and if you can’t build…buy
there’ve been several p.netters (Greyhawk included I believe)who’ve had wood kayaks for sale in the classifieds.
To be sure, unless you plunk down the heavy cash for a redfish or guillemet or boat expertly done by a craftsman, you’ll probably have a cosmetic glitch somewhere (God help me…I discover a new imperfection every time and I thought I did everything right)but you’ll have a beautifull lightweight easy to lift easier to paddle boat that a lite sanding and new coat of varnish will usually bring up to like new…try that with a CF or Kevlar…
HULLAVATOR
– Last Updated: Jun-28-05 5:04 PM EST –
get this rack, then buy the boat that's RIGHT for you, NOT LIGHT for you....
http://www.thuleracks.com/thule/featured_product_hullavator.asp
Then again, for a couple of hundred more...a trailer...
http://www.castlecraft.com/canoe_trailer.htm
Second that
Weight is less important than other variables.
To avoid having to shoulder your kayak, you can spend maybe $100 for a good kayak cart.
Several things to consider…
Most mini-vans have fairly high roof lines so you wont be able to self load like I do. I have a very low wagon and I am able to pick up an eighteen foot kevlar boat and set it down in the roof rack. If my roof line were higher, or if the boat were any heavier I would not be able to use this method.
I paddle with a friend on occation and he loads and unloads on his own from the top of a new GM SUV which has a much higher roof. His boat is glass and a bit heavier than mine. He has a cool accessory, (dont know the name of it) on his rack. There is a retractable bar that will slide out about three feet from the end of his front cross bar. He slides it out, lifts the front of his yak up and places it on the bar, then moves to the rear and lifts the stern of his yak up onto the rear roof rack. He then moves to the front and moves the bow over from the bar extension to the roof rack. Pretty slick.
happy paddling,
Mark
interesting method
That gadget does sound interesting. But I disagree about high roof lines. We have a sedan and a 4W pickup with a shell which is a pain because it is high. And, although it isn’t the slickest method, you still can make it work by using a stool when you raise a stern end on the roof. I have to bring a stool anyway to tie and untie the lines.
I’ve seen the hullovator type of gadget and it sounds interesting but I noticed that the kayak still needs to be lifted fairly high onto the gadget when you’re loading it.
WS Pungo 120 in Duralite. 39lbs.
I Didnt Explain Well Enough
when I was talking about lifting my yak onto my rack. I place the boat on the ground next to the car and lift the boat with one hand under the boat near the rear of the cockpit and the other hand on top of the boat griping the cockpit coaming. I then place the boat on the rack. If I had to use a stool, (knowing me), I would end up on the ground with the boat piled on top of me. I have not wanted to lift one end up first then the other as it is a new boat and only has the first couple of battle scars, so far.
Mark
I like lightweight
when quality isn’t sacrificed.
I’m female AND old (comparatively) and I vote for the Impex Mystic in carbon/kevlar if you can afford it. The best kayak I’ve found for small paddlers and in this layup weighs about 35 to 36 lbs at 14 feet. Too many great features to list here.
I also second the vote for the Pygmy Arctic Tern 14 if you want to build one or know someone who will build it for you. Mine weighs 37 lbs but I think with different hatch hardware it would weigh about 35 lbs.