C-Forum

Does anyone have experience with those C1packs. Some kind of harness to carry the boat.
I want it to cary the boat to the put in on a trip next summer. The problem is that to the put in it is a rather long hike (20km) and it sucks to carry it on the shoulder.

I saw different systems but have no experience. Thanks!

On the river, Jan

Many, many years ago I made a replacement frame for an externally-framed backpack. I added yokes on top that made it possible to carry an OC on its central thwart. I only used it a couple times - it wasn't much of an improvement to just carrying the boat on my shoulders. On the other hand, the old boat weighed 70 lbs, which is a lot heavier than a typical C1. At less than 40 lbs, and with less swing weight, a carrier might be pretty comfortable. Do you have a link or a picture of the C1pack?

For many years I have carried boats, decked and open boats, balanced on my head. This may not have been smart in the long run, because now one of my cervical nerves is acting up a little.

I can still carry my light c-boats (Zealot and Wide Ride) with the seat balanced on my head, and I can do this for very long distances if necessary. For my principal open boat, a Mad River Synergy, I can no longer carry it with the triple saddle balanced on my head, so recently I put on my old Kelty Mountaineer exterior frame pack, with its loop extender on top, and threw the Synergy up so that the triple saddle surface rested on the loop extender. It was very comfortable, and I am sure I could carry the boat that way for a quarter mile before needing to rest.

If you have the typical 45 pound c-1, I would suggest that you try to rig up a BROAD shoulder strap so that you can hook the other end of the strap to the side, or to the inside cockpit, of the boat, and can carry it horizontally under one arm. Maybe you can carry the rest of your stuff under your other arm for balance.

I don't think much of the "kayak pack" things, neither the ones that leave the bow of the boat towering high over your head, nor the ones that have the boat hanging horizontal. These might work pretty well in open desert environments, but where there are forests, rock embankments, and overhangs, these carrying arrangements will not work. Surprisingly, "heading" the boat under such circumstances still works fairly well, though occasionally I have to drop the boat down under one arm.

You could always make a drag plate from a piece of garbage can, attach it to one end of the boat, and drag it.

I like that drag plate idea. Its simple and effective. The only problem is carry in/carry(paddle) out, but with a little thought the right material, sizing, attachment and stowage can be worked out.
Maybe I'll try and treat my Kaz masterpieces with a little more respect in the future and carry a stowable skid plate. However a 20km drag carry is a horse of a different color. Didn't Verlen Kruger just add massive layers of kevlar into his "voyager" boat for long dragging portages. The same principle worked for him, although he tackled it with a slightly different solution. Good luck on your trip next year.
Pat
Sorry Kaz, now I'll never ever wear your boats out and you'll have to work harder to get rich and famous. Oops - I forgot, you're already famous.

Thanks!
I was thinking of that thing they had on Lindgrens Tsangpo trip. I just saw pictures. I heard that it is a drag because the boat touches the feet when walking.
I cannot imagine to carry the boat on my head for such a long time. I did carry canoes a lot in the past, even for longer distances on some trips but the portages were scattered. This is one portage and it goes uphill a considerable distance.

I think I will expreiment with the drag idea.

Bob, I saw a banner on the web with this link:
http://www.yakpaks.com/
but it seems to be dead

For the first few kilometers, I might even consider a one wheel cart...

what is the trip, what river etc? Sounds pretty interesting.

The website for this is:

http://www.kayakpack.com/

I think It might work in a moderately steep, open or only lightly wooded area. I would not want to carry any one of my boats through dense woods with this.

I have never done a portage near as long as this, but when I have to portage my boat for anyy length of time/distance, I turn it upside down and backwards, so that the foam of the saddle rests on my head, and I throw all my gear into the bow of my boat.
This is fairly comfortable and works for me, but I have only done this for about 2-3 km on a day trip with light gear.

Hope this helps.

martin

I too used to carry my boat on my head for long distances. The result was a compressed vertibrae that is still sensitive 10 years later. In '94, on my way to the Nationals, I stopped off at the Yough for a Loop run, walking back to the put-in with the boat on my head. At the race, my upper arm was so weak that I couldn't hold the paddle up. Don't do that no mo'...

My pack design had extensions on the pack frame that held the boat horizontally, above my head. The weight was not cantilevered out like the kayak pack shown on the web site.

Jan,
I have a 'yak-pack' that I purchased from Salamander. It is well-designed and is comfortable when properly set up. I have used it to haul my old converted Perception Stikine (9'6" long) several miles. The Stikine does not drag on the ground. A shorted boat would be better, a longer boat would be impractical to carry on my back this way. The yak-pack was setup so that the boat extended several feet over my head. So long as you have sufficient overhead clearance this works well.
So if you have a C1 shorter than 91/2 feet and reasonable overhead clearance on the trail, this setup is highly recommended. The Finkenmeister in my future at 9'2" will work well with this Salamander 'yak-pack'.
SYOTR,
Bruce

I have set up my C-1s in the past with extra long thing straps, and used them as backpack straps. I'll put my PFD on the saddle to bring the saddle height up, and then strap her on. This will only work with fairly short sterned boats, but It was great on my Disco, and works on uphills with my H2-245. The stern of the boat hits the ground on downhill sections though, unless you lean forward, which can be unnerving on downhill section with 50lbs of boat over and ahead of you.

What I do with my vibe is I'll let the suicide belt out real far, and wear it like a messenger bag. This would work for jsut about any boat I'd think.

Anyways, maybe one of those will work for ya

Tim