Just wondering if anyone has tried or would know where to begin
searching for a way to permanently place wheels on a canoe to make it
easier to transport. I know they make canoe carriers with wheels but
having them permantly attached would be much easier for many reasons.
I have an Old Town Discovery 174 that weighs 82lbs. It's impossible to
get onto my roof rack alone. Having wheels attached to one of the ends
of the canoe on the top would allow me to flip it over, pick up the
other end and roll it. I don't know much about the construction except
that it uses a material called Superlink 3 I think. If you might be
able to give me an idea I would appreciate it.
Thanks
Carlos

"Carlos Bill" wrote in message
om...
Just wondering if anyone has tried or would know where to begin
searching for a way to permanently place wheels on a canoe to make it
easier to transport. I know they make canoe carriers with wheels but
having them permantly attached would be much easier for many reasons.
I have an Old Town Discovery 174 that weighs 82lbs. It's impossible to
get onto my roof rack alone. Having wheels attached to one of the ends
of the canoe on the top would allow me to flip it over, pick up the
other end and roll it. I don't know much about the construction except
that it uses a material called Superlink 3 I think. If you might be
able to give me an idea I would appreciate it.
Thanks
Carlos

You might try this link for Spring Creek Manufacturing:
http://www.canoegear.com/wheels.html

I have no affiliation or personal experience with this company. I do not
endorse nor condemn thier products or services.

They literally have thousands of pounds of stuff you can bolt to a canoe. I
sympathize as I have a 17' Lund at 82 lbs also.

www.canoegear.com
This is the home page which show the thousands of pounds of stuff that can
be added to a canoe.


'Good luck:
John

"Carlos Bill" wrote in message
om...
Just wondering if anyone has tried or would know where to begin
searching for a way to permanently place wheels on a canoe to make it
easier to transport.

This is really a lousy idea. It just doesn't make sense to add stuff that
might be useful for very short periods of time but that'll get in the way
the rest of the time.

...

I have an Old Town Discovery 174 that weighs 82lbs. It's impossible to
get onto my roof rack alone.

1.) get a gym membership.

2.) scout the market for loading aids. For canoes, there are a couple of
devices intended to fix the problem. For example, Thule sells a bar that
slides out laterally from a roof rack crossbar that permits loading fore and
aft separately. Someone else builds a linkage lashup that lets you place
the boat on a frame that folds out to a position at the side of the vehicle
maybe four feet off the ground. You then lever frame and boat to the top of
the vehicle. You still have to handle the bulk, but with better position
and stance and maybe with some leverage and spring assist.

I don't have a gym membership and haven't tried any of the aids, both
because they're expensive and unnecesary.

I load my sometimes heavily outfitted Explorer (only slightly lighter than
the 174) onto a fairly high rack by first setting it down athwart the van,
bow resting on the ground, wales resting on my poles (or a length of white
DWV pipe that spans the rack crossbars when I'm going paddling). Then I
pick up the bow and walk it around to the front of the van, lifting it over
all the garbage mounted on the forward rack crossbar, levering the aft on
the gunnel brackets mounted on the aft rack crossbar. The last move is a
slide aft. Unfortunately the first unloading move is to climb the front
bumper, lift the bow, and to haul it forward. But you get used to it.

When I age to the point that I can't do this alone (when I stand on tiptoes
I can see this time), I'm going to have to quit altogether. Then I'll get a
Personal Water Craft or a 350HP bass boat that I can trailer. I certainly
won't mount wheels permanently on the boat.

Free advice,
Fred Klingener

"Lloyd Bowles" wrote in message
m...
The wheels would have to sit high when you are on the water & would raise
the center of gravity. Stability would be affected & you'd still find it
awkward to load.

Actually, Lloyd, I've thought of this before too. Why not have a little
recessed wheel well in the stern end (you could use one of those little,
sealed bearing poly wheels like those that are on expensive luggage), up by
the endplate? It would be used when the boat was inverted. It wouldn't be so
useful on rocky paths or portages, but it sure would come in hand dragging
your boat around your driveway or loading it on your truck.

--riverman

"Carlos Bill" wrote in message
om...
Just wondering if anyone has tried or would know where to begin
searching for a way to permanently place wheels on a canoe to make it
easier to transport. I know they make canoe carriers with wheels but
having them permantly attached would be much easier for many reasons.

