How do you portage the RapidFire? Carry on one shoulder? Use the fabric yoke? (How do you like it?)
Use a regular clamp-on yoke?

I built a press fit yoke.  I used car top pads to make a yoke that can be forced between the gunnels.  I saw another one that was solid and relied on being able to spread the gunnels enough to get it installed.
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Did you do this because you can't use the regular adjustable clamp-on yoke on a RapidFire for some reason?

I don't think I'd want to carry one any distance on even a good portage by carrying it on one shoulder, although I understand that's common in the ADK's.

Their fabric yoke seems like it would be somewhat of a PIA to put on/take off at portages  . . . ?

I did not like the idea of their fabric yoke for the same reason you didn’t.  I did not know of any manufactured yoke that would clamp to those gunnels.  Some of the yoke pad combinations that were suggested to me were about 20% the weight of the canoe. 
My first yoke broke just as I was starting the south Cache Lake portage so I had to use the pads that came with the canoe.  By the time I finished the North Cache Lake portage both sholders and both hips were black and blue.

Nice work on the yoke. A difficult balance to get it both light and stiff enough to stay in place. Ingenious.

Just MacGyvering here, but why not try making your own yoke using some Schedule 40 pvc pipe?

Maybe some 1" to 1 1/2 " pipe with a thin notch get the same in both ends. A little trial and error would get the right wedge length.

You could clamp your yoke pads to that pipe.

Similar idea, except this guy, used a round aluminum pipe he flattened on each end and bolted in, NO portage pads, pipe rides on pack. With a light canoe that might be okay? If you went with aluminum pipe, you don't bolt in or wedge, you get some Clevis pins for a quick mount/detach option.

Few bucks and a little tinkering you'd have something special.

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The gunnels on a Rapidfire are a little more flexible than you would suspect.  With a hand on both gunnels I can push them apart ½ inch maybe a little more.   
Some place I saw a video of someone installing a yoke on a Placid boat that relied completely on the give of the gunnels. Cant find it now.

Talk about perfect timing ....

I was on the Placid web site this morning checking out an order form so I could call them tomorrow and purchase a Rapidfire.

The portaging aspect never occurred to me. I just automatically assumed light weight equals no problems.

I am going to hold off on a purchase decision until I get more info about portaging the Rapidfire.

The Rapidfire is a easy boat to portage once you get a portage yoke that will fit.

Thanks

I have one of Mohawk's webbing yokes and use it a lot.  I have it mounted on a royalex Wenona Rendezvous which generally weighs about 60 to 62 lbs  the way I have it rigged.

The yoke is bolted to the gunnels - the female part of the buckle is very short and just there at the gunnel, the male part, with all of the webbing rolls up and secures with a Velcro strap so it is out of the way.  just unroll the strap, clip the buckle and go.

pros:  it is easy to use, always there, and even with my heavy boat is comfortable enough

cons: - my boat flexes between the gunnels quite a bit when carrying it, in large part due to the metal seat hangers, so there is always a little push down on the shoulders as each foot hits the ground.  I doubt that that would be an issue with the lighter and much stiffer rapidfire.    see link

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Interesting; it doesn't seem to be at all the same as this:   (You need to Login or Register

Does the Mohawk web belt go around (under) the canoe or just between the gunwales?

I don’t think any of the strap portage yokes will be a satisfactory solution because they put your head too far up inside the canoe.  I would prefer that the canoe was held higher than my yoke holds it.  Check the picture on the previous page.

Here's a look at my "uber tall" solo yoke.

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Looks good, but will it work on a Placid RapidFire specifically? I'm fine with the usual clamp-on yoke for a Magic's, Northwind solos, etc., but am under the impression you can't attach one to a RapidFire.

I'm sure it could be doctored to fit. Not a clamp; the metal pieces mount (with cotter pins) to hinge-like attachments that are bolted to the hull. They flop down and out of the way when not in use. Yoke slides off and on metal via plates. At a portage I simply slide the yoke onto the metal pieces that remain attached to the canoe, using the give in the hull to allow for any slack I need.

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Macgyver approves of this DIY set-up.  [smiley=thumbsup.gif] 8-)

That's impressive Solus. 

Us Rapidfire owners are a little reluctant to drill holes in our precious art work.  If you had a Mona Lisa would you drill holes in it to mount it. Ok maybe that was a little overboard but you get the idea.
The Rapid fire gunnel is carbon fiber tube probably with a Styrofoam core. Not much meet to anchor a screw into.  The underside of the gunnel on the inside of the canoe slopes (approximately 45° ) to the side of the canoe.  This is what prevents a conventional clamp on yoke from working.  Some place on the internet I saw a picture of where a piece of wood was cut to match this slope and was glued to the bottom side of the gunnel. I think he used a conventional clamp on yoke but Solus’s setup would also work.  The 2 pieces of wood would be triangular in shape approximately 1 inch by 1 inch and 6 to 8 inches long.
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I didn't know the gunnel was a carbon fiber tube.
I can see why you wouldn't want to drill into that too.

