TOWING A Dog Kayak

Only buy what works
His behavior always surprises me!



If he doesn’t like the Torrent I won’t buy it. Simple :slight_smile:

hard to imagine
the dog getting back in the Torrent – but it’s worth the try. Good luck!

towing sucks
Have you tried towing ?

I’ve found it the most frustrating thing I’ve ever done afloat. Perhaps if you use a rigid attachment (like the tow bar used to tow a 2nd vehicle) but a flexible connection like a rope or cable will quickly take the fun outta your outing

Get an appropriate sized tandem canoe

training
The tow line is 35’, enough to get side by side and help him up if need be.



A Newfoundland is a water rescue dog. Natural instinct plus training to save ppl, tow boats, retrieve objects in the water, etc. He will have extensive waterwork training throughout his life.



Part of this process is teaching the dog how to use the gear.



Planning to use this Dog PFD:



http://www.ruffwear.com/Portage-Float-Coat?sc=2&category=7879

If towing sucks, no will do
Thanks for sharing your experience. It sucks? That’s probably why there aren’t lots of enthusiasts doing it.



I gotta find out. Explore options. Try it. If it sucks I won’t do it. That’s why I started this thread – to find out from those paddlers who had experienced these things.



When I tried the SOT tandem it was not ideal conditions. Going back next weekend, will try more options.



Also, if my dog were to be a PIA to fellow paddlers, I wouldn’t inflict that on anybody. He’s my service dog; I take him everywhere; so far not a pain, very well behaved.



He’s still a baby, a puppy, and is sometimes shy and leery of new commands, so this may take some time. When he learns something he loves it and then does it all the time. Fun to watch him grow up!

i remove the front seat from my canoes
and re-arrange the thwart so my husky has room to sit or lay down. for those paws a walmart shower mate for 3$ work well and might even color match the boat.

kayaking pic
http://gallery.me.com/leskaemeraldadams#100060/DSC_0091_2&bgcolor=black



Picture of Orka kayaking with me when he was 13 weeks old.



Orka cannot fit in that kayak any more. He’s huge now and getting bigger every day.

will revisit canoes
So you can rearrange the thwarts. That opens up a lot more possibility. I was under the impression the thwarts stabilized the canoe structure and had to be in fixed places. Tried a canoe once and felt like I was about to tip and drown instantly. Nothing like the smooth easy command of a kayak.



I’ll look at canoes this weekend also. Will look at everything suggested.



Wonder if the perfect solution will be presented at the Outdoor Retailer Show August 3rd. There’s always hope!

shower mat
Found this Walmart shower mat, might need 2, also thinking of horse standing rubber mat, etc.



http://www.walmart.com/ip/Deluxe-Bath-Mat-Clear/10227098

Yes. It kinda sucks
Towing for an hour is tiring. Towing for your entire outing, every outing, 4 hours at a time sucks. And you’re not talking about towing a lightly loaded kayak - you’re towing the equivalent of an adult human in his own boat.



Try it sometime. It’s a good skill, and something that’s good to be prepared for if you need to do it for a friend. But I think you’ll find that it’s nothing you’d want to do all day unless your dog were paying you to do it . . . and tipping well!

My Dog’s not a Newfie…
but I’m familiar with them. Friend has two. Towing sucks, as mentioned above. You need to look at canoes.

I have two kayaks, and after a couple of trips with George in the Pungo120, realized dogs need canoes. I bought a used Wenonah Solo+. 16.5’. The Newfie would fit, and you’ll be surprised at how easily he’ll step over the thwarts. My pit bull (65 lbs) hops over ok, although they do keep him from moving around, which is preferable. A Newfie moving around is like having a big fat clueless passenger in your canoe with you. Not fun. Sit in the back seat, remove the center, and let the dog have the front half. Only thing that would be better is if he the Newfie could paddle.

Towing will suck
Have you ever towed anyone yet? It is hard.



I paddle a Mad River Explorer and an Old Town Penobscot with the dog. I can stand and pole these boats with the dog. Molly is a yellow lab. About one half the size of your dog.



I think you would have a very hard time getting the dog back on the Kayak when you are in deep water.



You can remove seats,change thwarts,and get a pad to give your dog traction. I use a full size Bell knelling pad for this.

