cool project. the middle thwart is a carrying yoke. the typical way to carry these is just to pick it up on your shoulders. Probably weighs less than 100lbs and it should be pretty doable from car to water.
Yep, I was thinking, “You’ve got the yoke right there, dude!” I used to do long wilderness canoe trips with some long (miles...) portages. The Al canoe was a fairly easy carry. The wooden/canvas canoes we used...those would get a bit heavy after a few weeks of water time.
Getting it up on your neck is a tough trick to master (for me anyway), but I’ve seen it done by people without a lot of upper body strength. Once it’s up, you’re set.
Great build. one thing to consider when moving a canoe upright is that it is a perfect medium to hold your gear (paddles, pack, etc) with this method you would then need to carry them separately. Still a supper cool build.
Ohhhh no no no. A canoe isn't designed to structurally hold the gear when it is out of the water, you're not even suppose to load it up on shore let alone load it up and lift it. When a canoe is in the water it is supported along its whole length, when it is out of the water and carried like that it is supported only where you're holding it. Instead the canoe has a yoke built in that is there to sit on your shoulders so you can carry it upside down on your head.
@@ikkuranus That is what I was going to say. Unless you've done a really bad job at cutting, or you've done it with, I don't know, a torch or something like that, you can just use the nut, no need to file except por looks.
I really like how you guys are showing the rough models for Fusion 360 now. I know Josh usually shows his, but it's just nice to see the concept model prior to the finished product.
As a person who's been building and racing canoes for 40 years I'd like to weigh in on this project. To begin with (insert insanely knit picky five minute Baby Troll Voice rant here) thank you for your time and have a nice day.
love your channel Bob, always great content! As for the threads getting messed up when you cut a threaded shaft - just cut it with the nut on, then when you remove the nut it will clean up the threads.
I love doing that type of project. The absolute best part of having DIY skills is solving very specific problems. Being able to build custom projects for yourself, your family, and your friends is incredibly rewarding.
A lot of comments saying they prefer a cart that goes under an upright canoe so they can throw gear inside, which is a valid point. What I like about your idea is you can just leave the canoe on the cart at the end of the day and it's ready to go the next time you want to paddle. No need to remove the cart and flip the canoe or move it to a rack. So it's a combination of canoe transport and storage. I live a few hundred feet from the lake and have a canoe that weighs 85lbs empty. I can carry it to the beach, but somedays I just don't feel like it. So I'll be using your idea for some inspiration to build my own cart. May add some hooks to store paddles on too. I have a duffle bag for most of my other gear, so I can just throw that over my shoulder and off I go. Thanks.
My father built one for my canoe when i was younger. It was a square or rectangular frame the width of the flat underside of the canoe @ 1/3 of its length then on 2 sides of the square frame he hinged an A-frame that could be folded down and locked when in use. At the "top" of the A-frame he put a small wheel, like from a stroller. The whole thing was attached with straps around the canoe and took about a minute to set up. It could be folded almost completely flat and fit inside of the canoe. It was perfect for walking the canoe because since the canoe was upright you could store all your gear in it, if you were careful with the balance you could carry an insane amount of gear, perfect for even week long solo trips no assistance required.
I came as fast as I could to say "in before someone says just carry it on your back". Sadly I was too late. Great solution to the problem of an annoyingly heavy canoe!
The Grant Alexander you carry it on your shoulders actually, that centre beam is called a yoke and that curve in it is for your neck...just saying lmao.
Hi Bob great video , using a triangle file is great for thread clean up and if you put on a nylon lock nut passed the nylon, it makes threads in the nylon then you can remove the lock nut turn it round and put it back on nylon first, screw it on as far as you want and it will hold saving you from tack welding and making it movable , keep up the good work , G
As someone who does a lot of mechanical and machining work, I just treat the threaded rod the same way you treated the tube to remove the burrs. Just spin it on the belt sander and it will create a small chamfer. Nut will go on very easily, no need to file the thread. Saves a lot of time and frustration. You can use a file to create a chamfer if you don’t have a grinder.
Nice old canoe! We solved our heavy boat problem by getting a Wenonah ultra light. 35lbs. First time I picked it up I was amazed that something so large could be so light.
Usually you can just prop the boat on your shoulder by grapping it on the middle bar (that's what it's for). You dont even need to be very strong, just put it on the tip and put your shoulder inside the boat and then lift it up.
I’ve been looking how to build an axle like this! Thank you so much for teaching me. I’ve been working on a plan to build an electric beach cart to help lug gear out to the beach and not have to drag a cart through the sand. Large tires with an E-bike motor to turn them so I don’t break my back. This design will work perfectly.
I don’t own a canoe, not sure if I ever will.. that’s not the point. I really enjoyed the problem->design->build a solution flow. Great video as always! Thanks for the inspiration.
It looks great and probably works really really well but, you don’t usually take an empty canoe down to the lake or the river. You usually put stuff in it like fishing rods tacklebox lifejackets cooler stuff like that. So the one that goes underneath the canoe I think it was a better deal. I use the one that goes underneath the canoe and it works out quite well I’ve had no problems in the last 20 to 25 years I have been canoeing.