That glued on wood wedge doesn't look very nice either.

I would try to go a different route, same principal.
Instead of gluing wood block to gunnel, I would find some thick rubber, cut into a wedge and glue/screw it to the portage yoke clamp.

Rubber clamped tight gives your more friction than the wood and you don't have to worry about the wood splitting or ruining the looks of your canoe.

What does Placid Boats have to say about this?  MP did they have any suggestions for you about portaging? 

I'll answer this.  From their site:

What's the best way to portage?    

Our boats come with two portage pads.  They store on the thwarts and are placed on the rails for portaging.  The boats are typically carried on one shoulder; the second pad protects your hip from the boat bouncing against it as you walk.  We also offer a fabric portage yoke which allows comfortable overhead portaging.

TomT wrote on Jan 30^th, 2018 at 6:38pm:

What does Placid Boats have to say about this?  MP did they have any suggestions for you about portaging?  I'll answer this.  From their site: What's the best way to portage?     Our boats come with two portage pads.  They store on the thwarts and are placed on the rails for portaging.  The boats are typically carried on one shoulder; the second pad protects your hip from the boat bouncing against it as you walk.  We also offer a fabric portage yoke which allows comfortable overhead portaging.

There is 2 options that do not work very well.

Magicpaddler wrote on Jan 30^th, 2018 at 7:40pm:

TomT wrote on Jan 30th, 2018 at 6:38pm: What does Placid Boats have to say about this?  MP did they have any suggestions for you about portaging?  I'll answer this.  From their site: What's the best way to portage?     Our boats come with two portage pads.  They store on the thwarts and are placed on the rails for portaging.  The boats are typically carried on one shoulder; the second pad protects your hip from the boat bouncing against it as you walk.  We also offer a fabric portage yoke which allows comfortable overhead portaging. There is 2 options that do not work very well.

I can't think of ANY portage I've been on in the Q that I would want to carry a canoe slung over one shoulder. Shortest portage I've personally been on is that sand beach pullover on Quetico Lk into West Bay.
 
   You need to match the gear to the conditions you're going to be encountering the majority of the time. From what I've seen and experienced, I'd sacrifice lightweight for a little more toughness, because of the rocky put-ins/take-outs your going to encounter in the BWCA/Q.

  Other's will disagree and are willing to baby those hi-tech lightweight boats. If you don't mind doing that more power to you.

I didn't consider those 2 portaging options good either and had heard you couldn't use the ordinary clamp-on yoke, which I suppose is why they didn't recommend it.

I like Solus' idea, but . . .  from Placid website:

I don't see any screws or bolts holding parts in.  How do you attach your footpegs, seats and other parts?

Composites and drill holes don't mix.  When holes are drilled through a hull it: 1) creates a hole in a perfectly good boat (bad idea); and, 2) creates a stress riser that will inevitably begin to crack as the part bolted through the hull flexes and the bolt "works" the composite.  There are plenty of old composite boats out there with drilled and bolted outfitting to attest to this.  We use a special marine adhesive to hold all of our outfitting in the boat.  It keeps the lines clean and prevents stress cracks caused by hull flex at hole locations.  It also allows us to put in custom attachment points for gear at customer specified locations.  Our seats are also bonded in rather than sitting on top of the inner laminate.  When a plastic seat sits on top of laminate, sand WILL eventually get between the two and it WILL act as sandpaper.

From this I'd be concerned that drilling holes in it could impact the warranty.

From Boonies post.
“We use a special marine adhesive to hold all of our outfitting in the boat.  It keeps the lines clean and prevents stress cracks caused by hull flex at hole locations.  It also allows us to put in custom attachment points for gear at customer specified locations.”
So glue in a piece of wood and mount to that.  I have paddle clips and battery holders and fish detectors all mounted on small pieces of wood that is glued in with Amazing Goop.  I can remove any of the pieces of wood in about 15 minute with a putty knife.

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I agree with the hesitation to drill holes in such a craft.

If I were to use a mount like i've posted I would sandwich the composite with a metal or engineered wood plates.

Boonie are you checking it out bc you're purchasing one?  Also, how about coming to Canoecopia this March?  It's only a two day drive.  ;)

No definite plan to do so at the moment, but hopefully a canoe sometime in the not too distant future. A RapidFire is just one possibility, but I wanted to know the details on the question. It seems like even an unhandy guy like me could cobble together a workable solution if the fabric/web belt thing doesn't work well and I really wouldn't want my head stuck up inside the canoe.

I'd like to come to canoecopia, but my wife wouldn't and I have other commitments for those dates. I might make eit to the Western Pennsylvania Solo Canoe Rendezvous for a day, but still too early to know for sure.

Boonie, you’re close to the Savage River shop. Check him out. He’ll do custom layups.

