Kayak cart

[SWVABass]

Has anyone built their own kart for moving their yak? I don’t want to spend the roughly 300 for one from hobie or the other after market folks. If you have what did you use to build it? Thanks for any info!

[padlin]

Built one for a canoe a while back. Used a set of old golf cart wheels from the dump, 3 foot of threaded rod, emt, pipe insulation, misc nuts, emt connector, and a strap. Need a pipe bender.

 

Don't have it anymore so no pictures.

[casts_by_fly]

Which kayak and how heavy is it?  That makes a difference in the style of cart. 

[SWVABass]

@casts_by_fly I have a hobie pro angler. Fully rigged I toils say somewhere in the 170ish range. Not looking to make one for long hauls but tired of dragging it across concrete and such.

[casts_by_fly]

Gotcha. Similar to me then. I have an autopilot which is about 160 with battery and motor but not gear.  I don’t use a cart much since I mostly use lakes with a ramp or a place I can pull down to. So I didnt want a $250+ cart for a couple times per year. I got the traverse for Christmas and it runs half that price. I’ve used it a few times and it’s a good cart.  

 

https://www.amazon.com/Malone-Traverse-Kayak-Canoe-Cart/dp/B095BLPTGD

[Darth-Baiter]

I agree 100% that the Hobie cart is more costly than what you get for the money.  but it works.  and it is fairly compact, so you can put it on your kayak during your day on the water.  having my wheels with me saved me when I had to emergency beach during a freak windstorm.  I was happy to have them so I could drag my boat up a hill to the nearest road. 

 

dang!  you're dragging your Hobie on the concrete?  I do on occasion and it is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.  my Hobie is getting rough, but am trying to delay it. 

[Koz]

C-Tug $140.

 

Great investment.

[SWVABass]

@Darth-Baiter unfortunately I have to very a short stretch to get out of the garage and to the jeep other than that not really. Try to avoid it as much as possible. Hence why I was looking for an idea for a homemade cart. Most of the lakes around me have a launch where I don’t have to pull it on the hard stuff.

 

@Koz thanks for the tip!

[flyfisher]

You mentioned you are going to your jeep, is it a gladiator or are you cartopping it or have a trailer?  For that short length I would get whatever is cheapest because like you said, the use of it is minimal.  For me, I have a few spots I like that have a decent distance to the ramp so I went with the Wilderness Systems cart and couldn't be happier.  Used to have a c-tug which was solid and more compact but it isn't as easy to load or handle the rougher terrain.  For a heavier kayak a wilderness cart seems to be one of the better options out there albeit pricey.  

[Choporoz]

I got a Malone WideTrack after I lost my Hobie cart.  Expensive,  but not Hobie-expensive. (My only complaint is that it's pretty big.  Takes up half the back seat in my SUV.)  Last couple years, there's a lot of really good looking options to come on the market.  Suspenz and Seattle Bike, or  something, are two that I think would be very good.

 

OP, there's plenty of diy videos out there.  Most are beyond anything I was willing to take on, but some look quite good.

[casts_by_fly]

8 hours ago, SWVABass said:

@Darth-Baiter unfortunately I have to very a short stretch to get out of the garage and to the jeep other than that not really. Try to avoid it as much as possible. Hence why I was looking for an idea for a homemade cart. Most of the lakes around me have a launch where I don’t have to pull it on the hard stuff.

 

@Koz thanks for the tip!

 

If you're only looking to get it in and out of the garage, would a wooden cart in the garage be better (or maybe a ceiling pulley) assuming you can back into the garage?  I truck bed my autopilot, so I build a wooden cart on casters that sits in my garage.  I back the truck bed into the garage and wheel the cart to the bed.  Slide the boat in and tie it up.  Reverse for unloading.  If you are car topping on a jeep you might need to do a ceiling hoist but you could put it in the bed of a gladiator with a similar cart.  Your lakes sound like mine where you are driving roughly to the launch and just pushing it in.  In that case I never use a cart at all.

 

rick

[Darth-Baiter]

24 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

If you're only looking to get it in and out of the garage, would a wooden cart in the garage be better (or maybe a ceiling pulley) assuming you can back into the garage?  I truck bed my autopilot, so I build a wooden cart on casters that sits in my garage.  I back the truck bed into the garage and wheel the cart to the bed.  Slide the boat in and tie it up.  Reverse for unloading.  If you are car topping on a jeep you might need to do a ceiling hoist but you could put it in the bed of a gladiator with a similar cart.  Your lakes sound like mine where you are driving roughly to the launch and just pushing it in.  In that case I never use a cart at all.

 

rick

I'm with this guy^^^.  I have a friend that moves his around in the garage on a furniture dolly he bought from harbor freight.  he just moves it out onto his driveway to put on a kayak trailer and reverse.  I bet he paid $10 for the dolly.

 

 

[casts_by_fly]

2 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

I'm with this guy^^^.  I have a friend that moves his around in the garage on a furniture dolly he bought from harbor freight.  he just moves it out onto his driveway to put on a kayak trailer and reverse.  I bet he paid $10 for the dolly.

 

 

i went a little further than that.  I have storage and I don’t have to lift much of anything. It’s truck bed height so it just slides on the carpet. 
 

 

[CountryboyinDC]

These are ones I made with PVC and the usual Harbor Freight hardware that people used to use for kayak carts all the time.  Neither will be as handy as your Hobie scupper cart.  Together they wouldn't cost $75 to make.  I had to build the tandem axle.one for my Predator PDL, which is still lighter than your Pro Angler.  If you want a cut list or anything, let me know.

 

[SWVABass]

I car top on a jeep rubicon. I like the idea of the furniture cart that may be the ticket. @CountryboyinDC your builds are similar to what I was hoping to look at. I might hit you up on some specifics over the weekend.

 

thanks a ton for the ideas, never thought of most of these. Also cannot hoist and top it out of the garage I would either need a new yak or be doing some major renovations ha!

[VirginiaKayakBasser]

I have a C Tug.  Works great, but can be quite a struggle to attach to a big, heavy kayak. Hobie carts that fit into the scuppers look awesome, but I think they only fit Hobie yaks.

[VirginiaKayakBasser]

I trailer my kayak and whenever there is a boat ramp available, I just launch it like a normal boat.  I only use the C-Tug occasionally.

 

[Bankc]

I just bought a cheap $60 aluminum frame one off Amazon.  I don't even know the brand name, but there are a bunch, and they're all really similar.  I modified it by screwing two PVC pipes with pool noodle on the outside that run perpendicular across the top, like the Malone Paddle Gear WideTrack ATB.  It had a tendency to let the kayak get askewed in rough terrain before the modification.  Now it works perfectly with a strap!  

 

It would be hard to build one from scratch for less money, and these fold up, which makes transporting them easier.  I can keep it in my kayak if I need to, without taking up a ton of room.  It's held up for four years now without any issues.  

[schplurg]

This is by far my most popular Youtube video (37,000 views). And no I make no money at it.

 

I use it for my Old Town Sportsman PDL 106. I wouldn't use it on very rough terrain with a heavy yak, but I mainly use it at home to get the kayak from the storage area to my van. Never used it at the lake.