I love my kayak but

[zeebyrd]

it weighs too much for me. The Nucanoe Frontier 12 is supposedly 80 lbs dry weight. Imagine the weight fully rigged. To most of you guys that's not much, but to me it is. I didn't consider weight when I bought it because my canoe was 75 pounds.

I love the stability of it and wish it weighed a lot less. I know Nucanoe has a 10' model of my yak, but I don't want to go shorter. I love being able to move around in it and not having to worry if I'm going to turtle.

I bought the cart specifically made for the Frontier. Overpriced (to me) at $139, I felt that if it could make life easier lugging it around it would be worth it. Well, it worked well in the sense that it held the yak up. However, it did not take up much weight as some carts do. I have another cart that I have tried and it seemed to handle the weight better, but the yak always manages to fall off.

One option left is to make a cart out of PVC. I had started a scupper hole cart, but reconsidered. The weight of the yak got me thinking that a scupper hole cart might not be a good idea. Too much weight/stress on the scupper holes might end up causing cracks.

I can get the yak on and off my truck easily with the help of a tail gate extender. That helps tremendously. No complaints there.

I went out today to Lake Elkhorn. I should have checked out how far the launch was from the parking lot before I loaded up the yak. Well, I ended up unloading the yak and going back home. Disappointing.

I am not exactly in the market, especially not while on furlough. But I am sort of thinking of something different for the near future. I want a hybrid because a yak where I have to brace my feet against foot holds is not good for my lower back.

I'm going to continue researching online. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas, I would enjoy hearing them.

Thanks!

[d16daily]

I don't like the idea of a scupper cart although it is more convenient. PVC might work, but you have a heavy kayak and I wouldn't waste the time and money to find out how well it works. If you really just need a better kayak cart than the Nucanoe one I would just invest in a reputable cart that will handle the weight, look into the Wheelez brand or something similar, then sell the Nucanoe cart.


Or you could just sell the Nucanoe entirely and get a lighter yak. The Skimmer 128 looks nice, only weighs 48lbs. The Moken I have weights 72lbs but has a wheel to help transport it on hard surfaces.

[rwh]

I also wouldn't want to try a scupper hole cart with a kayak that heavy. My 2013 Ride 135 weighs about the same. I made the PVC cart from the Palmetto Kayak page:
http://palmettokayakfishing.blogspot...art-build.html

It has handled the weight of the kayak loaded with no problems so far. It just doesn't pull too well in deep sand for any considerable distance (maybe larger wheels would help there) but going over parking lots, gravel, grass or down the sidewalk / street, it does great.

The same website has plans for a cart that has wheels that are a little larger and is made from Unistrut channel:
http://palmettokayakfishing.blogspot...ayak-cart.html

[Grilled]

i built a pvc scupper cart for my hobie revo last year, first time i used it was at CHSP and didn't even make it half way to the beach. It snapped in half...lol Unless you re-inforce the pvc with aluminum or some kind of pipe i wouldnt recommend it.

[FishingGeek]

I made a scupper cart out of PVC this summer with 11" skinny wheels, tried CHSP and buried it in the sand. I put 11" fat tires on it, worked great in the sand, but lasted about 1/2 the season. I didn't reinforce the downward pieces and I tried to force it over a rock and the PVC snapped. I'm going to try another, but reinforce it with something, wood or aluminum pipe. I might try the Palmetto design, I have a WS Ride 115 that weighs about 80 lbs and getting the cart in the scuppers at the end of the day is tough.

[HJS]

I've never used or seen a scupper cart up close. But I was just thinking how the PVC pipe could be reinforced to prevent snapping off. Anyone try inserting a length of small diameter re-bar inside the PVC pipe then filling the remaining space in the pipe with Great Stuff??? (Expanding spray-in foam that expands and sets up hard like styrofoam.)

[J.A. Veil]

The design that I used when I built one called for metal electrical conduit to go inside the PVC uprights. That provided rigidity but not a lot of extra weight.

I used stainless steel allthread inside of PVC for the axle.

