads.

As for carrying the canoe backwards, well, people do all kinds of strange things at portages,
though having to turn the canoe around twice at each portage seems to be a bit much.

Dan

 

[Douglas Ingram]

Speaking of Mike Elliot's blog,did anyone happen to read the piece on the 17' Prospector he restored?He took it on a hunting trip and as he was packing up to leave.......

View attachment 17363

I think I'd sit down and cry.

That can be fixed!

It really doesn't matter if the canoe is carried bow or stern first. The only thing that changes is which side of the canoe you stand at while hoisting it up.

I've made a number of yokes, and carried canoes around the shop with yokes in all manner of shaping. A bad yoke is not of much benefit at all, and there are a lot of those around. It must be shaped so that the load is on the shoulders and not pinching on the neck. that is a lot of complex shaping to do and most yoke makers are not willing to put in the work. Also, as good as any one yoke may be, everybody's shoulder/neck area is shaped differently! What's a poor yoke maker to do?

 

[Rob Stevens]

It really doesn't matter if the canoe is carried bow or stern first. The only thing that changes is which side of the canoe you stand at while hoisting it up.

I'm really glad you said that, Douglas. I have been stumped about why folks are so concerned which end of the canoe goes down the portage first.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

It doesn't have anything to do which end goes down the trail 1st, it's which end comes out of and goes in the water first.
Again, there's no point in turning the canoe around twice at each portage.
And yes, some portages can be landed at and launched from parellel to the shore, but many more cannot be.

On the other hand, if your landing/launching from a nice sand beach, it doesn't matter how the canoe is carried or which direction it faces.

concerned which end of the canoe goes down the portage first.

 

[ford832]

For me I'd carry whichever way the yoke-if equipped-dictated of course.Otherwise,I'd carry whichever way balanced the best.
As for the Chestnut,I was more concerned with what was correct for the period.I want to be able to carry it but given the weight,I doubt I'll be carrying it too terribly far.