One more vote for the golf club tubes for rod protectors. I’ve just seen too many times when a pack is going in or out of the canoe when a section of the line or the rod tip itself gets snagged. The tube covers the most delicate part of the rod. One positioned in a convenient location for bow and stern positions. Drilled some holes thru the aluminum strip under the gunwale and used cable ties to hold them in place. Take the butt of the rod and hold it in place with a bungee dealy bob or a strip of Velcro for portaging; just rest in on a thwart when traveling from one fishing spot to the next. As far as weight, I’d be surprised if the entire setup weighs a half pound. Not like that nasty heavy PVC.
Certainly a matter of personal preference. This is a system my partner and I agreed upon (also co owners of the canoe). Another member of our tripping party was in attendance while we were doing the install and mildly ranting about how we were wasting our time; nobody needed such a foolish system. I checked; we were doing this on our canoe; not his, so I’m lost as to what the big deal was. Different strokes and all you know.
We did a two person trip. Portage routine was we would land, get the food pack onto his back and he would set off down the trail. I would finish unloading the canoe, load up, and meet him along the trail on his way back. By the time I got to the end, and got all the stuff that was already there back into the canoe, it was not long until he showed up with the balance of the gear. Actually went pretty smooth. Another benefit was the food pack was not left unattended for very long.