Again, while cruising the Rutabaga site I saw a set of brackets from Wenonah designed to allow a portage yoke to be mounted in a solo canoe and removed easily (even though the ad copy sez “tandem” brackets).
Appears to be essentially a hinge (aluminum?) that disassembles with a hair pin. Looks simple, and ought to work.
I am attempting to decide on this route vs a Chosen Valley solo yoke vs cobbling up my own version of a clamp-on yoke.
Of course, here is what I consider to be the ultimate solution. Of course, it is not a possibility for me.
http://www.greenval.com/FAQsolo-yoke.html
Jim
The wenonah set up works well.
I’ve used it on several hundred portages with 2 different Rendezvois.
Do your boats
have aluminum gunwales? I wonder about the install on a set of wooden rails.
And of course there is the aestetic aspect of mixing aluminum hardware with ash…
Jim
Mad River CarriYoke
My bro-in-law has a Malecite with the Mad River CarriYoke, its pretty easy and sweet. I have been thinking about making my own version.
http://madrivercanoe.com/Accessories/outfitting.php
Yeah, I 've seen them
but I dismissed that product because it doesn’t appear to offer enough drop for a seated position. I guess I could fabricate one though.
Jim
Simple solution
I recently order a number of “jiffy clamps” which are available directly from Old Town at a very reasonable price. The “jiffy clamp” includes a knob, a brass bolt, a brass washer and an aluminium angle. With these clamps, all you need do is to drill two holes in your wood yoke and you are in business. You could spend a lot of time on the woodworking part or very little and just order a wood yoke and drill the holes. Either way, it’s a lot less expensive than buying a completed yoke and you’ll get the same result.
Bruce
I have one of those
and it works very well. I have a different seat (flat, wide cane seat cantered forwards) and it paddles comfortably either seated or kneeling. I had pads for it too…essentially padded semi-circular cups that bolted to the yoke, but one of them went missing…need to find some more pads. The pins come out easy enough, but I find that I have to sometimes persuade them back in with a hammer.
-Chuck
I own the Wenonah
aluminum yoke and have to say it’s pretty slick.
My Prism has the sliding bucket seat and rail system that mates pefectly with the yoke. It’s easy to set up and secure when installed properly. It’s an awkward piece of equipment to pack however; in and out of the boat. And “careful with that axe Eugene” when it rides in the hull of your expensive composite. Still, to me it was worth the money.
The Green Valley Yoke
Don’t be so sure you can’t make Martin Step’s yoke. I made one for my woodstrip Osprey without the power tools and jigs, all by hand.
There is a brass part for mounting a stair rail that with slight modification would work as the bracket that holds the barrel nut. The barrel nut itself can be bought at a hardware store. They are sometimes called “furniture nuts”. Mine aren’t brass, but they have worked fine several years with minimal rust. I spray them with WD40 occasionally.
My concern is that
– Last Updated: Feb-21-07 10:23 AM EST –
I would have to do some major re-contouring if the inwale in order to affix the yoke fittings. I figure that I could handle everything else by hand - his construction methods are quite exacting, are they not? Finished results are beautiful, though.
Jim
EDIT: It would help if I actually had a new canoe - at this point I am just theorizing via my in-head CAD program.
Yes
Used it on a Prism
and it installed w/no complications and was very easy to attach/de-attach when arriving at/departing portages, well thought out piece of gear. Two thumbs up! Very few other worthwile choices out there either.