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David Kiewit
 
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Default Advice needed for old guy who wants to paddle

"Tim Smith" wrote in message

snip

I'd like to get a paddle boat that I can store in the garage, and
portage out to the lagoon.


Portage is a hassle, and the carts built to carry a canoe or kayak aren't
designed for the use you appear to have in mind.

Portage carts are built to take with you in the boat. To meet that goal,
they're generally really small (e.g. the terrible sets of little wheels that
sort of strap onto one end of the hull to take up a bit less than half the
weigth until they hit the first pebble) or knock down into modules small
enough to fit through a kayak hatch ( the best of these have aluminum axles
hold out for a few portages in the presence of nasty stuff like sand).

For a short trip from garage to lagoon and back (i.e., the put-in is the
take-out are the same spot so that the cart stays on shore until you come
back), you can make a truly superior (and equally truly weird looking) cart
out of a two-wheeled wheelbarrow. Replace 4 of the bolts holding the load
body to the frame with eye-bolts. Get few pieces of hot water pipe
insulation (a longitudinally split foam tube) and glue them on the edges of
the load bed. Toss the kayak/canoe on top of the load bed and bungee it down
using the eye bolts.

--
David Kiewit
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St. Petersburg FL US 33705