I recently bought my first Kayak (a Pelican Boost 100) and I noticed that while it has shaped flat spots on the gunwales, there are no side grab handles. I expect they would be rather slick once it’s been in the water.
I was curious whether or not to install aftermarket grab handles in those spaces, or run grab lines from bow to stern to help carry the boat to and from the water without a helper. I understand the RAM-XS material can warp somewhat when it is warm, but the manual claims it will return to its original shape once it has cooled.
Get one of these
A cart for SOT’s. I suspect that even if you do add lines you will find that they will ultimately tear out and leave you with a hole to patch if you put all the weight of the boat on them. Fixing holes in rotomolded is a major chore.
I did see a Pelican SOT pictured with perimeter lines on one side, added by the user, but I would lay odds they are thre to help someone hang onto the boat if they fall in. Not to carry the boat.
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=61563906
handles
So same rip-through problem with these? http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4187337&page=1&cp=4406646.70516396.4417832&categoryId=13037952
Best to be used for grabbing the boat in water, than carrying the boat? Thanks for your reply!
no handles?
The boat doesn’t have carry handles at each end? I looked at some photos of that model online and they seem to have them.
Toggles at end are good for carrying the boat. A line around the edge is good for if you need to hold on to the boat (such as if you are swimming next to it).
One of the challenges of adding them is that you can’t easily access the underside of the plastic (inside boat). So you can’t tighten a nut there. That leaves rivets, glue, or something like a wood screw. None are great options for something that needs to be strong.
See next post
As indicated by the response below, the issue is that you can’t get inside the boat to get reinforcement underneath the screw or wharever. Those handles are likely fot sit inside boats where you have access to do that.
For carrying I would get a cart and just rely on the ones on the end. For re-entry, better to take the boat out and see if you can get back in from the water as equipped before making new holes. You might find tat you can get back up without additional stuff.
Thanks!
It has end handles, I was just wondering if there was a cheaper method to make it easier to carry the boat solo when wet. I’m trying to avoid a cart. I imagine getting into a Sit on Top isn’t much different than getting into a Canoe or Small sailboat from the water. It’s been a few years since I’ve done either.
Why avoid a cart?
I am past 60 and I have at least two maybe three of them if I dig around. They make your life far too easy to avoid.
Well, there’s this gizmo:
http://www.danuu.com/html/PDF/YakSlingInstrHD.pdf
Costs $28 plus shipping at http://www.danuu.com/html/Accs.html
My preference would be to roll a 50# boat on a cart rather than have it hanging off my shoulders. Faster and much easier on the body.
try carrying it on your head
I have to carry my kayaks from my walk-out basement behind my house then climb up a short hill to my front yard and up a flight of 6 steps to the street to load them on my car. I’ve found the easiest way to carry them is upside down with the seat resting on the top of my head and grasping the sides with both hands. Having the weight balanced over your center of gravity puts a lot less stress on your body and also makes it easier to get it up on the roof of your car. I’ve done this with sit inside kayaks weighing as much as or more than yours (50 lbs) – has to be even easier with a sit on top where you don’t have to angle it to see where you’re going. It takes some practice to get under and lift it (I lean it against a wall at an angle and duck under it).
You may think I’m nuts but try it. BTW, I’m a 5’5", 150 pound 66 year old woman, so this does not require massive strength (just good balance and a hard skull).
Meh…
I had a yak-sling - it was truly uncomfortable and not convenient to use. I cut it up and repurposed it as a sling to hang one of my boats from the garage ceiling.