Solo portage yoke

[Guest]

Liberated from work. We used it for gripper pads on newspaper equipment. I was a machinist foreman with a major newspaper before I retired. Hopefully you can find a newspaper printing near you and ask. It's a declining industry.

 

[daveo4]

Here is my solo canoe yoke. It is an Essex Industries adjustable yoke that I shortened and swapped out the clunky metal clamps for ones I made in mahogany. I added the Harmony foam pad that I like a lot even if it is ugly (Someone said there is beauty in functionality!). It looks similar to Conk's but the only thing I borrowed (OK, stole!) from him was the storage system idea. It wouldn't fit abaft the seat with my pack there, but does fit forward with my small pack or 30L barrel. I just got a new pack and may need to borrow Conk's slots in the foam to accomodate pack straps but haven't tried it yet.

 

[Guest]

While I appreciate Gavia presenting his well made portage system, I think its quite heavy and I think I like Bryan Hansels better.. There is a little less fiddly clamping involved if clamping avoidance is your priority. It seems lighter too.

No aluminum needed

http://www.paddlinglight.com/articles/solo-canoe-yoke-plans/

That's the design I modeled mine after. The angle of the support arms was greater than I wanted, resulting in the need to level the portage pads. That's why I made mine flat and lower. The clamp arrangement enables me to use it on either a long or short cane seat. It's made for an 18" seat but will work on a 13".

The yoke is under two lbs with CVCA pads. It stores about anywhere and I can put a spray cover on the boat. That is one of my concerns about Gavia's yoke.. how will it store in the canoe?

I removed one of the screws in the yoke so the arms pivot in toward the middle. That way they make a V that fits the hull nicely. I had hoped to be able to hinge the arms to either the back rail or the aft thwart, but both of those approaches thwarted (sic) my desire to not interfere with a pack placed behind the seat.

I use the CVCA pads

http://www.shop.northwestcanoe.com/CVCA-Yoke-Pads-772320.htm

I found those painful with a 50-lb boat after about 40-50 rods. I remodeled mine with thicker, curved foam, but the mush pads are the most comfy. Let me know if you want to see how I redid the CVCA pads. It was quite the process.

 

[Guest]

The issue I see with a clamp-on-seat yoke is that the seat has to be in a particular position for the balance point to be correct -- and some paddlers may not like the solo seat that far forward. Plus, there would seem to be no way to adjust the yoke attachment point fore or aft as the balance point of the carried canoe may change for things you stuff inside the hull, such as paddles, ropes or dangling things. This also means the clamp-on-seat yoke may work only on one canoe and not on others. Finally, I don't see it working on sliding solo seats.

I've used the same clamp-on-gunwales portage yoke on all my solo canoes for 30 years. It has metal clamps with rubber on the clamp jaws. It slips only trivially. I can use it on all my different solos, regardless of where the fixed or sliding seats are positioned, and I can fine tune the balance point.

Finally, and this is just a personal thing, I don't like the yoke in front of me when paddling. I always attach the yoke to the gunwales behind me at an angle, and often use it as an extra thwart there to tie gear.

I'm not writing any of this as a comment on Gavia's personal choice for himself or his obvious craftsmanship, but just as general yoke information for future readers who may be deciding on what style of yoke to buy or make.

The yoke arms have five holes each, so it's easy to reposition it for different balance points.
The only time I've traveled with the yoke in front of me is when I've been in a boat with the seat moved far enough aft to have enough room. I sold the last boat I did that with.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Here is my solo canoe yoke. It is an Essex Industries adjustable yoke that I shortened and swapped out the clunky metal clamps for ones I made in mahogany. I added the Harmony foam pad that I like a lot even if it is ugly (Someone said there is beauty in functionality!). It looks similar to Conk's but the only thing I borrowed (OK, stole!) from him was the storage system idea. It wouldn't fit abaft the seat with my pack there, but does fit forward with my small pack or 30L barrel. I just got a new pack and may need to borrow Conk's slots in the foam to accomodate pack straps but haven't tried it yet.

Dave, it looks as if you have blue foam on your wood yoke, which is what I have. How did you attach the Harmony foam to what you had?

 

[daveo4]

Glenn,
The yoke came with the blue foam as you already know. The Harmony pad had self stick strips so I just peeled and stuck it on. Nothing extra. The extra thickness of the blue foam just lets the canoe ride a little higher which I like for visibility. The seat attached yokes must put one's head a bit further up into the canoe if the seat is mounted low in the canoe. I prefer the clamp on yoke. I also use it for my Wenonah Wilderness which has a narrower beam at the gunwales so I extended the slots inboard enough to fit it.
Regards,
Dave

 

[Conk]

Glenn,
I am in total agreement with the aft storage of the unutilized yoke. I too am annoyed by asymmetrical aesthetics of stowed gear but in the 12½ foot Mayfly, compromise was necessary. I have found however, that the flat of the inverted yoke in front of me is a convenient and dry platform for my lunch when eating on the fly. So now, I am torn between aesthetics and a place to set my cookie.

 

[daveo4]

Conk,
I have lived my life with the philosophy of never letting ANYTHING get in the way of a convenient cookie! My vote is leave it where it is!!
Regards,
Dave

 

[Mihun09]

This is what I made for my original cedar canvas Huron and it worked fine. I then lengthened the slots and it fit the cedar strip I built for Christine and would likely fit my Chestnut too if need be. I don't like the CV pads, they dig into my shoulders and hurt like heck. Since I may need another removable yoke for the Chestnut, I am thinking of getting a Teal contoured yoke and slotting it to work with the clamp system. Never had this yoke slip even on a 60 pound boat.

I do like the seat mounted yoke as per the OP, but I do prefer the contoured yokes for how they fit and once padded they cannot be beat.

 

[latremorej]

I have a similar system for my OT Pack. Since I have a trail chair that comes along I use it as a canoe seat. When paddling, I turn it around and clip the chair on. I don't even notice it when paddling. I don't paddle kneeling though.

 

[Guest]

I used the same foam pad on my yoke. I cut mine out of oak. Since I have a kayak, I needed to raise the shoulder height for better vision. I glued two foam blocks used for carrying a canoe on the car roof. I then mounted the shoulder pad to the blocks. Works great! I can do one trip portages! Yours looks great and functional too!