Yes, I am, maybe an hour. If and when buying becomes an option, I do plan to check out Savage River. It's possible I may go close by there sometime in summer with time to stop.

boonie wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2018 at 9:14pm:

Yes, I am, maybe an hour. If and when buying becomes an option, I do plan to check out Savage River. It's possible I may go close by there sometime in summer with time to stop.

Call ahead, it’s his workshop not a retail shop. But I’m sure he’d be happy to talk about what you want and what he could do for you.

Thanks for the information; it sounds like something it would be better to plan ahead rather than just stopping by . . .

Hi, [td]guys,

Been offline for awhile.  I own a Rapdifire and use a slotted portage yoke I purchased from Spring Creek in Mtn Iron just outside Virginia.  I don't see it on their current website, but I got it 2 years ago (actually lost my first one by leaving it on a portage in Temagami about 3 years ago during an arduous 14 hour day....dopey me!!)

Anyway, it appears to be the same as the Hidden River yoke from the Boundary Waters Catalog in the link below.  It works great on my Rapidfire.  I think it was 32 inches in length.

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PK
Are the bottom of your gunnels flat or sloped at about 45°?

Well, shoot, MP.  Now you're makin' me get up and go into my garage.....my Rapidfire has wood gunnels, the bottom of which seem to be horizontal to the ground...all I can confirm is the slotted yoke works well, unless you leave it an the put-in on your last portage about 20 miles of paddling to the south of your car...  :-/ :'(

PK
That tells me enough.  Most of the gunnels now oar a carbon fiber layup and standard portage yokes can’t get a grip on the bottom of them.

I built a new yoke.  Pictures at   (You need to Login or Register

Sweet engineering MP.

pd

Glad you like it. The cam handles work pretty good.  Not much force on the handle and locks the yoke in place fairly tight.

At Copia I was looking at Swift boats and they have the same gunnel as my Rapidfire.  They sell a portage yoke they say works fine.  It looks like the standard yoke with the knob to tighten the clamp.  Where the bolt passes through the yoke it is a hole and not a slot.  So the clamp cant slip off the gunnel. They say call them they will tell you how to measure your canoe and they will make one for you.

Those Swift boat removable yokes are sweet.  I hope to get the cherry wood one for my new solo. 

They want $350. for the carbon fiber version.  :o

Tom,

Would you care to offer up what new solo you have, or will buying?  I found myself daydreaming this winter cruising through canoe manufacturers websites and related forums, looking at new, lighter weight solo's.

MossBack

Well, my goal is to get the Swift Canoe and Kayak "Shearwater".  I want the innegra outer and kevlar inner with full carbon fiber thwarts, seats, handles, and gunnels.  This is a 16' 2" high volume solo and will weigh approx. 31 lbs.  It ain't cheap at around $3,600 but I figure it will be the last solo I buy.

At 21:10 of this video you can see the finish and carbon fiber parts to the boat I want.  I'm hoping to get green striping and logo with their champagne colored bottom.
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Another nice feature is the design of the seat. Very cool and just what my tailbone needs.  At 2:40 of the video he demonstrates how it works.   (You need to Login or Register

Beautiful boats!

That's a beautiful canoe your looking at. Like a Ferrari on the water.

I'm hard on canoes. If there is a rock just under the surface you can bet I'll find it.  ;) ;D ;D

My dream canoe would be somewhere between your 31lb beauty and this canoe, split the weight difference.

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This is the lightweight hull I hope to paddle to the end of my days.
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I'm thinking the 23# carbon/kevlar package and the padded sliding seat (I already bought one to use in my Advantage, very comfy).

Solus, you might get back to single portaging with that one.

These light boats and gear will have us all still tripping in our 80's.  I'll be portaging with my titanium walker.  ;D

Solus, I really like the Triebold seat, it fits my bony butt nice. The standard tractor seat is kind of flatter, better for wider backsides.

Ask John to send you both and return the one you don't want.

Solus, would you put skid plates on it?

Jim- Seat looks a little too form fitting.... What if the form it's fitted to is not mine. I'm not a very wide load  but the shape of the seat seems a little too intimate. The pedestal seat I have is fairly small.

Tom- no on the skid plates. I take some care with my boat and when the wear and tear accumulates I just add a bit of glass (a strip) and resin to set er right. Hate to ruin the exit and entry lines of a sweet hull.

Solus, It is form fitting. The higher back side helps carry some of the pressure. For me with the reg seat I ended up with all my weight sitting on my butt bones. But it's probably not a big deal tripping cause I enjoy getting out to explore ever hour or so. I did get one for my pro boat when I was training for a race were the 1st portage was over 6 hours away and it was just right (for me). Half the prep for a race like that is getting super comfy.

Yeah- I got the foam seat to relieve the butt bones- Piragis gave me his seat to try on one trip (ZRE lays them up I think) and I then bought one. Added bonus is that it's warm in cold weather.

I took a tip from another board and got a small air pad that REI makes for sitting.  If the pressure is low it really works great for the butt bones.