[VJS]

Anyone have a system figured out yet? I intend to hit the BWCAW in 2009, via composite kayak. Minimal portages will be the plan just because of all the packing/unpacking issues. It’s a beautiful area up there and very fitting for a canoe, but, that’s not my preferred vessel. Chosen Valley Canoe Accessories has a great aluminum yoke pad frame configuration but I haven’t come up with a good/quick yoke installation/removal method. CVCA has some clamps but don’t think I want to use them on fiberglass. So if anyone has some pictures or ideas they are willing to share, please post. Thanks!
Suggested BWCAW kayak routes would also be appreciated.
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Enjoy the Outdoors !

[Ben]

I took a kayak to the BWCAW a few years ago, and did the "numbered lakes" 1-2-3-4 (put-in at Lake One) primarily because portages are short. It is one of the busier put-ins, but was worth it to make short portages. Usually we just picked up the handles of the loaded kayaks and hauled them. They were heavy, but again......no very long portages.

I enjoy fishing out of the kayak more than the canoe, and of course - wind is less of a pain with the kayak.

I do think I'll use a canoe next time though, because I'd like to do a more remote trip / longer portages.

[John Pearson]

Kayak-portaging yokes are hard to find because there is no national market for them. The only place where people try to portage kayaks is the Boundary Waters Wilderness, which is a pretty specialized purpose. You basically have to come up with something of your own making or adaptation, especially because there are so many different kayaks with unique cockpit shapes and sizes.

I remember a speaker at the CanoeSport Expo several years ago talking about this subject. He (Andy Knapp) has kayaked down the length of the bigger lakes along the international boundary in the Boundary Waters-Quetico region and had looked into options for a kayak yoke because even that mostly-water route has many portages. Same result: no one made a commercial yoke that worked well with his kayak. When he asked kayak designers (many based on the West Coast) about making kayak yokes, they asked him why he needed one. "To carry my kayak on my shoulders over land," was Andy's explanation. This usually drew blank looks followed by a perplexed pause and the inevitable question "Why would you want to do that?"

[TY]

Crawdaddy Outdoors in Waverly. CKS and NRS all have yokes. Let your fingers do the shopping, they are easy to get.

TY
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See ya on the water, or slightly above it. -N.J.L-

[Cornboy]

Old Town makes one but I can't seem to locate it on the website.

Spring Creek also makes one:
http://www.canoegear.com/html/

Chosen Valley has made some custom ones in the past.

You could always make your own. Start with your typical canoe yoke and make some slots and another block to go under the coaming - fasten everything through a bolt and wing nut.
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http://www.paddlingiowa.com

[Al Donaldson]

VJS:

I have quite a selection of canoe yokes, and it would not be a big deal to make a setup to mount one to a yak. It would require making custom fittings, but if you cannot find a commercial setup that will work, give me a call or email, and we'll get together and fit one up.

I'll never use the ones that I have, so they might as well be used for something!

Regards,

al
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Al Donaldson
Cell (319) 277-3194
alandonaldson (at) cfu.net