Hi,
I"m new here and have a question.My portaging experience consistes of 100 yard or less carries around small falls and me an a friend double up on each canoe and make two trips.I am going to michigan in september and am going to be doing portages up almost a mile in length so i believe i need a yoke.from all accounts i hear the wooden ones will make hamburger out of you quick.I"ve noticed some adjustable canoe seat/yokes on the internet.do these contraptions work on aluminum canoes?mine is 14 ft long an i think 32 inches wide.has anyone had experience with these yokes?
thanks in advance,
Al
Contoured composite yoke w/ foam
The contoured type composite yoke lined with closed cel foam is the most comfortable portage yoke I have ever tried.
Send me your e-mail address and I’ll send you a foto Al.
Mick
The wooden ones are OK if…
you add some high density foam blocks contoured for you shoulder.
I portaged in the BWCA with them and they were fine.
cheers,
JackL
canoe yoke
thanks for the site on the yoke seat! have you ever used one of these?would like to know if their worth the 74 bucks before i order one.
Al
Comfort is king…
As Jack pointed out, a wooden yoke with good foam pads are tough to beat for comfort. Here’s one that works well from Paragis:
http://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/browse.htm
go to Canoeing Accessories
then Yokes and Yoke Pads
and you’ll see the Deluxe Portage Pads link
Cliff Jacobsen recommends pads like these. I have a pair and they just clamp right on to the wooden yoke. I tried the sling type yoke pads but they weren’t as good for a heavier canoe over long portages. The foam pads are much more comfortable.
If you have aluminum thwarts you’ll either need to find clamp-on yoke pads that will fit the round thwart or you’ll need to replace the center thwart with a wooden yoke. (About $24 incl. brackets.) Not that difficult and once it’s in place you can use a wide variety of yoke pads.
Tom
The main problem I have with yokes that
are more than a couple inches over the gunwales is that they don’t clear the top of my car if I just slide the boat off of my shoulders and on to the car. I don’t want to have to set the boat on the ground after taking it off of the car to put the yoke on before carrying it or to have to set it on the ground after carrying it from the water to the car to take the yoke off so the boat can be put on top of the car.
I’d prefer a yoke that is flush with the gunwales or just an inch or two above them and can be attached and detached while the boat is on the car, or can be left on the boat during car top transport.
yoke
thanks for the site tketcham,I think I"m going to go with the seat/yoke sling type because besides being affordable it is described at being for 32 to 38 inch canoes and mines 32 and a half.and I also seen clamps on the pic that attached to the same kind of gunwales I have.
thanks again.
Al