To get my kayak and camping gear TO the water, I put the kayak on a C-Tug and pack it right next to my car. Very convenient! Effortless trip to the water.
The problem is the return trip. Because of the C-Tug’s large inflatable wheels I can’t get the cart under the loaded kayak while the kayak is in the water. Nor can I pull the loaded kayak up on the shore (and wouldn’t want to).
Has any one found a way to get a loaded kayak on the C-Tug while still in the water?
The C-Tug needs to go approximately just behind the cockpit.
I used to use a Paddle Boy, which doesn’t have this problem, but the Paddle Boy is awful to pull uphill with camping gear. The C-Tug is a dream by comparison.
Stern first
Try turning the boat around so that the stern is on shore and the bow is in the water.
Try this
1. Assemble the cart except for the wheels.
2. Strap the cart into position on the loaded boat while it is in the water.
3. Once the cart is fasten to the boat, lean the boat to one side and put on the wheel.
4. Then lean the boat to the other side and put the second wheel on.
Can you straddle the boat and lift?
– Last Updated: Jun-24-13 8:12 PM EST –
I find that I can pick up a boat that's packed enormously heavier than what I can lift by any normal method just by standing with one leg on each side, and lifting it straight up. Sure, I can only lift it a very short height off the ground or water with that technique, but it seems like that'd be enough to get it onto a cart. Put the cart at one end, right at the water's edge too far out in the water and it will just float on its wheels and won't stay put), straddle the boat and lift it enough to get one end onto the cart. Then simply lift and shuffle, lift and shuffle, until you get the boat onto the cart as far as you want. I move a loaded canoe over logs and through fallen trees by this method all the time, lifting most of the boat's weight (plus the boat's load) with each shuffle. Sure, I'm tall and can straddle a boat pretty easily, but you are talking about a kayak, not a canoe, so it seems like it shouldn't be too hard.
If for some reason you can't lift the whole boat as described above, an easier variation would be to lift the boat by one end while letting the other end float, and put the lifted end on the cart. Then slide it on farther if need be. For that initial lift using this method, you'll be lifting quite a bit less than half the weight of boat plus gear because the water will be carrying a fair portion of the other end, not just the tip. If that's too much for you (hard to imagine that it could be), then face the music and start unpacking.
Here's an imaginative thought. Fill your cart's wheels mostly with water, and put just enough air inside to provide the cushy ride that you get from air. Now your cart will sit low in the water and you can slide your boat right over it. The cart will "weigh a ton", but you won't have to lift the boat. ***** Okay I looked at pictures of the thing and it has solid plastic wheels, but there's very little volume to those wheels (as per the website pictures anyway). It shouldn't take much to hold the thing down. Can't you hold the cart with one hand and slide one end of the boat up and over (forcing the cart down in the process) with the other? This looks like it ought to be easy.
alternate orientation cart loading
– Last Updated: Jun-25-13 5:02 PM EST –
I don't know how that specific cart loads, but something that works for me in some cases is to attach the cart in any orientation and then slip the yak around if necessary.
ie there may be no real reason why you can't mount the cart upside down while near shore, letting it slide over as far as possible and then tipping the yak sideways and pulling the ass'y out simply setup like that. As the yak is sideways (on the cart) the ckpt automatically clears if water inside and as soon as you get to a more accessible situation on shore just loosening the strap and rotating the yak around to the typical orientation. Only if the yak is upside down is the function(clearances & ckpt loading) seriously impaired.
If the haul is short, it might not even be necessary.
Hey, that’s smart!
– Last Updated: Jun-25-13 9:21 PM EST –
I bet that would work. I'm going to try it. Thank you!