C-Forum

Going through midterms, so naturally I am looking for something to do to kill time and fail some exams.

I want to outfit something on my boat to make carrying it easier. I usually just set the saddle on the top of my head or rest a gunwale on my shoulder. This works, but sucks after a couple hundred meters.

How do you carry your boat?

Are there any carrying systems people have made out there that can transfer the weight to both shoulders like a yoke? Pictures would be sweet.

Dave

A full minicell saddle - balanced on the back of shoulder-neck is perhaps the absolute best ... that I know

Alternate as needed, an never, ever never put your boat down.... can usually get up to 2miles this way.

So your saying rest the boat so the back of the saddle is on your shoulders/back of neck balancing with an arm and the bow is pointing to the ground?

Front of the saddle on the shoulder is common and works for me. I've experimented with seat belt webbing across the gunnels set up so it was removable. Good in theory but the saddle got in the way of my head for balance. Lately I've been a big supporter of the redneck portage (read:drag)

i've played around with with simply using my paddle as a yoke...thigh straps held it in place.. no goofy extra crap to carry.

I couldn't quite get the balance right (note to self: revisit), but i sure liked having the weight even on both shoulders.

I've carried my boats balanced on my head for decades. I think my distance record was half a mile for a 50 pound c-1.

When I attended my 50 year high school class reunion, I was surprised that I have held my full height, but guys who used to be the same height have lost a couple of inches. Weight bearing decreases spinal bone loss.

For heavier boats, I have tried balancing the minicell saddle on the extension bar of my old Kelty pack frame. Transfers weight to the hips and shoulders, but feels a bit tricky when there's a lot of wind. And, you have to store the packframe in the boat.

Carrying a really heavy (85 pound) canoe on even a padded portage yoke can be a miserable chore. The persistent pressure on the shoulders is painful.

Any thoughts on this option?

http://carryyak.com/

I wonder if there is a way to reverse engineer this concept onto your existing thwart using a throwbag and your breakdown paddle...

OC-1 - some boats balance well on my head - the SF does that well, though by the end of the walk up and out at Woodall or the Upper Green, I'm an inch shorter *. Some I can sit the front of the pedestal on the back of my neck. The best is the carry yoke on the 16' cruiser. I do *not* like carrying that much on one shoulder.

C-1 - not many balance well on my head and I end up with them on one shoulder or the other. Some of those boats are dang near as heavy as OC-1s so I don't like that (the slalom boat I don't even notice I was looking for some Alice straps (military back pack) because that is what my old Dan Brown quick release thigh straps are based on and all I found locally was some cheap knock offs - no good for thigh straps, but with some scrap webbing and a couple of biners I rigged a way to carry my Remix on my back. A little ungainly and tall (could be an issue some places with over hanging limbs) but worth some more experimenting. Not too heavy either. Tried using the thigh straps and it wasn't comfortable (what with the cockpit) and was concerned about the stress on the anchors.

Some day I'll go glass and/or get a set of those wheels...

After carrying my 50 lb boat on my head for many years, I ended up with a pinched nerve in my neck. Just sayin'...

I temporarily had some buzzing on the left side of my neck from the auricular nerve, which exits very high in the cervical column. Haven't had it lately, though.

The women of Africa do most of the real work there by carrying loads on their heads. Studies have shown that carrying loads on the head is more energy efficient than carrying on a back pack.

But if you get serious nerve issues, you gotta quit.

My asterisk after "I'm an inch shorter" was supposed to lead to a footnote :

* No, really, I'm an inch shorter than I was when I graduated college and took up this sport. I sure hope these bones are denser (if shorter) what with all this load bearing (en route to my) exercise... No particular pain or discomfort, though, unless I'm carrying on my shoulder for very long.

What has worked for me is,

1. solo yoke, removable, that has quick release system, used on solo ww wilderness trips.

2. saddle on the shoulder for short carries, switching shoulders as required.

3. saddle on shoulder with one thigh strap as a tumpline, works pretty good. Again, switch side as required. Pretty easy to get into but it took me a bit to get used to getting out of it when putting the canoe down.

4. saddle on the head when I really need to see where I'm going.

I was thinking of just wrapping a piece of webbing around the hull with a buckle. Tighten the strap around the boat in the center and use it as a center thwart.

Thoughts? Could this be bad for the hull?

Dave

I would like to replicate the removable carrying yoke I've used on my tripping boats. It would need to be taller to accommodate the saddle, and that would throw the center of gravity off, but I've always felt better with the boat on my shoulders than on my head. Fifty five pounds on your neck could go very wrong very fast, especially when going up uneven footing, like the Loop takeout on the LY

Mohawk use to make a web system that attaches to the sides, then buckles in the center. It worked if the webbing stayed tight, but the velcro to keep it rolled up sometimes would rub your shoulder