The wheels would have to sit high when you are on the water & would raise
the center of gravity. Stability would be affected & you'd still find it
awkward to load.

I have an Old Town Discovery 174 that weighs 82lbs. It's impossible to
get onto my roof rack alone. Having wheels attached to one of the ends
of the canoe on the top would allow me to flip it over, pick up the
other end and roll it.

A much simpler way would be to replace the Discovery with a much lighter
canoe that you can lift. Problem is, the lighter the canoe, the higher the
price.

Lloyd Bowles
www.madcanoeist.4ever.cc

"riverman" wrote in message
...

"Lloyd Bowles" wrote in message
m...
The wheels would have to sit high when you are on the water & would
raise
the center of gravity. Stability would be affected & you'd still find
it
awkward to load.

Actually, Lloyd, I've thought of this before too. Why not have a little
recessed wheel well in the stern end (you could use one of those little,
sealed bearing poly wheels like those that are on expensive luggage), up
by
the endplate? It would be used when the boat was inverted. It wouldn't be
so
useful on rocky paths or portages, but it sure would come in hand dragging
your boat around your driveway or loading it on your truck.

Hey, good idea. Or maybe a rollerblade wheel. They should work well for
reasonably smooth firm ground.

Lloyd

"Lloyd Bowles" wrote in message
m...

"riverman" wrote in message
...

"Lloyd Bowles" wrote in message
m...
The wheels would have to sit high when you are on the water & would
raise
the center of gravity. Stability would be affected & you'd still find
it
awkward to load.

Actually, Lloyd, I've thought of this before too. Why not have a little
recessed wheel well in the stern end (you could use one of those little,
sealed bearing poly wheels like those that are on expensive luggage), up
by
the endplate? It would be used when the boat was inverted. It wouldn't
be
so
useful on rocky paths or portages, but it sure would come in hand
dragging
your boat around your driveway or loading it on your truck.

Hey, good idea. Or maybe a rollerblade wheel. They should work well for
reasonably smooth firm ground.

Yep. Loading would be easier. You could lift the end of your canoe up onto
your truck, go around to the wheeled end, and just push it forward until the
weight lifted it up. And no one ever drags a boat like that on trails or
portages, so it wouldnt get all mangled in use. I think this is worth trying
out...

--riverman

(Carlos Bill) wrote
I have an Old Town Discovery 174 that weighs 82lbs. It's impossible to
get onto my roof rack alone.

Carlos,

Here's the non-wheel solution that I use for loading and unloading my
boats. I have a blown L2-L3 disk and try to be careful about having to
clean & jerk a 70 pound boat.

My rack is built so that the larger/heavier canoe are placed in the
top slots, 5 and 7 feet off the ground. When I load one of these boats
I simply pull the stern out from the rack until just the bow stem is
resting on the front edge of the rack, and then lower the stern onto
the ground, so the canoe is resting like sorta like this \ but at more
of a 45 degree angle.

Then I walk under the canoe below the yoke, bend my knees slightly and
then stand upright. Presto, the canoe is on my shoulders.

I walk over to the van or the truck, both of which have a crossbar set
at the far end of the roof line, set the bow of the canoe on the rear
crossbar and lower the stern stem onto the ground. Step out from the
yoke, walk to the stern, pick it up and slide it onto the roof.
Presto, the canoe is on the roof racks.

Works for me :-)

"Mike McCrea" wrote in message
om...
(Carlos Bill) wrote
I have an Old Town Discovery 174 that weighs 82lbs. It's impossible to
get onto my roof rack alone.

Carlos,

Here's the non-wheel solution that I use for loading and unloading my
boats. I have a blown L2-L3 disk and try to be careful about having to
clean & jerk a 70 pound boat.


Hey, me too. I wonder how much of that we can honestly attribute to clean &
jerking boats for too many years. Or even to that particular 'swivel at the
hip' move that we do over long, mindless deadwaters...

--riverman

The is a device in the Cabella's catalog that fits in a trailer hitch. It's
adjustable height will fit any vehicle and it also swivels so you can lift
the stern onto the rack and then pick up the bow and swing it around. This
way you don't have to lift the whole boat...only half at a time.