[dsiekman]

I used stainless steel allthread inside of PVC for the axle.

Me, too. I also found some bronze bushings that I was able to press fit into the end caps with a little minor fitting. 1/2" all thread should carry a decent amount of weight.

[dhawk]

I built a scupper cart with aluminum angle all thread and pvc it wasn't exactly cheap but is strong, I broke my first one. My xfactor goes at least 100lbs fully loaded and I haven't had a problem with it in a year worth of use

[dhawk]

tried to post pictures they would not load

[Turtle135]

I also built one of the Palmetto Kayak DIY carts.

http://palmettokayakfishing.blogspot...art-build.html

I use it with my Ride 115 and recently rolled 4 miles up the C&O Canal Towpath along the Upper Potomac River. The nice thing about that cart design is that you can center it under the Kayak and allow it to carry 95% of the weight of the kayak.

I have not used one but I have heard if you are looking for a durable cart the "C-Tug" is a good one. Apparently the wider wheels work in the sand as well.

http://www.austinkayak.com/products/...ayak-Cart.html

[Mike]

I use the paddleboy all terrain cart. It has a capacity of 300 lbs, big 16" wheels, and a kick stand to hold it up while loading it. If you load the yak in the center you can move a 100lb load around effortlessly. I tow my 12' yak, probably 90lbs loaded, behind my bike on the C&O tow path no problem.
The most difficult part is fastening the yak to the cart. If its not secure it can easily fall off while towing. The strap that came with the cart was useless, I use ratchet straps and zig zag cleats mounted to the yak to keep the straps in place. The padded rails on the cart are adjustable so you can likely position them so they fall into the grooves on the bottom of the Frontier keeping the cart in line.

http://www.amazon.com/Seattle-Sports...dp/B003CRNYTC/

That said, if you wind up looking for something new, I'm in the market for a 12' Frontier, keep me in mind!
-Mike

[MetroMan]

I have not used one but I have heard if you are looking for a durable cart the "C-Tug" is a good one. Apparently the wider wheels work in the sand as well.

http://www.austinkayak.com/products/...ayak-Cart.html

Yep. C-Tug all the way for me. I had the old original package that came with the pneumatic tires. After a couple of inner tube failures, I bit the bullet and upgraded to the hard wheels, and the green wheel inserts. With the upgraded wheels it works great on all surfaces, including sand. (The original tires worked fine on hard surfaces.)

I position the cart toward the rear. I load most of my gear in the rear, such that the cart is carrying most of the weight near the stern. The bow handle is nice and light that way.

The C-tug is expensive, and I can see wanting to avoid paying THAT much for a cart. It all depends on what its worth to you I guess.

[Nitefly]

Zeebyrd, I agree with you completely on how useless the Nucanoe Cart is on toting these things loaded. I pretty much only use it to assist in getting my kayak on the roof of my minivan. I broke down and ordered a cart last month:
http://www.amazon.com/TMS-CART-CANOE...rds=kayak+cart

It is very inexpensive and it works pretty well once you get it strapped on tightly. I'm still working out a system for it. Getting the kayak on the cart before I load it up isn't too bad, but so far, I haven't found an easy method for loading it onto the cart after a long day of fishing with it fully loaded. I'm using a ratcheting strap to tie the yak to the cart (they are cheap at Harbor Freight). Once I get my system down better, Ill let you know. I'm sure the more expensive carts are better quality, but this cheap one is built suprisingly well. The tires stink really bad though! Store outside for the first month!

[Mark]

Nitefly,

That's the identical cart I bought for my Jackson Coosa from Amazon.

You're right about the odor of the tires. It's a plastic/rubber/chemical odor. It's hard to describe. It literally made my eyes water. However, it dissipates relatively fast and it's not a problem now.

One of my tires came with a leaky inner tube. The leak was near the valve stem and could not be patched. Rather than send it back I bought another tube at Lowe's in the lawn mower department. All is well now. The cart is well made and will certainly carry a heavy loaded kayak.