I think I must be missing something; that wide webbing fore of the seat has my curiosity... what exactly is the function?
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Happy 1st Sighting of Pacific Ocean by Lewis & Clark (1805)! 🧭
“Need” a new solo!
- Thread starter Woodpuppy
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Strap yoke.
Instead of a removable wooden yoke that needs to be installed, uninstalled, stored, carried etc. Necessary because central seat leaves no room for a permanent yoke.
Instead of a removable wooden yoke that needs to be installed, uninstalled, stored, carried etc. Necessary because central seat leaves no room for a permanent yoke.
If you want more info and experimentation with strap yokes, here are two threads:
Strap Yoke Variation
I am a fan of strap yokes in solo canoes, especially for roof rack to water or short easy carries. The strap yoke is always there, takes only seconds to connect or disconnect, and I can not forget to bring it as with a detachable yoke. PC180134 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr On some heavier canoes...
www.canoetripping.net
anyone ever make their own removable yoke?
the balance point of my solo canoe will be very close to my knees when sitting. has anyone made their own removable yoke? advice, opinion, warnings?????
www.canoetripping.net
Thanks gents, makes good sense. I do find my removable wooden yoke more weight and fussing than I'd like for my 32 lb. Trillium, and have taken more to simply shouldering it, but my carries have been only a few hundred yards. I'll ponder the strap variation (as well as what sort of pad I'd like to add comfort for the shoulder carry).
@Woodpuppy congrats on your first outing, glad you like the Phoenix! Did you get the kneeling drops?
I feel like the Phoenix tracks well since I've been paddling terribly trimmed tandems solo for the last 5 yrs.
I feel like the Phoenix tracks well since I've been paddling terribly trimmed tandems solo for the last 5 yrs.
When I’m on flat water with my phoenix, I’ll usually start out with a couple of “C” strokes to get some forward momentum followed by regular strokes with the occasional “J” to keep me going straight….
@Woodpuppy- congrats on getting the boat wet!
Mike
@Woodpuppy- congrats on getting the boat wet!
Mike
I got both drops! Kneeling are installed now. It’s surprisingly good seated. My knees need some training.
I finally made it out in my boat! I was waffling on where to go; it was between Cascade Lake where I could test the handling as I paddle through the cypress forest, or Lake Hall where I could actually use an ottertail paddle. Lake levels at Cascade, Iamonia, and Hall are all very low. Lake Jackson has drained again. It’s been happening so often over the last year no one cares anymore. The Wacissa is also down. Well, Lake Hall won out. Bonus, it’s only about 15 minutes from my house. A small lake, bounded by perhaps a third of its perimeter by state park, it is a pretty spot. The only public access is through the park and gas outboards are prohibited (though not the case for the private landowners who have boats on the lake, nor the chase Jon boat for the crew club) so it’s quiet and low traffic.
Right out of the gate there was a problem.
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The webbing in that strap didn’t hold up to walking from the truck to the dock with the canoe on my shoulders. Luckily I heard that stretching/tearing sound and recognized it in time to set the leading edge of the seat on my shoulders and prevent dropping the boat. The webbing did fine in the garage, but I guess the dynamic load was too much for it. So now that I’ve got holes drilled in my boat, I’m not going to give up. I’ll order a 1.5” cam buckle for the kid seatbelt webbing I have. It is much more supple and densely woven; a better grade of material all around. I’m very glad I drilled my hole spacing for the narrower webbing. The paracord keeper worked like a champ however. So not all negative; I got a lesson in materials.
The boat? Oh I love the boat. It doesn’t track like my others, but it turns easier which is what I wanted. I wonder, would this boat have been frustrating as a first? Would I have learned to master correction strokes faster? When I started paddling my Prism I recalled everyone saying how well it tracked and how hard to turn etc. and I thought they were nuts. I had a helluva time paddling it straight. But in time my technique improved. I learned to turn to my on-side in a 17’ Encounter, which was quite the revelation. The Polaris was my first differentially rockered boat and is stable and wonderful, with or without kids, and turn better than the other boats I’ve had; but it can still be a handful in the twisty stuff. This Phoenix is symmetrically rockered and I can pull the bow or stern around easy as you please. After some initial woah factor kneeling, I tried sitting and am so glad I can sit comfortably in this boat. I think the seat in my Polaris is higher and it is thus more comfortable to kneel in. I was a little concerned the Phoenix would be too high and narrow for comfortable sitting but it’s great. I’m very glad I ordered it with the foot brace, though it’s high enough I’ll probably put the bar under the brackets. I figure I will probably swim at some point, I do need to mind my head in this boat, but it was great fun threading the needle through the lily pads and along the shore. Interestingly, I prefer my altered Clement in the Polaris but the Bruce Smith is better in this boat. I think it is largely that the shaft lengths are more appropriate for the two different boats. I’m higher off the water in the Polaris, which makes perfect sense, so the longer shafted paddle works better.