My father taught me: If you are going to cut anything with threads, then (if possible) put a nut on the threads BEFORE you cut. All you have to do after cutting is to spin the nut off the threads. That cleans up the ends(s) easily.
For the wheel spacer nut, instead of tac welding it, you could add another hex nut. This way the threaded rod is removable if service or maintenance is needed. Just a thought. Hope that helps. Great work either way! Keep it up Bob.
Great idea. I had to carry one of these on a recent weekend break and would have loved something like this. I’d like to see you make a clip on wheel for the back end because I can see that smashing in to the ground as you are pulling it. 👍
Bob--way better tip for cutting rod or bolt with thread. Put a nut on the rod before cutting, when you're done cutting spin the nut off and it will chase the threads on the end of the rod and remove any burr.
If you thread the nut on the rod then cut it when you remove the nut off the cut end, it reshapes the threading so you can get the nut back on like normal.
Whats real funny about this is. Ok i get it most of the world dose not know about portaging. But your talking about a pivot point over the centre bar that has a shoulder harness built in to carry it on you shoulders from “ your car to the lake” love the show!
Like the idea, but you have to make at least two trips - one for the canoe and at least 1-2 more for all the fishing gear. You got me thinking though... going to design something similar that will allow the canoe to be upright while in transit.
I think you should consider making something to protect front and back points, because you will rub it on ground eventually. Maybe so plastic covers as bumpers etc.
Very cool project keep up the great videos. Great craftsmanship and hard work my friend keep making love seeing more welding videos. Any blacksmithing videos coming any time soon?
a great trick for dealing with the threads getting damaged by cutting threaded rod is to have a nut on the threads already when you cut, and after the cut is complete, take the nut off through the cut area. It will clean up the threads as it comes off, although it might also damage the threads on that nut so it pays to have some extras around. The damaged threads will make the nut harder than normal to get off, so expect things to be a bit more difficult than usual.
awesome idea! Would it be practical to make one that flips to the sides so that the wheels are at the bottom side of the canoe which then let’s you roll it into the water right side up, and then flip them (like butterfly wings) into the middle. That way no flipping of the canoe is necessary! Might be easier said than done though
One question and one suggestion What keeps the threaded rod from shifting in the hinge sleeve between the nuts you welded on, of does that not matter? Throw some lanyards on those detent pins so they don't get dropped and lost.
Great job, something to think about is tying a cord to the pins so that they are attached to the carrier and not easily lost. Also double nutting the inside nuts on the axle instead of the tack weld would allow you to remove it if needed. BUT all that being said I like it!
Most of the time, the reason they are underneath is to assist with portaging with a full load of gear in the canoe. Just the canoe by itself shouldn't be that much weight....We have 6 and 7th graders in the troop hauling the canoes on their shoulders down to the rivers and lakes all the time. Another thing is you have to put the canoe on it's keel to put this on, well many places don't have a nice grassy surface to do this, which can cause damage to the canoe. It's a good thing for someone alone for a day trip.
Another way to avoid that cutting threads problem you mentioned would be to put the nut on beforehand and then you can just unscrew it after the cut. Obviously this won't work in all situations but it was just a thought.
I like the commercially available carts. With the canoe upright, you can put gear in it to take it to the water. It also takea us 2 people to get the boat off the car, so being able to move a canoe alone is not that big of an advantage for us. Never the less, it is still fun to watch the process from idea to thing.
Larger wheels would lift it up, making it more ergonomic, plus make it better in rough terrain. Break over angle also greatly improved, so you wouldn’t ding the back as often when starting or ending and incline. Bike wheels probably too thin though.
Nice. Me and a friend made a stitch and glue canoe a few years ago and we have talked about making some sort of system so we can tow it behind a bicycle. No real reason for just thought it would be cool. Probably why we haven't actually done it.
6:02 I always keep a nut on there when I'm cutting and then when I take the nut off it sort of rethreads the rod. Never failed for me, definitely easier than getting a file
Great build. I have one suggestion that will allow you to get it under the canoe support rails. Drill holes into the threaded axles and use a pin to go through to hold the wheels on instead of nuts/washers. Then you can remove the wheels and the whole thing should fit into the canoe properly. :-)
Nicely done & great project Bob! Now you can use that Canoe to go catch some fish. Got a kick out of your Kiwi segment when you said "Tiny little kids"! So, what age group would that be? 😂😂😁😁👍👍
It’s a great idea. But my only criticism is that the boat should really be transported right side up. This way it’s easier to lunch into the water. Also you can carry all your boating stuff inside the boat. You’ll need paddles and life jackets and etc. those are all extra things you’ve got to carry now.
Question about Fusion360, are you still able to work under the hobbyist licence if you use it to create projects which you then financially benefit from through video views? What about selling the plans?
You probably tip less then my campers do but some straps or something to attach it to the boat when you're in the water would probably be a good idea just in case
