Hello paddlers! I need a canoe cart (that can handle @ 100 lbs …) so that I can walk my canoe down the road and then through the sand to the lake! I have a Scott River Dancer (so a bit of a “V” on the hull). I have been reading reviews (lots of talk about what wheels do and do not work …). So any suggestions on what would work for this application would be appreciated! Cheers!
I recently bought the Swedish Style Folding Cart from Orchard Canoe Supply. I haven’t really put it through the paces yet, but was really impressed with some backyard testing. My 9 year old son had no trouble moving a Discovery 158 around. Was much more impressed with it than the c-tug I used before. I think the larger wheels and setting it in the center of the canoe really helped. canoe kayak cart carts small boat Paddleboy buy online on-line internet shopping shop suspenz hobie wheels
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Ctug works fine on road, sand, grass, etc for reasonable distances of 100 to 200 ft.
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not very useful on sand. The center load is quite easy on your body… Its really for rocky rooty areas and works well on them The narrow wheels cut into sand We have done carries over a mile. easily on rocks and roots and typical boreal forest stuff.
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I’ve got a couple of Ctugs with the larger wheels. My experience is that they work okay on asphalt, are not great on sand, and quite poor on gravel. My 10 minute walk is mostly on asphalt, with much of the rest on a gravel path.
I recently picked up another Ctug with the original pneumatic wheels. I expect that they will perform better on the first two surfaces. Will report back, soon, hopefully!
I do not need to store the Ctug in my kayak, a Current Designs Solstice GTS. I have the luxury of leaving the cart at the kettlepond beach where I usually launch.
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It really depends on how far you are walking, how much soft sand you need to get through, and the difficulty each represents to you personally.
For example, if I’m walking a quarter mile or a half mile or maybe even miles down the road, and I have to deal with 30’ of soft sand at the put-in, I’m going for a center-mount cart with wheel bearings, like the Swedish-Style mentioned. The ease of the canoe rolling down the path outweighs any easing of difficulty over the soft sand with something like a C-tug, as it really doesn’t ease the difficulty of soft sand all that much. I have a C-tug and a couple of others. For any distances, I highly prefer center-mount with wheel bearings. The one I got from paddlecart.com is my personal favorite, but I see they’re taking a hiatus on paddlecart production.
If I’m going a very short distance from a parking lot over soft sand to the beach, such as with my 21’ tandem kayak, then I’ll use the C-tug. But on soft sand, it really still feels like I’m dragging the cart through the sand more than rolling it over it.
But that’s me. If for you, you can get the boat to the water with wide sand-specific wheels, but you cannot without those sand wheels, then the difference in how it rolls on hard surfaces becomes less important to you.
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Many thanks for such a detailed response! Realizing the walk TO the sand is the longer stretch so this is VERY helpful!
We have a kayak carts similar to this one:
The company that we bought it from many years ago appears to be out of business, but there are a number of companies that make one just like it. There are options for three types of wheels if you look around. Our carts have pneumatic tires.
- Solid tires. Advantage is they can’t go flat. Disadvantage. They are heavy and don’t do well at all in sand. Rough ride on rough and uneven surfaces
- Pneumatic tires, tube or tubeless. Advantage is they are lightest weight. Disadvantages are that they can go flat and tend to lose air over time. They are sometimes slightly better in sand, but still do poorly.
- Sand tires. Advantage is that they go though sand quite well. I haven’ heard anyone complain about have they behave on hard surfaces. Disadvantages are they are usually are pneumatic, so they can go flat. Bulky. Generally much more expensive.
For an article to make strapping down a kayak on these and many other carts easier and more secure look Here.