By the way…
… a comment, this is a quality-of-paddling-life issue. Not comfortable continuing to transport as-is (meaning kayaking at all, as we do not live on the water).
I just got back a week ago from a vacation to the Outer Banks of NC, 300 miles from home. One day we rented a kayak as the obviously had not brought ours; this is on the bay behind the barrier islands, not in the ocean. I noted the boat provided, a Perception “Tribe”, a SOT tandem.
OK, we’re still beginners but acclimated to the Caretta now; after an hour trying to maintain the speed I thought kayaking should be, my arms were screaming! Hardly moving through the water; sheesh, like, “did I throw out an anchor or something?” Learned a lesson, not all boats are alike. :^/ Of course, my wife up front obliviously paddling lightly or not at all, enjoying the scenery while I’m ditch-digging in the back seat. Hilarity for all.
Tires on Yakima
I agree with the poster here about the Yakima tires. When you buy the trailer, it comes with the set on the trailer and that’s it. I bought the spare but when one of the originals blew on a trip to Newfoundland (150 miles from home), I couldn’t buy another spare anywhere other than at Kittery Trading Post. They didn’t even really have a spare, they sold me one of a trailer they had. (I didn’t want to travel 3000 miles without a spare.)
After I got back from Newfoundland, I found that the replacements tires/tubes were hard to source so a friend sourced two motorcycle tires that were the right width and tread. So now I have two complete sets.
All that said, the Yakima trailer is super easy to use and to hitch/unhitch and I can maneuver it loaded with boats. When I am using it, I usually have 4 fiberglass sea kayaks on it. I did buy the heavy duty springs and a friend who also had the Yakima trailer had a one piece tongue welded up. That took out a lot of the bounce in the extended tongue. Wasn’t mandatory but it rides nicer. Cost was nominal.
The one piece tongue has downsides as it does make the trailer longer for storage. I do store it on the back wheels and upright as it is stored in the high part of the barn. (It is possible to remove the tongue and it makes it easier to maneuver in the barn but it is just one more step to take when you want to use the trailer and I find it a bother.
Triton
I just finished my search for a trailer and went with a Triton LXT-LK2 http://www.tritontrailers.com/watercraft/kayak/
The trailer itself is exceptional. It is lightweight aluminum and pulls like a dream. Very high quality.
I do have a couple of dislikes in the way they outfitted it for kayaks, but I would buy this trailer again.
- Center post on the 1 level trailer is very short, so you can’t tie the kayak to it. I ended up having 33" tall vertical extentions welded in place. (about 150 bucks)
- Padding on the bars is iffy. I went to Lowes and bought some rubberized outdoor carpet for about 40 bucks and glued it to the uprights and arms.
- I’m not a fan of the way they have tie downs placed, but it is an easy fix to bolt a couple of U brackets to the arms to give a good place to run straps.
I like to carry my kayak on its side much better than on the hull or deck. With this setup I can easily carry 4 kayaks on their sides. It carries my 16.5 ft Fathom with plenty of room to spare, but I’m guessing the tongue would be too short for a 21.5’ boat. I’m thinking 18-18.5’ might be the limit.
Triton
Thanks, had not heard of them, sent them a request for quote. No photo of the 1-kayak version on their website. Asked them what the longest boat that fits is. Nearest dealer 18.5 miles away, not too bad.
Triton makes high-quality trailers
My modified snowmobile trailer was a Triton. That’s the trailer I wish I had not sold. Much better than the Trailex or any other dedicated kayak trailer I’ve seen yet.