Good luck.

Canoe and Stabilizers
Anything else = waste of time for you and your big best friend. I have a set, used them when canoeing with my 45 pounder years ago. Will have them on Craigslist Charlotte N.C.in the next few days with pictures.

Do you kayak now?

– Last Updated: Jul-29-10 10:06 AM EST –

If I had a larger dog and wanted to bring him along I would probably get something like this; Pamlico 14

http://www.lakegeorgekayak.com/wilderness_systems_kayaks_pamlico145_specs.htm

Sit on tops - suck. People who never kayak like SOTs. The dog will want to jump out and feel nervous. You are sitting above waterline and it will feel twitchy. If you get a sit in kayak double, the dog will have walls around him and feel much more secure and your stability will be greater. Remove the seat and just put down a scrap of rubber back carpeting so he can grip with his paws. Plus you can control this kayak easily alone if you want.

Need a dog-paddling boat
Yes, all that energy, somebody should invent a boat where the dog powers it.



Serendipity. Yesterday evening we took Orka to Sellwood Park on the Willamette River and lo and behold Next Adventure was finishing a large kayaking class AND OOPS was having its annual potluck, Kayaks everywhere! Talked to lots of paddlers.



I’ve never towed anything, and what I learned is WHY towing sucks:

The boat behind is out of control, wiggling all over, bumping, getting stuck, behind, ahead, big drag, pulling the back, hurting kidneys, all around nasty pain. They recommend 3 or 4 kayaks towing one to stabilize the situation and put less strain on the lead kayak. Yikes.



Also, SOTs were deemed the easiest solution for big dogs, then canoes.



So will keep all this in mind while looking and trying boats. Fortunately AlderCreek at Janzten Beach has a huge warehouse with just about anything there to try.



If my dog had any idea the lengths we go to to make him included and happy … he’s a hilarious floppy playbunny and lives for endless fun, makes everybody laugh and pull out their cameras.

thanks, stabilizers
Outriggers, hhmmm, know there used to be long threads about these, will search archives.



Will try. Thanks!

135T vs 145T
Thanks, interesting, had not looked at 145T, only 135T.



145T has 400 lb capacity, 14’6", weighs 65 lbs, smaller cockpit, looks like it will go a little faster.



Dog psychology of feeling more secure with walls, had not heard that.



Orka’s a little odd so will have to see what he thinks.



Seating is better in 145T.

Adirondack Guide Boat
or Rowboat. A Newfie is way too big for a kayak, and even most canoes. And towing is really not fun, and downright dangerous in wind, waves, or moving water.

I’d probably nix the guide-boat idea

– Last Updated: Jul-29-10 11:31 PM EST –

Actually, guide-boats have no more load capacity than typical tandem canoes, and it's safe to say that in most cases the "real" load capacity is a little less when comparing boats of the same length. However, for one person plus a 150-pound dog, the load capacity won't even begin to be approached, either for guide-boat or tandem canoe, so load capacity is not the issue. What does matter is that dogs tend to move around a lot. Guide-boats are quite tender in initial stability, so if the dog is not well behaved, it will be a battle to keep the boat in reasonable trim, which will make handling the oars a royal pain (this would not be such a big deal with a dog of normal size). Some might have the patience for that, but I wouldn't. Getting a big dog out of the water and back into any boat will be tough, but I think it would be inviting trouble in a guide-boat (again, a smaller dog would be different). Also, you'd really want to limit your boating to easy, open water, since even though a guide-boat is very maneuverable when rowed from the center seat, rowed from the front seat (necessary to make room for a gigantic dog) it has a turning circle the size of Rhode Island. In normal practice that's counteracted by the rear-seat passenger using a canoe paddle, thus restoring full maneuverability. Therefore, simply teach the Newfie to sit still AND handle a single-blade paddle and the guide-boat will be the very best choice!!

guideboat dog
Actually, we build a boat that would handle 1 or even 2 Newfies rather well…assuming they are reasonably well-behaved. It is called a Vermont Fishing Dory, a more-stable variant of a guideboat. I don’t have a photo of that…but the photo next to the bottom shows 5 teens in it…and it’s still doing fine.



http://www.adirondack-guide-boat.com/vermontfishingdory.html



David