Kayak Trolley Cart Suggestions?

[justeric]

I am going to make a kayak trolley and want to know which kind to make. My choices are one that cradles the kayak or one that puts poles up the scupper holes. The scupper hole one looks easiest to make and is probably easier to use. I have read posts that say that the scupper hole trolley's can cause cracks in the kayak. Should I make a cradle style kayak trolley or a scupper hole style kayak trolley? I'm going to use the trolley on a 13' Hobie Revolution.

Thanks,
Eric

[Jim McFalls]

I use a Railblaza C Tug cart for my Revo 13. It works great over all types of terrain. But, if you're building...

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[Mark]

Hobie inserted plastic sleeves to reinforce the scuppers used for its scupper carts since at least 2012. I haven't heard of carts causing cracks in Hobie's scuppers since.

I use a scupper cart for my Revo. I unload boat from the cart while it's floating by lifting it at the stern until the cart falls out. And I load it on the cart by turning the boat on its side and inserting the cart. I load it on the ground at the launch that way and even on the water that way when it's time to depart by turning it on its side. Of course, my rods are not in the boat when I turn it on its side. That system works well for me because the Revo is not a heavy kayak relative to other 13 foot boats and I'm used to the procedure by now.

But overall, I think cradle carts are easier to load and unload than scupper carts because usually you don't have to lift the boat as high to attach the cart.

[BarefootPetr]

I've tried both and I did not like the one that went into the scuppers. I like being able to lift my yak onto the cart and not have to worry about dumping any gear. Also, when I bought a second smaller yak I bought a Feelfree with the wheel already installed. Absolutely love it

[curtisakatoyo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbAoj9lNel4

I modified the Hobie cart trax 2-30 to do that as well, best thing ever.

Plus Hobie recommends you go with that style cart since their scuppers are reinforced.

The cracks were from older Hobie's or people who loaded 50+ lbs in the scupper area.

[Mark]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbAoj9lNel4

I modified the Hobie cart trax 2-30 to do that as well, best thing ever.

Plus Hobie recommends you go with that style cart since their scuppers are reinforced.

The cracks were from older Hobie's or people who loaded 50+ lbs in the scupper area.

Now that's clever!

[J.A. Veil]

I built a scupper mount cart for a 2008 Native Manta Ray 14. I used PVC pipe and a piece of all-thread plus two old wheels I found in the basement. It worked fine, but eventually did cause hairline cracks around the scuppers that made a slow leak into the hull. Native honored its lifetime hull warranty and provided me with a brand-new kayak of the same model four years after I bought the first one. In part because of that superb customer service, I joined Native's Pro Staff team.

I attached a few photos of the cart. If your kayak has reinforced scupper tubes, you may not have a problem with a scupper cart.

2011-10-27 001.jpg 2011-10-27 004.jpg 2011-10-27 005.jpg 2011-10-27 006.jpg 2011-10-27 008.jpg

My paddle kayak, a Native Manta Ray 11, comes with a wheel permanently mounted on the stern, so I can pick up the front and pull or push the kayak across a hard surface. I don't need to use a cart unless I am crossing a long uneven surface. During the mid 90s, I used an inflatable dinghy as my fishing boat for a year. It had a solid wood stern. The dealer mounted a pair of sturdy wheels on the stern. The wheels could be folded down for rolling the dinghy across a parking lot to a ramp, then could be folded up again when I was in the water. That worked real well. I am surprised that more kayak users have not turned to a similar folding wheel technology, although the large and space-consuming Landing Gear product does fit in that general niche.

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For my pedal kayak, a Native Slayer Propel 10, I use a C-Tug cart with two modifications. First, I strapped two pieces of PVC pipe on the support pads. This helps to hold the boat on the pads. Second, the factory strap does not hold well. I replaced it with a standard cam-lock strap that I can pull tight.

strap 4.jpg strap 1.jpg

[Jesserkirk]

Just buy a c-tug


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[john from md]

Just buy a c-tug


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I second this. Many of us have built our own cradles but, in the end, the C Tug is less work and easy to use. Make sure to get the sand wheels if you are pulling any distance on sand.