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So the boat gets a stamp of approval, deserving of wearing my one and only Duckhead sticker that I won in a boat weight guessing GAW from Mike McCrae (My phone keeps trying to autoincorrect that to… well you know)
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Next challenge? Measure twice drill once… my Harken Hoister arrived and to keep the wife happy (ish) I’ve got to get it installed promptly so she can park in the garage again. Right now the Phoenix is a garage queen, soon she will repose in an elevated position befitting her place in my heart.
Since you're on an outfitting roll here is an idea to consider.
Use a Harken cam cleat to restrain the painter closer to you, within reach of your sitting/kneeling position. This allows stepping out of the canoe while the hull is afloat and walking the canoe to the landing. The idea came to me thinking of their use on sail boats. I daisy chain the excess line so I have just the length I need. If you need to pull on the painter to drag the cane, the daisy chain is an excellent handhold.
My next upgrade will be to drop the cam cleat below the gunwale. Add a wood block below the thwart and mount the cleat there.
@Will Derness I've been mulling that; conflicted between the spring loaded roller cam like you’ve pictured vs. the fixed one that McCrae has pictured on some of his utility thwarts. I’m planning a rod-holder utility thwart for my Polaris, so it may become part of the plan on that boat. But I can also just shove the painter bundle under the bungees on the thwarts or tie off to the thwart. I like your idea to mount it to a block beneath the gunwale.
Back to the portage strap version 2.0, we just got an REI in town and I thought to check their website and found an excellent possible solution. It’s intended as a repair buckle with one side retained by a stainless steel screwed-in pin and the other is adjustable for tension. Seems perfect, and available in the 1.5” width I need for my seatbelt webbing.
www.rei.com
Back to the portage strap version 2.0, we just got an REI in town and I thought to check their website and found an excellent possible solution. It’s intended as a repair buckle with one side retained by a stainless steel screwed-in pin and the other is adjustable for tension. Seems perfect, and available in the 1.5” width I need for my seatbelt webbing.
Sea to Summit 1-Pin Side-Release Field Repair Buckle | REI Co-op
The Sea to Summit 1-Pin Side-Release Field Repair Buckle replaces a single-side adjustable buckle like the type found on top-loading backpacks.
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@Woodpuppy nice home for your Phoenix there!
Are you at all concerned that the paddles could warp over time stored like that? On the one hand I could imagine gravity and Floridian humidity taking their toll over time, but on the other if you paddle often enough maybe the paddles will be moved and rotated often enough to negate that.
I've always heard one should hang paddles vertically to avoid warping, but has anyone had a properly sealed paddle actually warp on them while in storage?
Are you at all concerned that the paddles could warp over time stored like that? On the one hand I could imagine gravity and Floridian humidity taking their toll over time, but on the other if you paddle often enough maybe the paddles will be moved and rotated often enough to negate that.
I've always heard one should hang paddles vertically to avoid warping, but has anyone had a properly sealed paddle actually warp on them while in storage?
Well NOW I am
A hanging bracket is on the fabrication list, with some of the cherry I’ll have leftover from making a utility thwart.
After bundling up the tag ends of the straps and rope, one more touch and I’m quite content with the Hoister:
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I found this paddle rack easily to make and adapt to my needs/space. Just make sure to properly round over the edges where it contacts the paddles to avoid marking them.
Of course there's always the dowels in a board approach too...
But, I do wonder if the warping risk is blown out of proportion. I'm just repeating what I've heard, I haven't seen a paddle warp after finishing.
Of course there's always the dowels in a board approach too...
But, I do wonder if the warping risk is blown out of proportion. I'm just repeating what I've heard, I haven't seen a paddle warp after finishing.
What size is your cam cleat and line? I’m using 1/4” line which seems to be the max size for the smallest cleats, and the smallest size which works in the larger cleats.
The line in the photo is 5/16”. The carbon cam cleat is a Harken model 365 which can accept line from 1/8” to 3/8”. Stronger cam cleats that accept larger line are also available from Harken.
Standard 365 Carbo-Cam® Cleat | West Marine
Check out our Standard 365 Carbo-Cam® Cleat and more from West Marine!
www.westmarine.com
The line in the photo is 5/16”. The carbon cam cleat is a Harken model 365 which can accept line from 1/8” to 3/8”. Stronger cam cleats that accept larger line are also available from Harken.
Standard 365 Carbo-Cam® Cleat | West Marine
Check out our Standard 365 Carbo-Cam® Cleat and more from West Marine!
Thanks. I was waffling between that one and the micro. I don’t think this application called for the hard-anodized aluminum version.
This thread motivated me to make the effort to move the cam cleat. I took some left over thwart scraps, made a block and mounted it.. I’ll need to try it on the water, but it looks like it should work.
Excellent! I’ve got some teak and cherry cutoff scrap I can use to emulate your idea. If only the right end of my bungee were strong enough to serve as a mount
Has anyone else considered flipping their Northstar thwarts? Feels a lot nicer on the hand flipped over when lifting the boat.
Has anyone else considered flipping their Northstar thwarts? Feels a lot nicer on the hand flipped over when lifting the boat.
Yes, I considered that when I swapped out the aluminum thwart with the wood laminate. I could get a better finger grip on the thwart that way, but would give up looking at the colors on the beveled laminate face. I opted for the canoe looking pretty.
